East meets west: Cross-cultural influences in glassmaking in the 18th and 19th centuries

Abstract

Technological knowledge and decorative styles had an impact that is particularly noteworthy in western European and East Asian countries. In the West, the cultural influence of Chinese porcelain and the fashion for chinoiserie led the makers of porcelain and glass to develop new recipes and iconographic themes in imitation of those of the treasured imported wares from the Orient. The stylistic influences of Asia reached all of western Europe, leading to individual interpretations of the imported exotic imagery, but Western styles were not so readily adopted in the East during the 18th century. (They were successful, however, in mid-19th-century Japan.) By contrast, in East Asia, the adopted chemical knowledge of European glass manufacturers allowed local artists to develop new colors and overlay techniques, and to produce, among orher works of art, carved pieces in glass that are related to traditionally fashioned hard-stone objects.