Up: Glassmaking
Reminiscences
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found in the ruins of the northwest palace during the previous excavations,
and now in the British Museum. On this highly interesting relic is the
name of the Sargon, with his title of
King of Assyria, in cuneiform characters, and the
figure of a lion. We are therefore able to fix its date to the latter part
of the seventh century B.C.
It is consequently the most
ancient known specimen of transparent glass."
In chapters 22d and 25th, he gives us the form
of many glass vessels from the mound of Babel, similar in
form to the modern fish-globes, flower-vases and table water-bottles on the
present day-- the latter being reeded must have been formed in metallic
moulds-- and pieces of glass tubes, the exterior impression exactly like
our modern patch diamond figure.
Of the several specimens of glass brought to
England by Mr. Layard, one, the fragment of a vase, when examined, was of
a dull green color, as though incrusted with
carbonate of copper.
This color was quite superficial, and the glass itself was opaque and of a
vermilion tint, attributed to
suboxide of copper. The outer green covering
was due to the action of the atmosphere on the surface of the glass, and
the consequent change of the suboxide into green
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