Glass Bangles - Firozabad
Glass is one of the most unique material, which can shaped and molded into various shapes, size and designs. The glass making technology was believed to be accidentally created or buy product of metal. Glass is thought to have come to India by the Mughal Rulers, the existence of Glass in India have been dated over 2000 years by the archaeologist who discovered glass in Uttar Pradesh, glass was mainly used as Chandeliers, glass vials for perfume which were in demand by royal courts and nobles for decorating their assembling and drawing rooms. Firozabad, a city in Uttar Pradesh of India, has been famous since 17th century for its exquisite production of glass works, which is popularly known as Glass city, it is located about 240 kms from the capital of India, Delhi and 40 kms from Agra. The ancient name of this town was Chandwar nager, the name Firozabad was given in the regime of Akbar by Faraz Shah Mansab Dar in 1566. The City is stepped deep in the culture of making utility and decorative items of glass, which is being carried from generations by the master craftsmen’s. Glass can be formed or molted into any shape so artisans were able to create a wide range of products like glass toys, candle stand, Christmas hangings, flower vase glass, chandeliers, bangles, street ware and scientific lab products.
The Glass industries in Firozabad is been able to provide indigenous need as well as international demand by producing variety of products, In Firozabad entire community is engaged in glass manufacture. It is a one of a kind cluster producing bangles, and catering to the growing demands and requirement in India, there are approximately 150 bangle making in the city. The manufacturing of glass bangles is different in technique as it required highly skilled labor work, with the mixing of materials like sand, ash, lime and melting in a furnace with temperatures around 1350 °C.
The making process of glass bangles requires great patience, because skilled Artisans mix borax, sand, lime stone in a suitable proportion and fed manually into a furnace and are melted in and around temperatures of 1300 to 1400 C to obtain molten glass. The molten glass is then drawn from the inside of the furnace to form a glob of molten glass, he then passes to another artisan who shapes the molten glass to a conical shape, Then it is taken to another furnace where he rotates the semi fused glob to form a roughly cylindrical shape by rotating the rod, finally it’s been taken to another furnace, where there artisan works in synchronization. The first artisan rotates a long iron rod at a constant speed, then a thin filament of glass is placed on the rotating iron rod, constant turning/ rotation gives the glass a spiral shape. And then the uneven, wastage of glass is cut off at regular intervals with an abrasive tool.
