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ROMANTIC 19th CENTURY GLASS

The crisis did not abate until the 1820's when foreign markets were made accessible again and a new stage of prosperity began following the signing of the peace treaty in 1815. Coloured glass was becoming more and more popular. Glass makers in the Czech lands began to experiment with new types of coloured glass materials and refining technologies. Northern Bohemia contributed to these new developments, especially through its outstanding glass technologist, Friedrich Egermann (1777-1864). Egermann, originally trained as a glass painter, opened his own studios in Polevsko, and later in Nový Bor, where he invented and developed a number of methods which were a substantial contribution to an upsurge of local glass making tradition and to growing exports. His first inventions in the field of decorated glass were: matted, so-called agate, glass combined with fine painting; and biscuit and mother-of-pearl enamels, both developed in 1824. Egermann's studio cooperated with the best glass decorators of that time, and served as a model that stimulated the rise in the quality of glass blown in the Nový Bor region. In 1818, Egermann introduced yellow staining: i.e. colouring of the glass surface with ions of silver. In 1820, Egermann developed so-called lithyaline, which was a new type of multi-coloured glass similar to precious stones. This glass was later produced and decorated with great success throughout the entire area. However, he made his most important discovery in 1834 when he introduced red staining (colouring with ions of copper). Staining decorated mainly by engraving and cutting soon became one of the popular methods that were characteristic of Nový Bor production. This method has been used up to the present time. Egermann himself was a recognised professional. Even though his inventions spread quickly, his own studio in Nový Bor remained among the most successful glassworks in the region.



In the 19th century the popularity of engraved glass came back. The glass engravers around Nový Bor and Kamenický Šenov attained great mastery, and many of them asserted their skills abroad, for instance in France, England, and Sweden. In the second half of the 19th century, the best masters came together in a famous refinery workshop erected in Kamenický Šenov by Ludwig Lobmeyr, a Viennese businessman. Regardless of the customers' changing demands and tastes, local products continued to be made with the use of traditional methods from the first half of the century, such as refining by means of various painting techniques, staining, cutting, and engraving. Inevitably, glass from Northern Bohemia lost its prominent status, as well as influence, with the world's glass industry.


The second half of the 19th century was further marked by the establishment of the first schools of glass . The school of glass founded in 1856 in Kamenický Šenov is considered to be the oldest institution of its type in Europe. Somewhat later, namely in 1870, a similar school was opened in Nový Bor, following in the footsteps of a no-longer existing Piaristic college, the members of whose Order had aimed their pedagogical activities toward economics and the glass industry since the last third of the 18th century. Both schools were strong advocates and propagators of new artistic views on glass, thus shaping the orientation of the local industry. In these schools the education has continued until now.

The preservation of the traditional production of glass in this region is in the hands of the Museums of Glass in Nový Bor and Kamenický Šenov. The former was established in 1893, gathering the collections of local glassmakers and traders. Today, this museum - located in the town square -, offers a rich collection of glass refined through the use of local traditional methods. The Museum of Glass in Kamenický Šenov was founded between the two world wars. Its main mission is to document the development of, and to present, cut and engraved glass from this area, as well as from the production of the Viennese firm, Lobmeyr. Every three years this museum hosts a symposium on engraved glass.

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