Glass has been prized for centuries for it’s beauty and it’s unique ability to take any shape bestowed upon it by a talented artisan. However, the fragile nature of glass means that, historically, it has been unsuitable for furniture. Glass is almost impossible to repair when smashed, and it is unable to support a great deal of weight. This did not prevent glass from being one of the preferred materials for vases and other decorative wares, especially once clear glass began to eclipse green glass.

The invention of modern steel permitted glass to come to the fore of furniture design during the turn of the century. Inspired by the Crystal Palace of the Great Exhibition of 1851, glass workers began to develop steel-and-glass tables, chairs and other works which emphasized the ability of glass to catch the light and seemingly levitate objects in the very air. Glass tables are now commonplace, and are prized for their ability to not only be attractive but to retain that beauty over time and in the face of day-to-day spills and dust.

Recent innovations have included the ability to color glass and also to optimize it’s crystalline structure in order to permit it to carry more weight. This has opened up whole new realms in terms of design which modern glass workers may work their designs. Modern glass sculpture has advanced to the point where it can create near-perfect replicas of plants and small animals, as well as elaborate abstract works designed to capture light in ways only glass can.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at 2:54 am and is filed under Furniture Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.