"Lampwork" means
glass that is formed and decorated in a torch flame hot enough to melt
the glass.
The "lamp" in lampwork came from the oil lamps and blowpipes originally used in seventeenth century France and Italy. Blowing by mouth or with a bellows into an oil lamp flame with a small pipe makes just enough heat to soften and form the softer types of glass. I'm always amazed at what great work the early lampworkers were able to do with such a minimal amount of equipment.
Today lampworking is usually done with a fuel gas and oxygen torch and a few hand tools. The tricks and moves used to form and decorate the glass haven't changed much in Millenniums.
Hot glassworking skills came to us from a long history starting with the Syrians around 1700 BC, the Egyptians around 1450 BC, the Chinese around 550 BC, the Romans at the turn of the first millennium, and with the French, German, Italian, Indian and Islamic folks bringing us up to the present.
If you ever get the
chance to go to the Corning museum at Corning Glass in upstate New York
you should go. You can see examples from the entire history of glass, along
with live demonstrations of glass blowing, engraving, lampworking,
and manufacturing. Corning Glass also has the best glass reference library
that I know of. The links page can take
you to the Corning website.
The End
Thank You