Pitcher from the Roman Empire, before and after restoration.
The small city of Corning, New York, population 11,068, counts more works of art than people. The world’s largest collection of glass art is harbored here, at the Corning Museum of Glass, which cares for over 50,000 objects spanning 3,500 years of history. Across the Chemung River, a short walk away, lie the headquarters of Corning Incorporated—the glass and ceramics manufacturing giant responsible for the creation of brands like CorningWare and Pyrex. The company founded the museum in 1951, as a “gift to the world” to mark its 100th anniversary. The museum’s facilities have grown tremendously since then: In addition to gallery spaces, they include a research library, glassmaking studios, and an amphitheater for live demonstrations.
Fragile Legacy: The Marine Invertebrate Glass Models of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka.
There’s much more to read and see at The Creators Project. For more information about conservation at the Corning Museum of Glass, go here. Videos of the conservation team at work are available here.
The Corning museum is lovely, I’ve been there a couple times (it’s about 2hr from my house) the art is amazing. The educational museum part id kind of sad -- not very information-dense and chatty -- its OK for a walkthrough but it feels like it’s aimed at early teens.
Those glass models are incredible, I’d love to see them live. To think they’re somewhere near 150 years old…!
And anyone who can reconstruct a vase from those shards (has the patience for it) deserves all my compliments and then some.