The Javorniki Glassworks

Forest glassworks of the early 19th century are regarded as a predecessor of industrial glass production. Though their output was significant, documented products of forest glassworks are scarce. A comparative analytical study is made for three series of glass products: a series donated to the present Narodni muzej Slovenije (National Museum of Slovenia) in 1834 by entrepreneur Sigismund Pagliaruzzi, a series of similar or approximately contemporaneous glass objects, and a series of glass fragments from the location of the Pagliaruzzi forest glassworks located in the wooden massif of Javorniki in Slovenia. The analysis confirms matching composition and also reveals some other technical details, such as occasional use of imported soda.