Page 149 - Lazar, Irena. 2022. Pogled skozi steklo / A Look Through the Glass. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem. Libri universitatis hereditati, 1
P. 149
ure 67: Rectangular and circular mirrors The cargo from Gnalić gives an opportuni- the glass from the gnalič wreck 149
(photo: Tomaž Lauko). ty to study not only the typology and chronolo-
Slika 67: Pravokotna in okrogla ogledala gy of the Renaissance glass but also the organisa-
(foto: Tomaž Lauko). tion of trade and transport. It is most likely that
the ship was conducting point-to-point trade.
was collected from the sea bed. They were found The entire cargo was loaded at a single point of
together, on a pile, and put in a vessel. Their origin and offloaded at its final destination–the
weight exceeds 2 kilograms. These beads were complex loading of such a ship with this vol-
not yet evaluated and researched. More or less, ume and variety of cargo (Gnalić 2004) would
these are miniature glass objects since their di- suggest that picking up and offloading at many
ameter and length are no larger than 1 cm (fig- points along the coast would be unrealistic. The
ure/slika 68). Their form is circular, oval and diverse nature of the cargo would suggest that
elongated, and they are made of coloured (red, while the ship may have been loaded at a single
green, blue, yellow) or colourless glass, and deco- port, its cargo was collected from different man-
rated with glass threads in contrasting or white ufacturing centres.
colours. The new research and sorting of the finds
in 2017 determined that 76 types of beads were The glass discovered on a seabed in some
found on the ship (Radić Rossi and Batur, 2020, areas retained evidence of its original contain-
537). Since our information about their discov- ers and storage for the voyage. Woven baskets,
ery is lacking, we can not presume or conclude straw padding and wood boxes all provide infor-
whether they were transported as jewellery or as mation about the packing and transport of the
individual items. finished glass products. The more elaborate, and
of course valuable, items were packed in wood-
en boxes and as we may assume carefully stored
in the lower hold of the ship. Common forms,
which were transported in great numbers (such
as the varieties of simple beaker and goblet–
forms S1 and S2) were discovered in woven bas-
kets many meters away from the perimeter of the
ship. It therefore can be suggested that they were
not so carefully stored and perhaps during the
course of the shipwreck even intentionally jetti-
soned from the ship. The window glass and mir-
rors were carefully packed with layers of straw
placed between the sheets and then most prob-
ably placed into wooden chests.
The variety of glass goods onboard, with
vessels for everyday use like footed goblets, dec-
orative table display wares including vases and
half-finished products like the mirror glass
plates, suggests they were intended for a range
of different markets. But, some small groups of
speciality glass items, such as the small coloured
bowls and coloured bottles may well have been
packed for delivery to a particular customer.
The intended market is also a matter of spec-
ulation. As far as the glass is concerned, most of
(photo: Tomaž Lauko). ty to study not only the typology and chronolo-
Slika 67: Pravokotna in okrogla ogledala gy of the Renaissance glass but also the organisa-
(foto: Tomaž Lauko). tion of trade and transport. It is most likely that
the ship was conducting point-to-point trade.
was collected from the sea bed. They were found The entire cargo was loaded at a single point of
together, on a pile, and put in a vessel. Their origin and offloaded at its final destination–the
weight exceeds 2 kilograms. These beads were complex loading of such a ship with this vol-
not yet evaluated and researched. More or less, ume and variety of cargo (Gnalić 2004) would
these are miniature glass objects since their di- suggest that picking up and offloading at many
ameter and length are no larger than 1 cm (fig- points along the coast would be unrealistic. The
ure/slika 68). Their form is circular, oval and diverse nature of the cargo would suggest that
elongated, and they are made of coloured (red, while the ship may have been loaded at a single
green, blue, yellow) or colourless glass, and deco- port, its cargo was collected from different man-
rated with glass threads in contrasting or white ufacturing centres.
colours. The new research and sorting of the finds
in 2017 determined that 76 types of beads were The glass discovered on a seabed in some
found on the ship (Radić Rossi and Batur, 2020, areas retained evidence of its original contain-
537). Since our information about their discov- ers and storage for the voyage. Woven baskets,
ery is lacking, we can not presume or conclude straw padding and wood boxes all provide infor-
whether they were transported as jewellery or as mation about the packing and transport of the
individual items. finished glass products. The more elaborate, and
of course valuable, items were packed in wood-
en boxes and as we may assume carefully stored
in the lower hold of the ship. Common forms,
which were transported in great numbers (such
as the varieties of simple beaker and goblet–
forms S1 and S2) were discovered in woven bas-
kets many meters away from the perimeter of the
ship. It therefore can be suggested that they were
not so carefully stored and perhaps during the
course of the shipwreck even intentionally jetti-
soned from the ship. The window glass and mir-
rors were carefully packed with layers of straw
placed between the sheets and then most prob-
ably placed into wooden chests.
The variety of glass goods onboard, with
vessels for everyday use like footed goblets, dec-
orative table display wares including vases and
half-finished products like the mirror glass
plates, suggests they were intended for a range
of different markets. But, some small groups of
speciality glass items, such as the small coloured
bowls and coloured bottles may well have been
packed for delivery to a particular customer.
The intended market is also a matter of spec-
ulation. As far as the glass is concerned, most of
