Glass has at all times been a favorite material for vases. Small toilet-phials of opaque glass were in use in Egypt as far back as 1130 B.C. The cameo vases of Rome, of which the Portland vase is the most celebrated example, were composed of two layers of glass, the outer of which, being opaque, was cut down into groups of figures, delicately executed in relief. About the 3d c., we have, for the first time, the d:atiteta, or bored vases, with an external veil or network, almost detached from the rest of the glass. In the 5th c. occur vases composed of two layers of glass, with gilded subjects—often figures of Christ and legends of saints—between them. Vases of green glass, of a later period, with undercut projections, bearing a rude resemblance to the diatreta, have been found in tombs in England and France. Venice afterward acquired great celebrity for its glass vases. Iu the beginning of the lfith c., the Venetian glass-makers introduced a class of vases enriched with white or colored tiligr,te work, having the appearance of being incrusted in the glass. They were much sought after all over Europe; and great care was taken to prevent the secret of their manufacture from being discovered. Beautifully enameled vases were also issued from the Venetian manufactories, as well as others of grotesque forms, representing imaginary animals, and pierced with holes or constructed in the form of a siphon, which are said to have been employed by alchem ists, and in pharmacy and distillation. The German manufacturers. in the 15th e.,
prodneed vases with heraldic designs and inscriptions in enamel, generally cylindrical, and sometimes of considerable size, which are much prized by connoisseurs; in the. following century, the designs became more artistic; and both in Germany and Italy, it was quite usual for distinguished artists to he employed to decorate these glass vases, in imitation of rock crystal, with ornaments, arabesques, and engraved subjects.
The most prevalent material for vases of all kinds, including those intended to hold the ashes of the dead, has generally been baked clay. Multitudes of Greek sepulchral vases have, after a lapse of more than fifteen centuries, been brought to light, at a time when learned men can appreciate them, and gather from them valuable information in history and archaeology. An account of the terra-cotta vases of Greece, Italy, and other countries is given under POTTERY.