How Old Is Glass?

The oldest specimen of pure glass bearing anything Hke a date is ft linie molded lion's heftd, bearing the name of an Egypüan King of the eleventh dynasty, in the Slade collection at the British Museum. That is to aay, at a period which may be moderately placed at more tlnin 2,000 years 15. C. glass was not only made, but made with a skill which shows that the art was nothing new. The invention of glnzing pottery with a film of varnish of glass is so old that among the fragmenta which bear inscrtptions of the early Egyptian monarchy are beads possibjy of the lirst dynasty. Of later gfass there are numero;is examples, Buch as a bad bead found at Thebes, which ms the n:une of Queen lialasoo, or liaspcp, of tne eighteenth dyuasty. Of tlie same period are vases and goblets and many fraginents. It cannot be doubted that the story preparéd by Flffiy, which assigns tlie eredit of the invention to the Plucuicians, is so far true that tliose adventiirous mcrchants lirought specimens toot her rmintiies froin Egj'pt. Dr. Schliemann found disks of glass in the excavatiop.8 at Mycena;, though Homer does not méntion it as a snbstauce known to him. Thtrt Ihc modern art of tho glass blower was known long before iu certain from represent ations among the picture on the walls of a tomb at Beai Hassan, of the twelfth dynasty ; but a mueli older pieture, which probably represented the same manufaeture, is among the half-obüterated scènes in a ohaniber of the tomb of ïhy, at Shakkara, and dates from the time of the fifth dynasty. - a time so remote tliat it is not possible, in spite of the assidúoua researches of many Egyptologers, to give it a date in years.