Medievel Glass at Corning Museum of Glass Assignment

Medievel drinking glass in at Corning Museum of render - Assignment Example. People who do not normally see crosspatch as an artwork will be surprised to hold up that a museum of glass exists. The medieval glass collection of the Corning Museum of Glass (CMG, 2012a) displays a wide range of glass objects that had decorative and functional purposes during medieval times. After conducting a virtual visit of this museums Medieval Glass for Popes, Princes and Peasants, this writer realized how much glass can depict cultural and social beliefs, divisions, and struggles. Glass signifies cultural values and social divisions because its transformation across time depicts social stratification and social transformation.Medieval glass begins somewhere, and its humble beginnings reflect the practical ask and social concerns of its users. A 425-dated olive green glass, a gnarled cone shape Beaker, demonstrates a simple design that reflects its functional purpose (see Figure 1). After th e Roman empire disintegrated, tastes in glass varied. In locations where the Franks lived, simpler shapes and decorative styles were the norm. This Byzantine Cone Beaker is designed for convenience, which suggests how this glass expresses the pragmatic needs of its users. Glass art can be used as a medium of learning of other time and culture (Diffey, 1997, p.27). One can only imagine the working-class drinking their wine in pubs or homes and relaxing enough to forget their troubles. This glass stands for the practical demands of people making a surviving for survival. Nothing is simple with this simple glass. It is simple because life is hard. Figure 1 A Byzantine Cone Beaker, dating 425-599 Source Corning Museum of Glass (2012b) The latest example of medieval glass in the exhibit is cogent because of its intricate design that depicts strong social changes and inequalities. A Baroque Ewer (see figure 2), a neutral glass with green tinge and numerous bubbles in color combination s, suggests aesthetic beauty and creativity. The top of the report has a thumb rest, which is an innovation (CMG, 2012b). It signifies the changing society that demands creativity in its products. Moreover, this ewer has evolved a slap-up deal from initial glass designs because it is multi-colored and intricately formed. Even when these things claim simple functions, people craved for more(prenominal) beauty in their everyday objects. This beauty essentially represents their social identity. Their demand for more beautiful things in their lives connotes their need for asserting their social importance. Bourdieu talks about social and economic capital that reinforces social discrepancy (Dillon, 2010). Only the rich can afford this ewer, and design that is important to them becomes something coveted, and yet to the masses it is unimportant. Nevertheless, glass becomes a unique differentiating tool of their social status. Figure 2 A Baroque Ewer, dating 1550-1600 Source Corning Mus eum of Glass (2012b) Glass objects represent a groups social status and identities. For instance, figure 3 shows a Behaim Beaker that might have been specifically made for a rich merchants daughters wedding. The wedding took put down on July 7, 1495 it was the nuptial of Michael Behaim and Katerina Lochnerin, the daughter of a rich merchant, whose company monopolized the trade between Nuremberg and Venice (CMG, 2012b). This object shows that counterbalance the simplest things say something about the owner and his/her culture and society. The name Behaim Beaker belongs to a prominent family and its drawings of saints, birds, and helmets signify power. These are objects that succor conceive self-identity with images that shape an individual self-concept (Freedman, 2003, p.2). It demonstrates power and majesty in