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Why did Venetian cristallo require glassblowers to work quickly and skillfully?
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glassware
Fish of core-made glass with “combed” decoration, Egyptian, New Kingdom, 18th dynasty (c. 1363–46 bc). In the British Museum. 0.141 m × .069 m.
Venetian cristallo was a clear, colourless glass manufactured using soda, which made the material highly ductile but caused it to cool and harden very quickly. Because of these physical properties, glassblowers were required to work with great speed and dexterity to shape the material before it lost its malleability. This necessity for rapid execution directly influenced the aesthetic nature of the glassware produced, leading to the development of both austere, simple forms and, as techniques advanced, increasingly elaborate and fantastic designs.1