QUALITIES OF STEUBEN CLASS

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Dinah Murphy
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1 QUALITIES OF ~ STEUBEN CLASS

7he qualities parficular fo Sfrn hc11 Glnss fall within fh e fhrce nrcns of rnaferial, cmffs11rnnsliip, and design. 1 hcy arc flic resulf of sfandards mfl1er f/w 11 secrefs.

2 7he qualities parficular fo Sfrn hc11 Glnss fall within fh e fhrce nrcns of rnaferial, cmffs11rnnsliip, and design. 1 hcy arc flic resulf of sfandards mfl1er f/w 11 secrefs. MATERIAL LOOK INTO THIS STEUBEN C RYSTAL BALL Whal will you sec? Nothing. No discoloration, no seeds, no stones, no cords. Just pure, tran parent crystal- one o f the most difficult things in th world lo a hicvc. Since about 1500 u.c. glass has be n made by healing sand with an alkali, su ha ashes, to help it to melt, an<l with a stabilizer, su ha lime, to keep it together. incc the 17th century the fine t glass, ailed crystal, has been mad with lead as well as sand. Lead gives crystal glass it s brilliance and rcfl clivc quality. olor, air bubbles (seeds), sp ks of for ign matter (<; Lones), or lines (cords) within the crystal will impair it s purity and reduce its brilliance. The Steuben cntcrpri e is built on a glass formula devised by orning Class Works s ienlisl in While experimenting with glass for a technical use, they discovered how to make a rystal of exceeding clarity. With the resources of orning's rcscar hand development behind it, teubcn has never slopped improving upon that formula. It crystal today i vcn more brilliant than its crystal made two year ago. Stcub n buys its sand only from the area where the purest sand has be n found ; but like all ingredient in the formula, even this sand is tested before melting. As little as.05 per cnt iron would lint the crystal gre n. Every two to three years, the Steuben melting furnace is redesigned and rebuilt with custom-made refractory blocks to maintain a constant level of glass quality. The final chamber of the furnace, where the crys tal is stirred to free it from cords, is built of platinum- as are the stirrers. Platinum is one of the few metals that impart no impurities to crystal and can resis t the corrosive effect of the molten glass. Every hour, twenty-four hours a day, samples of crys tal are taken from the furnace to be examined by microscope for purity. Should any foreign matter appear, the glassworkers either make only small objects, from which they can shear off imperfections, or make no objects at all, until the problems are solved. Three times a week, samples of the crystal are examined by X- ray spectroscopy and other chemical tests, because the brilliance of crystal depends on inherent chemical qualities as well as on visual purity. A simple but important safeguard of Steuben purity is a sprinkling system all around the factory. Wetting down the paved driveways and parking lots reduces the danger of a hot glass form being marred by a speck of dust. The continuous search for ways to improve Steuben crystal has raised its index of refraction (a measure of brilliance) loser and closer to that of a diamond. As a result, extraordinary optical effects can be achieved.

3 DESIGN The particular quality of Steuben design originated in 1933, with the then-revolutionary idea of using professionally trained designers. Up to that point, new designs were usually the result of glassmakers' and salesmen's ideas, the former emphasizing the display of their own skills, the latter, the market's association of value with decoration. Steuben's original design staff was chosen from graduates of distinguished schools of architecture and design; they were equipped with a good art library and located in New York City. Working closely with gaffers and their shops during frequent residences in Corning, the designers brought the aesthetic excitement of the 193o's-and successive decades-to the gifted craftsmen in Corning and to their extraordinary crystal. The result was a medium combining excellence in material, craftsmanship, and design, which has attracted distinguished artists since its inception-henri Matisse, Jacob Epstein, and Isamu Noguchi among them. Recent technological advances have made it possible for schools and universities to add glassmaking to the curricula of their art departments. As a result, artists in glass are also now working with Steuben. Combining a firsthand knowledge of forming techniques with the creative disposition of trained artists, they are finding a world of other qualities in Steuben glass.

STUDY HOW THE CRYSTAL IS BLOWN AND SHAPED In the Steuben factory at Corning Glass Center, Corning, New York, you may watch the forming of the molten crystal.

