Published by Domus Artis

Welcome to the third 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.

Czech Glassmaking in the 18th century

As the Baroque era swept across Europe, art and craftsmanship flourished and with them, the Czech lands entered their most radiant period of glassmaking. What had once been a humble craft now evolved into a symbol of luxury, intellect, and identity: Bohemian crystal.

Cristallo and Bohemian Crystal - Two Worlds of Light

For centuries, Venetian glassmakers had set the European standard with their cristallo - a clear, soda-based glass known for its long working time and the ability to create elegant, complex shapes. Yet in the heart of Bohemia, glassmakers developed their own innovation. By using potassium, they created a harder, denser, and more brilliant material - Bohemian crystal. Bohemian glassmakers primarily used potash - potassium carbonate and chalk -calcium carbonate, with the resulting glass having a very low or negligible amount of sodium - soda. The crucial difference from the Venetian method was the specific use of abundant local wood ash, especially from beech, as the flux source, which is rich in potassium and calcium compounds and contains very little sodium. In contrast, Venetian cristallo was a soda-lime glass, relying on sodium-rich plant ash from coastal areas as its primary flux.

While this new Bohemian crystal glass cooled faster and demanded swift craftsmanship, it possessed a unique advantage: it could be engraved, cut, and polished with unparalleled precision. This characteristic aligned perfectly with the Baroque taste for intricate motifs, mythological figures, and heraldic emblems, floral motifs etc. By the early 18th century, Bohemian glass had not only rivalled Venetian cristallo - it had surpassed it, reshaping Europe’s perception of luxury. Delicate, hand-blown Murano glass decanters in deep cobalt and crystal hues — a luminous expression of 18th-century Venetian mastery.

The Engraver’s Art – From Fire to Ornament

As the Baroque aesthetic embraced ornamentation and movement, glass engraving reached new heights. Bohemian artisans, masters of precision, transformed blank crystal into miniature sculptures in light. Their burins etched hunting scenes, pastoral landscapes, allegorical figures, and coats of arms, creating an interplay of transparency and shadow that mirrored the grandeur of palace frescoes and tapestries.

Silesian workshops became renowned for the cameo gravure technique - a form of relief engraving that allowed motifs to emerge sculpturally from the surface of glass. This process, a variation of the traditional carved cameo, gave Bohemian crystal its distinctive “living depth.”

An engraver would first carve a miniature portrait or ornamental design, from which a ceramic-type cameo was cast. This delicate medallion was then encased within a glass vessel, often a paperweight. The result was a fascinating optical effect - a fourfold reflection of the carving, suspended within transparent crystal like a captured moment in time.

Technically complex and artistically daring, this process produced some of the most coveted pieces of its age. Each vessel, from a goblet to a pitcher, became not merely functional but a work of devotion and mastery, admired by Europe’s most discerning collectors

The Story of Milk Glass – Origins and Bohemian Adoption

Milk glass* - known in Italian as lattimo (from latte, meaning milk in Italian), was developed in Venice (specifically on the island of Murano) in the 15th century and reached its peak in the 16th century, at the height of Europe’s early porcelain fever. Porcelain, newly introduced from China and later developed in Meissen, was the most coveted material among royal courts. Venetian glassmakers, ever inventive, sought to reproduce its soft translucence in glass.

By introducing opacifying agents such as tin oxide or bone ash into molten glass, they achieved a delicate, velvety whiteness that reflected rather than transmitted light. The result was lattimo - an opaque white glass that mimicked porcelain’s quiet glow while retaining the malleability and brilliance of glass. These techniques were kept secret in Venice to maintain the market dominance.

By the mid-18th century, this Venetian innovation had spread across Europe. In the Bohemian lands, where glassmaking already flourished, artisans adopted and refined the technique to align with evolving aesthetic tastes, from the grandeur of the late Baroque to the intimacy of Rococo and the order of early Neoclassicism.

On these milky white surfaces, Bohemian artists applied delicate enamel paintings, often depicting floral garlands, pastoral scenes, and chinoiserie motifs, accented with schwarzlot (black enamel linework) and gilded ornamentation. These decorations mirrored the decorative language of the era’s porcelain, yet in glass they gained a unique luminosity: softer, yet more enduring.

*Milk glass is a subset of opaque white glass: The term originally referred to opaque white glass but has evolved to include a wider variety of colors and opacities.

1. Dish, opal glass, venecia, first half of 18th century, source: artistoric.com 2. 18ths century Bohemian tankard, 1770, source: liveauctioneers.com 3. 18th Century 'milchglas' Bohemian tureen. The cover, bowl, and stand of this antique Bohemian tureen are crafted entirely in 'milchglas,' an opaque glass with an appearance similar to porcelain. The tureen is painted all over with vignettes of fêtes galantes as well as floral arrangements and is parcel gilt to the rims and finial, source: firstdibst.com 4. Late 18th century Bohemian opaline bottles with white backgrounds painted in polychrome with characters dressed in the Directoire style against a background of river landscapes with towns. The original silver and cork stoppers are topped with a ring, sorurce: anticstore.art

The Art of Zwischengoldgläser: Gold Captured in Glass

Bohemian glassmakers integrated lattimo within a broader artistic repertoire that included engraved crystal and Zwischengoldgläser - the technique of double-walled glass with gold leaf (or silver) decoration inserted between the layers was another specialized form of decoration used in Bohemia and Germany, showcasing the region's diverse skillset. The technique was used in the Roman Empire, and examples have been found in Roman catacombs dating to the 3rd century AD. In this process, a gold leaf design was applied to the bottom of a glass and then a disc of glass was fused to the inside bottom to seal it. In the 18th-century technique, two glass vessels were crafted — one slightly smaller than the other. A thin sheet of gold leaf was applied to the outer surface of the inner vessel, upon which a decorative design was carefully incised. The smaller glass was then inserted into the larger one and sealed with a transparent cement, creating a single, elegant form with the gold decoration preserved between the two layers.

