Upcoming Meetings & Events
Non-members are welcome at all events, but reservation is discounted for members. For more information, see our Membership page or contact events@historyofglass.org.uk.
We have two upcoming events:
Roman Archaeology Conference, April 11th-14th
The AHG is hosting a session at the international Roman Archaeology Conference, a biennial event which is being held in 2024 at University College, London. Our session, titled ‘Riddles of the Sands: Untangling the Roman Glass Industry’ is focussing on production and trade in glass across the Roman world. More information, including the exact date and time of our session within the conference will be available in the New Year. Registration is open and can be accessed on the conference website. The line-up of speakers and subjects can be downloaded below:-
SPRING MEETING: Call for Papers
The Spring Meeting of the AHG, ‘GlassWEAR: Glass in Jewellery’ will be held at the St James the Less Centre, Thorndike St, Pimlico, London SW1V 2PS on Friday 17th May 2024. We welcome proposals for presentations (about 20 minutes) on any aspect of the use of glass in jewellery. Please send a title and abstract to events@historyofglass.org.uk.
Past Meetings
Below are insights from past meetings, as well as programmes when available.
Members can also access recordings of past meetings, when available.
If you have photos from past meetings, please add them to our archives by emailing web@historyofglass.org.uk.
New Reflections on Old Glass
November 18th 2023: This online meeting showcased latest research on a multitude of topics scanning the history of glass from the Bronze Age to the Industrial Revolution.
Everything Old is New Again
Oxford
March 31st and April 1st 2023: Took place in the School of Archaeology in Oxford, with the subtitle of ‘Recycling and Reuse in Ancient and Historical Glass’, talks ranged from the Bronze Age, through to the problem production of modern architectural glass through recycling. Talks were accompanied with a handling session of Early Medieval glass, a period that had been a real focus for the day.
Programme available.
Late Bronze Age Glass
Oxford
April 29th and 30th 2022: : The Association for the History of Glass, in co-operation with the Griffith Institute, the School of Archaeology/University of Oxford and Bodleian Libraries, hosted two days of events at Oxford, which coincided with the opening of the exhibition ‘Tutankhamun: Excavating the Archive’ at the Weston Library.
Focusing on Late Bronze Age glass, events included lectures, a handling session at the Ashmolean Museum and a demonstration of ancient glass working. On Friday the 29th the ‘Study Day’ of presentations was followed by an early evening public lecture and reception.
English and Irish Drinking Glass 1640-1702
V&A Museum
Oct 6th 2022: The latter half of the 17th century was a period of material, technical and aesthetic development, which saw the vessel-glass industry in England and Ireland reach maturity.
The V&A Museum in partnership with the Association for the History of Glass was delighted to host this conference which explored the evolving story of the birth of these sophisticated products a century before the ‘industrial revolution’ began.
Glass in the North
Vindolanda and Jarrow
May 21st and 22nd 2022:: ‘Glass in the North’, dedicated to the late Professor Jennifer Price, was themed around glass and glass production in the north of Britain. The event ran across two days, Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd of May 2022 with Day One held at Vindolanda Roman Fort and Museum and Day Two at Jarrow Hall Anglo-Saxon Farm, Village and Bede Museum.
In addition to presentations, the days also involved glass handling sessions, visits and a conference dinner. There was a variety of speakers, ranging from archaeologists to artists based in, or active in research, in the north.
- 2021 May: New Research in Ancient Glass 2
- 2020 Dec: New Research in Ancient Glass 1
- 2019 Nov: Visit to the Petrie Museum and Tutankhamun Exhibition
- 2019 May: Colour in Ancient Glass
- 2018 Nov: Hot from the Furnace Mouth
- 2017 Nov: Glass of the Caesars
- 2016 Nov: Glass in imitation of other materials
- 2016 April: “To make much better glass…”
- 2015 Nov: Fragmentary Tales: A Second Miscellany of Glass
- 2015 June: Glass for Eating, Drinking and Making Merry
- 2014 Nov: Things that travelled
- 2014 April: Messages in Bottles
- 2013 Nov: A Miscellany of Glass – New Discoveries and Hidden Treasures
- 2013 Mar: The Evidence for British Crystal Glass 1660-1700
- 2012 Nov: Recent Research and New Discoveries in Glass and Ceramics
- 2011 Nov: Glass in Science and Medicine
- 2010 Oct: Glass in Art & Literature
- 2010 May: Neighbours and Successors of Rome
- 2010 Mar: Glass for windows, glass for vessels. Medieval glass 1066-1550
- 2009 Nov: Interpreting Finds from Glasshouse Excavations
- 2009 Mar: Recent archaeological research into the manufacture of glass in the British Isles
- 2008 Oct: Glass at the British Museum: Current research, science and conservation
- 2008 Mar: Buying and Selling Glass in Britain 1600-1950
- 2007 Nov: Glass in Architecture
- 2007 Mar: The glass industry: constraints and controls from the medieval world to the 20th century
- 2006 Nov: Experimental and Ethnographic Studies relating to ancient glass