4 STUDY HOW THE CRYSTAL IS BLOWN AND SHAPED In the Steuben factory at Corning Glass Center, Corning, New York, you may watch the forming of the molten crystal. In most factories where glass is still made by hand, crafts men are organized on an assembly-line basis, each carrying out a particular operation in the sequence. In Steuben, a much older system is used: the "gaffer," or master glassmaker, is personally responsible for each piece and is assisted by the other craftsmen in his team. This older system produces fewer pieces per hour, but ensures that each is made by the most skilled of the craftsmen. Each glassmaking team, or "shop," works around its own reheating furnace into which the glass is periodically thrust to maintain its working tempera tu re. On the end of a "blowing iron," the "gatherer" takes molten glass from the furnace, partially shapes it, then passes it to the "servitor." Revolving the glass to prevent sagging, the servitor develops the form before passing it to the gaffer. Together they may transfer it from the blowing iron to a solid " pontil" rod. CRAFTSMANSHIP The gaffer completes the piece, shearing off excess glass, measuring dimensions, and opening or shaping the final form to its designer's specifications. Sometimes small "bits" are gathered and brought to the servitor or gaffer by one or more "bit gatherers"; they also carry finished pieces to the " lehr," where the glass travels on an endless belt through gradually-decreasing temperatures for six to eight hours, or to the "kiln," an oven used for heavy pieces whose slow cooling requires up to five days. This annealing removes internal stresses. After cooling, many designs need further shaping-from the removal of the pontil mark to the cutting away of large masses. Flat forms are ground against successively finer horizontal wheels fed with successively finer abrasives. Complex forms are ground against upright wheels, in the same way. The abrasive action of the grinding and cutting wheels leaves glass rough and gray. After this roughness has been smoothed against wheels fed with pumice powder, cut sections are polished against felt wheels fed with jeweler's rouge to restore the original transparency and luster of the glass. At each stage in its making, the glass is inspected. Examples not matching specifications are eliminated. Flawed crystal pieces made by Steuben are destroyed by Steuben. There are no seconds.

5 LOOK CLOSELY ATA STEUBEN ENGRAVING Look first at the body of B UTT ER~ LY G I RL. It is not in relief (raised) as it appears. It is in intaglio (below the surface) - a three-dimensional concave sculpture engraved into the crystal by copper wheel. Because crystal reflects light it reverses form, so the intaglio appears to the eye as low relief. Look next at a small lock of hair. Each strand is a separate cut made by pressing the crystal against a spinning copper wheel. If you touched the strands, their edges would feel sharp, their curves smooth. This crisp detail is one of the distinguishing marks of good copper-wheel engraving. A Steuben engraver works with about fifty copper wheels of different diameters and widths - all of which he makes with his own hands. His other basic tools are wood, cork, and lead wheels for polishing, abrasives of varying strengths, and a small power lathe. To become a qualified copper-wheel engraver takes six years of apprenticeship: one year to learn lines of all kinds; three to learn human and animal figures, their modeling and shading; and two more to perfect the techniques.

6 STEUBEN GLASS is the outgrowth of a glasshouse established in 1903 in Corning, New York, by Frederick Carder. Named for Steuben County in which the city of Corning lies, it has been a part of Corning Glass Works since In 1933 Steuben was reorganized under the direction of Arthur A. Houghton, Jr., in association with the architect John M. Gates and the sculptor Sidney Waugh. Steuben crystal has been chosen for gifts of state during every presidential administration since that of President Truman. It has been exhibited by such museums as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Palais du Louvre, Paris. A retrospective exhibition, "Steuben, Seventy Years of American Glassmaking," is currently touring major museums of the United States and Canada. Now under the direction of Thomas S. Buechner, Steuben continues to strive for the highest quality in all that it produces. STEUBEN C LASS FIFTH AVENUE AT 56TH STREET NEW YORK, N.Y CORNING GLASS CENTER CORNING, N.Y

Institute of Art; Hermitage Museum, Leningrad; HoAm Art Museum, Seoul; Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo; Metropolitan

Institute of Art; Hermitage Museum, Leningrad; HoAm Art Museum, Seoul; Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo; Metropolitan ABOUT STEUBEN Steuben Glass has been making fine crystal for more than eighty years. It is an organization d edicated to the ideal of excellence in everything it d oes: in the design and makin&.._of its