Through the trading hubs of Kamenický Šenov and Nový Bor, these luminous creations reached palaces and salons across Europe, admired for their artistry and refinement. What had begun as imitation evolved, in Bohemia’s hands, into a distinct expression of Central European elegance, a fusion of science, light, and design that continues to inspire glass artists today.

1.Bohemian goblet, c. 1730, Zwischengoldglass, source: metmuseum.org 2. Double walled glass decorated with a gold foil, around 1730, Bohemia. A cup, the so-called "double-walled", composed of two faceted cut glasses inserted into each other, between which is inserted a gold foil with a scratched drawing with the theme of chamois hunting. Double-walled glass made of colorless crystal was produced around 1730, probably in northern Bohemia, source: antiqueprague.cz 3. Double-walled Covered Goblet with Allegory of the Four Seasons 1730-40 Bohemia, source: suntory.com 4. Bottle with Painted Hunting Scene1725-30, source: suntory.com

The Global Stage – Bohemian Glass and the World

By the early 1700s, Bohemian crystal had conquered European markets. From Louis XV’s Versailles to Empress Maria Theresa’s Vienna, it became the centerpiece of royal tables and ballrooms. Majestic chandeliers with cut crystal pendants illuminated the salons of Paris, St. Petersburg, and London.

Behind this success were visionary traders such as G. F. Kreybich of Kamenický Šenov, who embarked on over thirty trade journeys, establishing networks that reached as far as Russia, England, and America. These merchants elevated Bohemian glass to the rank of jewellery - a cultural ambassador of Czech artistry.

The Hall of Mirros at Versaille features 43 Bohemian glass chandeliers installed late in the 18th century during the reign of Louis XV., source: mayfairgallery.com

Harrachov – The Living Chronicle of Czech Glass

Among the historic glassworks that defined this golden age, Harrachov Glassworks stands as a living monument. Founded in 1712, it remains the oldest continuously operating glassworks in the world. Within its archives lies the legendary Harrachov Collection — over five thousand masterpieces, once hidden during World War II and rediscovered decades later. Each piece documents the evolving tastes, chemistry, and artistry of Czech glassmaking through the centuries.

The factory still uses traditional methods, including a unique, functional, century-old grinding plant powered by a water turbine, which has been declared a national technical monument.

The Harrachov glassworks (past and present), founded cca in 1712 by Antonin Harrach Rohrau. While glassmaking existed in the area ealier, this date marks the founding of the specific glassworks that woudl become known as Harrachov Glassworks, source: vocal.media/history

From the Baroque Furnace to Modern Light

The close of the 18th century marked a turning point for Bohemian glassmaking. After decades of unrivalled prestige, the industry faced profound challenges: wars, disrupted trade routes, and shifting artistic tastes. The rise of English lead glass, celebrated for its brilliance and clarity, introduced new competition, while the Neoclassical style replaced Rococo ornamentation with a preference for harmony, proportion, and restraint.

Yet the glassmakers of Bohemia adapted with characteristic ingenuity. They focused their mastery on chandeliers, mirrors, and luxury decorative pieces, which became essential elements of aristocratic interiors across Europe. Far from fading, Czech craftsmanship evolved, embracing both tradition and experiment.

As the 19th century approached, new innovations began to emerge. Artisans explored advanced colouring techniques and surface treatments, giving rise to extraordinary materials such as Hyalith - an opaque glass in deep black or red tones and Lithyalin, whose marbled surface imitated the texture and depth of semi-precious stones. These creations reflected not decline, but transformation - evidence that Bohemian glassmaking was entering a new, creative era defined by experimentation and artistry.

What endured beyond all change was the spirit of the craft itself: a devotion to precision, imagination, and beauty forged in fire. The glassmakers of Bohemia turned chemistry into art, and light into legacy, a legacy that continues to illuminate the world today.

In our next chapter, we step into the 19th century - an age of industrial innovation, artistic reinvention, and the birth of modern Czech glass design.

1. Bohemian enameled glass vase with greeting to Charles IV from the late 18th century.2. Bohemian enameled glass vase with two doves on a heart from the 18th century. 3. Bohemian enameled glass vase from the 18th century. 4. Bohemian enameled glass jars from the 18th century. One with plant decoration and the other with a harlequin. The second retains its pewter stopper. To the right “tankard” (typical Central European jug with lid) also enameled andwith a pewter cover, but from the 17th century, source: balclis.com

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Blog Bohemian glass Czech glassmaking History of Czech Glassmaking Legacy in Light: The Story of Czech Glass legacy of Czech glassmaking Part 3

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