Blowing

Blowing was technique which revolutionised glass production around the middle of the 1st century AD, rendering the production of glass containers a fast and economical process, and as a consequence promoting their spread amongst the less well-off. Blowing was invented in the Syrian-Palestinian area and became a common method in the first half of the 1st century AD.

Initially there was no blow pipe but a hollow glass rod which was closed at one end and shaped in that area in the shape of a nozzle, while the glassworker blew from the other end. So the shaped object was removed from the rest of the glass rod.

The adoption of a metal rod increased the productive range and rendered the glassworker's job easier. One end of the metal rod was inserted in the crucible containing the incandescent glass to take the required amount. Then the glassworker blew carefully from the other end.