Glass production on the Lava factories

Abstract

This article describes the finds (glass pieces, byproducts, fragments of items) discovered on the site of former Lava factories, which were initially owned by V. Elmsel (1730), and in 1738 passed to the public coffers. Factories on the Lava River manufactured window glass by casting on a metal plate, as well as hot-glass items and window glass using lunar method. The glass composition and color varied: ash matter (“Cherkass glass”) was green; and potash glass was pale blue or grayish hue, discolored with cobalt and manganese. The factory also produced blue glass painted with cobalt. The analysis is conducted on the document that contains the order of the Palace Chancellery for manufacturing glass items on the Lava factories. The scientific novelty consists in the following: establishment of the location of glass factories on the Lava River; systematization of the finds and conclusion on hot and cold glass manufacturing techniques; description of the discovered fragments of glassware, mirror and window glass in comparison with similar items preserved in the museum collections and found during the archaeological excavations in Moscow; description of cooperation of Lava factories with the Saint Petersburg glass factory in execution of the Palace. The conducted research allows attributing certain items stored in the private and museum collections to the items manufactures by Lava factories. The author concludes on the need for archaeological excavations on the site of Lava factories.