Last Updated: Mar 07, 2023     Views: 1182

Workers at a furnace from Agricola, Berckwerck Buch (CGML 66820)
Image: Woodcut of glassworkers at a furnace from Georg. Agricola, Berckwerck Buch (Gedruckt in der keyserlichen Reichssstatt Franckfort am Mayn: Getruckt durch P. Schmidt in Verlegung Sigmundt Feyrabendts, 1580). CGML 66820.

Thank you for your question! The short answer is, yes, wood was used in ancient glass furnaces. Below are additional resources that can provide more information.

Online Resources

  • Mark Taylor and David Hill's website The Glassmakers provides information on re-creating and using ancient glass furnaces. Their Roman Furnace Project from 2005 and 2006 featured a wood-fired glassworking furnace.

The site includes information about history and techniques, along with their other projects.

Two articles on the Roman Furnace Project were also featured in the Journal of Glass Studies in 2008:

A brief video was produced as well, Roman Furnace (Bye Jones Productions, 2005), available in our Library collection, that demonstrates glassblowing at the lit furnace.

  • You may also be interested in the digital version of The Art of Glassmaking, 1751-1772; A Portfolio of Prints from the Diderot Encyclopedia (Corning, N.Y.: Corning Glass Center, [1960-1970]), which depicts 18th-century glassworkers using a wood-fired furnace.
  • Blog post "Equinox Gaffers head to The Glass Furnace in Istanbul, Turkey" (2012) documents their visit to The Glass Furnace in Istanbul, Turkey, and their chance to see a working wood-fired furnace.

Additional Resources

The following items might also be of interest (links are to records in the Rakow Library catalog unless otherwise noted):

 

A more extensive list of resources is available upon request. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance via Ask a Glass Question (https://libanswers.cmog.org/), email (rakow@cmog.org), phone (607-438-5300), or text (607-821-4029).

 

Please don't hesitate to contact us with your glass-related questions in the future!

 

 

 

 

 

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Please note: The Corning Museum of Glass is a non-profit, educational institute and, as such, cannot answer questions about rarity or value of your glass. For more information about appraisal services, see our curatorial FAQs.

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