Bihag . Glass Jewellery ☼ Royal Affair Of A Pomegranate ~ 16

Firozabad is situated in the west of Uttar Pradesh. This industrial town of Uttar Pradesh, very popularly called the ‘Glass City of India’ is a renowned name in the business. Firozabad was initially known as Chandwarnagar. The town however derived its name after it was given as an estate to Firoz Shah who happened to be a general in Akbar’s court. During this period, many glass articles were brought to this region. A few when rejected were melted and moulded in local furnaces. And that marked the beginning of glass industry in Firozabad. The industry here received patronage during the Mughal era and the town developed into a glass-making centre, manufacturing lamps, chandeliers, trinkets for the royal courts. Since then it remains to be the fabric of the lifestyle of people in and around here. So much that, Firozabad is known as the mecca of ‘all things glass’ and it flaunts its craftsmanship from fancy bangles and wine glasses to pretty flower vases, all size candle stands, princely chandeliers and cut glass table lamps. Bangle crafting and glass works have been its economic lifeline for the last 700 years.

Presence of glass is documented in India since 2000 B.C by archaeological excavations. Literary evidence of Glass Kanch or Kaca (Sanskrit) can be found in the ancient texts going back to 1200 B.C. Ancient Indian glass-makers had adequate expertise in the fabrication of beads, bangles and a few other types. Since the 15th century, Firozabad has been the home of glass industry, white and colored Glass pieces were being manufactured for the purpose of assembling, jhad and fanus (chandeliers) which were in demand by royal courts and palaces.

The process involves following raw material & tools Soda lime and Borosilicate glass pipes – solid or hollow, Various dyes and tools for shaping, cutting, designing, measurement tools like Vernier caliper,Annealing tools and equipments, torch and a small setup of a working Table&LPG gas cylinder.

Borosilicate glass is a type of glass with silica and boron trioxide as the main glass-forming constituents.  It is known for having very low coefficients of thermal expansion, making them resistant to thermal shock, more so than any other common glass. Borosilicate glass has a wide variety of uses ranging from cookware to lab equipment, as well as artists create a range of products such as jewelry, kitchenware, sculpture, as well as for artistic glass smoking pipes. Borosilicate glass is available in the market in the form of rods , tubes and sometimes as chunks of glass.