The first glassblowing workshops were set up in Syria, Palestine and Cyprus, and were renowned for creating multi-panelled blown-glass vessels that were complex in their shapes and decorative motifs.
THE PROCESSES INVOLVED in bead making have continued to progress over the centuries. Even to this day, new techniques and materials are being developed in order to provide new and exciting beads to people, no matter what their social standing is. In this article, Sarah Ezzy-Dickson follows the evolution of bead making into more recent times.
Bead makers of the Roman Empire (200 BC to 500 AD) were usually local artisans who relied heavily on ancient bead making techniques and existing trade routes – the latter of which allowed them to move their goods around the known world easily, leaving considerable amounts of Roman era beads in areas scattered around the globe.
