Legacy in Light: The Story of Czech Glass – Part 2

November 08 2025, by Lucie Kabova, 12 min reading time

Published by Domus Artis

Welcome to the second chapter of our ongoing series exploring the rich heritage of Czech glassmaking. From its historic roots and visionary schools to the sculptural innovations that shaped modern art. Each week, we’ll uncover a new facet of this extraordinary story - the artists, techniques, and timeless beauty that continue to define the Czech Republic’s global reputation for glass artistry.

Follow the journey, and discover how history, craftsmanship, and light come together to create a true Legacy in Light.

From Forest Glass to the Dawn of Bohemian Crystal

In the first chapter of our series, we explored the beginnings of Czech glassmaking deep within the beech forests of Bohemia, where medieval artisans transformed sand, ash, and fire into what became known as “forest glass” (lesní sklo). Its characteristic greenish hue came from iron oxide naturally present in the sand, while small bubbles and impurities reflected the unrefined preparation and early melting techniques of the time. Despite its modest origins, this glass possessed a distinctive charm - functional, durable, and often beautifully decorated. Despite its modest beginnings, this glass possessed a distinctive beauty and utility: durable, tactile, and adorned with raised dots to prevent slipping from greasy fingers.

These forest glassworks, active from the 13th century until the early 18th century, laid the foundations of the Czech glassmaking tradition. Each furnace, often built deep within beech forests, burned only as long as local wood supplies lasted. When the surrounding forest was depleted, the glassmakers moved on, leaving behind traces of their craftsmanship scattered across the Bohemian landscape.

In Bohemia, the production of blue glass colored with cobalt, a byproduct of silver mining, has also been documented. At first, blue glass was used only as a decorative element on green glass, and it was not until the mid-16th century that the production of blue glass was established in our region. From the Venetian glassworks, the technique of making red glass was later introduced as well, which was initially used mainly to decorate clear glass.

1. Goblet with pearl-shaped appliques, 14th century, from the collections of the City of Prague Museum, source: glass.cz, 2. Replica of club-shaped goblet made of green glass with beautiful decoration from Opava. 15th-early 16th century, Silesia, 3. replica lamp is hand-made by Czech glassmakers based on surviving originals from the 13th–14th century. Origin: Bohemia, Prague, 4. Replica of gothic goblet of the Czech type, decorated with small applied ornaments that, besides their decorative function, also ensured a secure grip. A flute-shaped goblet made of forest glass, crafted by Czech glassmakers and adorned with delicate decorative appliqués. Origin: Bohemia, Ústí nad Labem, 5. A highly representative bottle with a wound spiral, intended for wine and other beverages. The replica of this Gothic bottle, made of green glass, was crafted after an original from the 14th century and was primarily found in the region around Plzeň (Pilsen). Its elegant appearance and deep green hue make it a perfect gift for special occasions.Height: 21 cm, source: historickesklo.cz

Turbulence and Renewal: The Hussite Wars

The flourishing of early Bohemian glassmaking was violently interrupted in the 15th century by the Hussite Wars (1419–1434), a period of profound religious and social upheaval that devastated the country’s economic and cultural life. Numerous workshops were destroyed or abandoned, trade routes collapsed, and skilled artisans fled or perished. The once-thriving glassmaking craft nearly disappeared.

However, with the establishment of stability under the Jagiellonian dynasty (1471–1526), the Bohemian lands began to recover. As peace and order returned, glassmaking revived - this time enriched by new influences from neighbouring regions and the Renaissance spirit sweeping across Europe.

1. An early Bohemian engraved baluster goblet, circa 1680-1700. The generous round funnel bowl with spiked gadrooning to the lower part, decorated with a continuous landscape scene depicting an oversized bird and tulip, together with buildings amongst trees, a 'Bohemian' husk border below, resting on a collar above a slender stem with three shoulder knops above a slender inverted baluster, particularly wide merese or bladed knop, terminating in a basal knop, the slightly domed conical foot folded at the footrim edge, 18.2cm high, 2. 17th Century Bohemian Engraved Glass Goblet c1680, 3. A magnificent late 17th century Bohemian engraved wine glass goblet dating to 1680-1700. It has a large round funnel bowl engraved with farm buildings in a forested setting. Flowers and grasses with a large Tullip and flying bird finish the scene. An outstanding example of late 17th century Bohemian workmanship, 4.Crucifixion, a humpen (large drinking glass) decorated with cold painting and engraving, 1614; from the collections of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, source: glass.cz

A Fresh Impulse: Saxon Masters and the Early Renaissance

A new phase in Bohemian glassmaking began in the early 16th century with the arrival of skilled glassmaking families from Saxony, who brought advanced techniques and experience. These families established glassworks primarily in the border regions, rich in forests and natural raw materials essential for production.

Through the first half of the 16th century, Bohemian glassmakers continued to work within the medieval tradition, creating sturdy vessels of forest glass with simple forms and functional beauty. But by the mid-16th century, the influence of the Renaissance became visible in both form and ornamentation.

The morphology of glass objects evolved: new shapes appeared: funnel- and cylinder-shaped beakers, slender goblets, pitchers, jugs, and pilgrimage bottles — reflecting both practicality and elegance. Decorative techniques became more sophisticated, featuring optical décor, mould-blown ornamentation, and hot-shaped details.

Glassmakers also began to introduce bright enamel painting and engraving, decorating vessels with heraldic motifs, and intricate surface patterns. This period saw the emergence of glass as a true artistic medium, no longer confined to utility but celebrated for its aesthetic value.

