The Morphology Of Weathering On Historical Glasses

Weathering takes on many different forms on historical glasses. These depend on controlling factors of two sorts: those that relate to intrinsic properties of the glasses or objects, and those that have more to do with the environments to which the objects are exposed. The main villain is usually moisture and the major controlling factor is usually chemical composition. The morphology of weathering is described through illustrations of recurring types of weathering. Illustrative examples are selected of Egyptian and Mesopotamian glasses, Hellenistic, Roman, Islamic, Byzantine and Western Medieval glasses, including stained glass windows, East Asian glasses, and glasses from underwater excavations.