Bohemia.com.au
Title
Bohemia Crystal
Description
Natural mountain crystal may be found in the hollows of rock formations. It is a semiprecious stone of great hardness. It is constantly cool to the touch and therefore makes a poor heat conductor. Because of its resemblance to ice, the stone became known as 'crystal' after the Greek word for ice.
Glass is known to have been produced 6,000 years ago and early developers were the Greeks, Egyptians Roman and Chinese empires. In the 13th century glassware became a thriving industry, primarily in Venice. By the 1500's high quality coloured glass became known throughout the world as 'Venetian glass'. By the 1600 the French and Germans were producing with the Germans adding potash and lime to the basic ingredients and calling the product 'Bohemian Glass'. The English added lead oxide giving sparkle, weight and ring.
The Czech glass industry has been producing domestic glass for over 600 years and are regarded as the pioneers and masters of cut and etched glass and crystal.
