Preciousness: The Splendour of Glass

Dr Dedo von Kerssenbrock-Krosigk, Head of the glass collection at the Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf
Fragile, emerging from the “dirt” of sand and ashes, and often made very quickly: glass seems to qualify as the opposite of preciousness. Moreover, having been used since about 1500 BC for imitating precious stones, it attained a poor and lasting reputation as a cheap ersatz. The aim of this presentation is to show the other side of this highly ambivalent material. To this day, the making of glass remains a challenging technological accomplishment that competes with nature, and its proverbial brittleness as well as its useful properties have made it at times a particularly conspicuous expression of luxury. Exploring the splendour of glass with a limited number of spotlights through the ages allows for close, if narrow views into the changes of mentalities and perceptions.