Glass containers began to appear in the Han Dynasty, such as glass plates with a diameter of over 19 centimeters and glass ear cups with a length of 13.5 centimeters and a width of 10.6 centimeters unearthed from the tomb of Liu Sheng in Mancheng, Hebei. During the Han Dynasty, transportation between China and the West was developed, and foreign glass was likely to be introduced to China. Three pieces of purple and white glass fragments were unearthed from an Eastern Han tomb in Qiongjiang County, Jiangsu Province. After restoration, they were a flat bottomed bowl decorated with convex ribs, and their composition, shape, and tire stirring techniques were all typical Roman glassware. This is physical evidence of the introduction of Western glass to China. In addition, blue flat glass plaques have also been unearthed from the tomb of the King of Nanyue in Guangzhou, which have not been seen in other parts of China.
During the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, a large amount of Western glassware was imported into China, and the technique of blowing glass was also introduced. Due to innovative changes in composition and technology, the glass container at this time was larger, the walls were thinner, and transparent and smooth. Glass convex lenses were also unearthed from the ancestral tomb of Cao Cao in Bo County, Anhui Province; Glass bottles were unearthed at the base of the Northern Wei Buddha Pagoda in Dingxian, Hebei Province; Many polished glass cups have also been unearthed from the Eastern Jin Dynasty tomb in Xiangshan, Nanjing, Jiangsu. The most exciting thing is the glass ware unearthed from the Sui Li Jingxun Tomb in Xi’an, Shaanxi. There are a total of 8 pieces, including flat bottles, round bottles, boxes, egg-shaped vessels, tubular vessels, and cups, all of which are intact.
During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the shape of glass objects increased, and in addition to decorations such as tubes and beads, wall shaped objects, as well as sword tubes, sword ears, and sword knives, were also discovered; Glass seals have also been unearthed in Sichuan and Hunan. At this time, the texture of the glassware is relatively pure, and the colors are
White, light green, cream yellow, and blue; Some glass beads are also colored to resemble dragonfly eyes, such as 73 dragonfly eye shaped glass beads, each about one centimeter in diameter, unearthed from the tomb of Zeng Marquis Yi in Suixian, Hubei. White and brown glass patterns are embedded on the blue glass sphere. The academic community once analyzed the composition of glass beads and glass walls in the middle and late Warring States period, and found that these glassware were mostly composed of lead oxide and barium oxide, which were not the same as the ancient glass composition in Europe, West Asia, and North Africa. Therefore, the academic community believed that they may have been made locally in China.
Post time: Aug-23-2023