Venetian Influence and the Rise of Prague as a Glass Centre

While Venetian glass from Murano remained the gold standard of Europe, its fragility, transport costs, and restricted trade created opportunities for Bohemian workshops. Murano glass was famously delicate. Its export over the rugged, uneven roads of Central Europe was both expensive and perilous, and many pieces broke before reaching their destination. Venetian masters also guarded their production secrets with near-religious fervour, preventing the spread of their methods beyond Italy.

Bohemian glassmakers, determined to overcome these barriers, studied imported Venetian glass and successfully replicated its clarity and elegance using local materials such as potash and silica. The result was a unique hybrid: glass that carried Italian grace but with the strength and resilience of the Bohemian tradition.

By the second half of the 16th century, under the reign of Emperor Rudolf II (1576–1612), Prague became one of Europe’s leading artistic capitals, drawing scientists, alchemists, and craftsmen from across the continent. It was here that glassmaking began to merge science, art, and innovation.

Caspar Lehmann and the Art of Engraving

The period of Rudolf II’s court in Prague marked a turning point in the artistic development of Bohemian glass. Among the many talented craftsmen who gathered there was Caspar Lehmann (1563/65–1622), a gem cutter from Dresden appointed as court engraver to the emperor.

Lehmann achieved a major innovation by adapting gemstone glyptics (intaglio carving = deep cut and relief engraving = high cut) to glass, pioneering the use of engraving wheels and diamond tools to carve intricate designs into the surface of glass vessels. His celebrated Lehmann Goblet (1605) — the earliest signed and dated Czech glass artefact - stands as a testament to this breakthrough. This technique of cutting and engraving became one of the defining hallmarks of Bohemian glassmaking, elevating it from decorative craft to fine art.

Under Rudolf’s patronage, Prague’s workshops flourished, fusing Italian sophistication, German precision, and Bohemian creativity into a distinctive Central European style. By the early 17th century, engraved and enamelled glass had become highly sought after among nobles and collectors.

Caspar Lehmann, Goblet with the coats of arms of Wolf Sigmund of Losenstein and Susanna of Rogendorf, and with three allegorical figures, 1605, Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague.

The Path to Bohemian Crystal

In the first half of the 17th century, Bohemian glassmakers continued to follow the Late Renaissance tradition, producing hollowware such as beakers, goblets, jugs, and bottles adorned with optical décor and hot-shaped reliefs. Alongside everyday utility glass, more luxurious pieces inspired by Venetian design began to emerge, delicate yet robust, refined yet expressive.

This evolution set the stage for a monumental innovation: the discovery of potassium-lime glass in the late 17th century. The formula was developed in or around Müller’s glassworks in the Šumava (Bohemian Forest) region, glassmakers developed a new type of clear potassium–lime glass that would later become known as Bohemian crystal - (český křišťál) - renowned for its brilliance and ideal properties for cutting, polishing and engraving. The name “crystal” (from the Greek krystallos, meaning “ice”) reflected its pure, colourless beauty. It also distinguished Bohemian glass from its European counterparts, which were often softer or tinted. In the 1670s, a turning point came in the Bohemian glass tradition. Unlike Venetian soda glass, Bohemian crystal possessed a hardness and brilliance that allowed it to refract light like a gemstone. Silesia emerged as a significant centre of glass production as well, largely thanks to the work of Friedrich Winter and other accomplished engravers.

Its success was immediate and far-reaching. Merchants carried Bohemian crystal across Europe, where it dazzled the courts of Vienna, Paris, and St. Petersburg. Bohemian crystal had not only matched Venetian glass, it had surpassed it, marking the true beginning of Czech glass’s global renown.

The Difference Between Rock Crystal "Horský Křišťál" and Bohemian Crystal

In the rich history of Bohemian craftsmanship, two terms often intertwine: rock crystal - "Horský křišťál" and Bohemian crystal. While both evoke images of pristine clarity and brilliant light, they refer to fundamentally different materials. Understanding this distinction is key to appreciating the unique legacy of Bohemian glassmaking.

Horský křišťál is the Czech term for natural rock crystal, which is the mineral quartz (silicon dioxide) in its purest, most transparent form. This natural mineral was not used to make glass but was the ultimate luxury item and the inspiration for glassmakers. Mined from the mountains of the Bohemian lands, objects carved from this hard, natural stone were highly prized by European royalty during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Emperor Rudolf II in Prague employed master artisans, such as Caspar Lehmann, specifically to carve intricate designs into these rare, naturally occurring stones.

The term "crystal," when applied to glass, originally referred to its resemblance to the natural mineral. Bohemian glassmakers aimed to replicate the brilliance and clarity of rock crystal using local raw materials - silica sand, potash derived from wood ash, and limestone.

The resulting material, perfected in the 17th century, was revolutionary: a colorless, stable glass that was durable enough to be cut, faceted, and engraved using the very same techniques previously reserved for natural gemstones. This innovation created the unique, highly prized style of cut and engraved glass that came to be known as "Bohemian crystal," a material that soon eclipsed Venetian cristallo in popularity across Europe.

A Craft Transformed

From the humble green lesní sklo to the radiant transparency of Bohemian crystal, Czech glassmaking evolved over five centuries, shaped by war, migration, and artistic ambition. By the end of the 17th century, the Bohemian lands had become a European powerhouse of glass artistry, uniting science, design, and cultural heritage into a material that captured light itself.

In the next chapter, we’ll enter the 18th and 19th centuries, when Bohemian crystal conquered the world, adorning royal courts and grand salons, and cementing its place as one of Europe’s most admired artistic traditions.