I envy you your trip
.
Yes, in general, modern manufacturing techniques have taken over, however, there are still companies making stained glass in more traditional ways........these days the most common is large mouth blown cylinders which have the top and bottom removed and are then "cut" down one side allowing the cylinder to flatten out when re-heated. Glass made this way carries all the "imperfections" inherent in the process......virtually any glass made before float glass was developed in the '50s will show variations in thickness, etc.
The guide's opinion regarding "real" s/glass is unfortunate.............take this from someone who studied traditional kiln fired stained glass "painting", warm glass techniques, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shark Bait
In 2005 I visited Ireland with my Wife. Some of the stained glass in the old cathedrals was many hundreds of years old.
According to the information provided by one of the Dublin cathedral guides, the old stained glass making skills have been replaced by modern glass manufacturing techniques that cannot be considered to be 'real' stained glass.
To my untrained eye, the finished product still looks the same excepting that modern glass looks smoother when compared to the very old examples. The skill that goes into this work is obviously high.
Why would modern glass not be considered to be at the same or even higher quality compared to some of the old cathedral stained glass?
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