Artisan Jewelry Made with Ancient Roman Glass and Sterling Silver
Every piece of Designer jewelry is personal. Can you feel a person behind this one? My name is Michal Kirat. I hope that with the time you will become familiar with the jewelry I design.T his shop is dedicated to my love and fascination for Ancient Roman Glass.
Roman glass is a magnificent creation, a marriage of man and nature. It's colored remind me of Spring and the Ocean.
It was a long way for the Roman glass before it became a centerpiece of my jewelry. Glass making was invented in the ancient times, well before the Roman Empire. It has a very long history since approximately 1500 BCE colored glass was made in Egypt and Syria (Mesopotamian Empire). Romans absorbed the technologies of the people they conquered, modified them and made them their own. “Roman” glass blowing techniques were further developed and spread. With the invention of the blowing pipe technique, glass making was completely modernized and glass could be freely shaped by hand. Glass bottles were widespread in the ancient Roman Empire and used for oil, perfume, kohl and a whole range of other cosmetics, medicines, and ointments. It was also affordable for middle-class citizens and large quantities of glassware were made.
What is no less exciting about Roman glass than the craft and secrets of its making is the transformation that happened to it while buried in the soil of Israel As you might know glass intend to break. Earthquakes happen often in this area, some of them very strong, like the one that destroyed a large number of cities and villages at the beginning of the CE. Either used and broken by people or by forces of nature shards of Roman glassware became buried and long forgotten by people. But different kind of nature forces went on working on it with great patience, slowly and gradually bringing a completely new look to the glass. Hot days and cold nights, moist winter and extremely dry summer cooked and fused some elements of Israeli soil into the body of the glass The Artist – Nature - never rested. It created a unique wrapping of many thin, iridescent layers of silica, called "patina". Each fragment of glass went through its own individual changes in color and shape.
Those who unearthed the Roman glass shards in the 1970s in Israel were amazed at how beautiful it looked It was about this time when few creative designers in the Old Jaffa understood that a unique jewelry could be done using Roman glass pieces And the glass must be a centerpiece indeed.B ut Roman glass is a very fragile and delicate material. Very few craftsmen reached the level of Art where they gained the sensitivity and understanding of this precious gift of Nature. Just look how special the Roman glass is – the colors, the texture – it does tell its own story of the long journey (2000 years long for some ) until it has reached you. Trust me when I say that if you choose to get a Roman glass piece – it should be for a reason. It is also a fact that today the Art of Roman glass jewelry making is a secret well kept by a small number of gifted Craftsmen.
During my years of working with Roman glass, I noticed that there is an undeniable connection between Freshwater Pearls and Roman glass. The two could exist side by side on the piece of jewelry, creating a harmonious combination. Both made by water and sand...The colors complement each other so naturally and effortlessly...Many of my bestselling designs explore this direction – combining Roman glass, Freshwater Pearls and sterling silver. It is my third decade of designing jewelry and I still use the Ancient Roman glass as a centerpiece of my jewelry – it never fails to amaze and inspire. I hope to share with you my love and fascination with this unique material.
Thank you
Michal Kirat
