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Materials, Furnaces, and Texts: How to Write About Making Glass Colours in the Seventeenth Century
Thijs Hagendijk1, Márcia Vilarigues2, Sven Dupré1
1Utrecht University, The Netherlands.
Ambix
|October 12, 2020
Summary
Johann Kunckel
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- History of Science
- Chemistry
Background:
- Johann Kunckel's Ars Vitraria Experimentalis (1679) is a seminal work in 17th-century glassmaking.
- It is an augmented German translation of earlier Italian and English editions, featuring extensive recipes and commentaries.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze Kunckel's strategies for recipe engagement and workshop application.
- To understand the "codification of error" in historical glassmaking knowledge.
- To investigate Kunckel's methods for educating readers on glass coloring mechanisms.
Main Methods:
- Reworking four rosichiero glass recipes from Kunckel's text.
- Analyzing Kunckel's annotations, commentaries, and recipe modifications.
- Evaluating the effectiveness of Kunckel's strategies for practical glassmaking.
Main Results:
- Kunckel often did not test Italian recipes, and some corrections were not improvements.
- Kunckel's text aimed to educate readers on glass coloring principles, not just provide recipes.
- Emphasis was placed on ingredient sourcing, processing, and furnace management for color optimization.
Conclusions:
- Kunckel's work illustrates a unique approach to knowledge transmission in historical glassmaking.
- The "codification of error" was a strategy to document color-making knowledge.
- Understanding the "why" behind glass coloring empowered artisans to control the process.
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