{"id":10851,"date":"2026-10-02T22:42:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T20:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glasssoul.eu\/history\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T20:59:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T18:59:58","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.glasssoul.eu\/en\/history\/","title":{"rendered":"History"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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History<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Ancient Times<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Protection of the Dead and Urns\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Glass has accompanied humanity in moments of death, farewell, and the preservation of memory for more than two thousand years.<\/i><\/b><\/p>

In ancient Egypt, <\/span>small glass amulets<\/b>that were placed among the mummy\u2019s bandages. They were not meant to be admired by the living\u2014they were intended to serve a purpose for the deceased.<\/span><\/p>

During the Roman period, blown glass became <\/span>a vessel for human ashes<\/b>. Some Roman glass urns have even been preserved with the original remains still inside. <\/span>The glass urn, therefore, is not a modern invention\u2014its history in Europe dates back nearly two thousand years.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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From the Vessel to Memory and Light\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In the 3rd and 4th centuries, glass began to serve as a means of preserving a person\u2019s identity as well.<\/i><\/b><\/p>

The technique <\/span>of gold glass\u2014fondi d\u2019oro<\/b> \u2014concealed portraits and symbols between layers of glass. Glass medallions were embedded in the walls of Roman catacombs as <\/span>commemorative markers for graves<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>

In the Middle Ages, the urn receded into the background, but glass did not disappear from the world of memory. It shifted into the sacred realm, <\/span>stained glass and light<\/b>. <\/span>Stone separates spaces. Light passes through glass.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Czech Tradition<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Czech Glass and the Culture of Mourning<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The connection between glass and death has its own unique history in the Czech lands.<\/i><\/b><\/p>

An enameled <\/span>cup of the Poln\u00e1 Funeral Brotherhood from 1691<\/b> is considered the oldest surviving goblet of its kind. It depicts a funeral procession and was part of the rituals of a community that cared for its dead.<\/span><\/p>

In the 19th century, <\/span>Czech black glass<\/b> became part of European mourning culture. A collection of mourning jewelry at the British Museum was likely made in Bohemia and sold in London. <\/span>Bohemian glass helped people publicly express both their loss and their remembrance.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The Transformation of Ritual<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Memory Enters Personal Space<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In the 20th century, monumental funerary art gave way to mass-produced items.<\/i><\/b><\/p>

With the spread of cremation, the ritual became simpler, and where <\/span>art commissions<\/b>, it was often replaced by <\/span>mass-produced funeral goods<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>

Today, the memory of the deceased returns from the cemetery <\/span>home\u2014into an interior, a piece of jewelry, or an art object<\/b>. <\/span>A traditional grave says, \u201cHere lies.\u201d A contemporary memorial object might say, \u201cThey are still with me.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Why Glass?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A material full of contrasts\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Glass is strong yet fragile. It is solid, yet light passes through it.<\/i><\/b><\/p>

It is formed in extreme heat through a slow transformation\u2014just like cremation, it, too, is <\/span>a transformation through fire<\/b>. It can express <\/span>presence and absence, fragility and permanence, loss and continuity<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>

Czech <\/span>Fused glass<\/b> is one of the most demanding disciplines in glassmaking. Figures such as <\/span>Stanislav Libensk\u00fd and Jaroslava Brychtov\u00e1<\/b> have used it to create a globally respected artistic language, which today\u2019s Czech glassmakers continue to build upon.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Glass Soul<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Return of the Funeral Object to the Realm of Art\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Glass Soul isn’t inventing the connection between glass and death. It’s giving it a contemporary form.<\/i><\/b><\/p>

The project features the collaboration of <\/span>prominent Czech artists, glassmakers, sculptors, architects, and designers<\/b>. The result is not mass-produced urns, but <\/span>one-of-a-kind objects<\/b>in which function, sculpture, light, and personal stories converge.<\/span><\/p>

The first major exhibition of the collection took place in 2023 at the <\/span>Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague<\/b> under the title <\/span>Glass Soul. The Return of Funerary Sculpture<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>

Body \u2192 vessel \u2192 symbol \u2192 memory \u2192 presence<\/span><\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDiscover the Glass Soul Collection<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

History Ancient Times Protection of the Dead and Urns Glass has accompanied humanity in moments of death, farewell, and the preservation of memory for more than two thousand years. In ancient Egypt, small glass amuletsthat were placed among the mummy\u2019s bandages. They were not meant to be admired by the living\u2014they were intended to serve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10851","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHistory | Glass Soul<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Take a look behind the scenes at Glass Soul, where the handiwork of Czech glassmakers and other master artisans gives each glass piece its own unique character.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glasssoul.eu\/en\/history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"History | Glass Soul\" \/>\n<meta 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