SOREZE
Open from Sunday 1 March from 10am to 12pm and from 2pm to 6pm
From the earliest times, in the fourth millennium BC in Mesopotamia, glassmakers discovered that raw glass, which was always more or less coloured in shades ranging from brown to greenish yellow, could be decoloured or coloured differently by adding what we now call heavy metals to the sand.
These metal oxides or salts found in nature withstood the high temperatures required to melt silica: cobalt for blue, iron for green, copper for blue-green, silver and antimony for yellow, manganese for violet or black, gold for red…. In the Middle Ages, the range of compounds used was already close to the current range, which was enriched after the end of the 18th century by the development of chemistry.
Absolutely necessary for the colouring of stained glass windows in the 13th century, certain expensive and rare dyes were for a long time used sparingly for the decoration of goblets and everyday glass, in the form of hot applications or inclusions in rods with tinted threads.
The 2026 exhibition at the Musée du Verre de Sorèze, “En Verre et en Couleurs” (Glass and Colour), offers a selection of extremely varied objects, grouped by colour, from all ages, origins, shapes and techniques. With Art Nouveau, Art Deco and contemporary specimens, visitors can see a veritable explosion of colour, as opposed to the relative discretion of the older pieces.
The museum also invites visitors to discover the wealth of its permanent collection, for a fascinating journey through the history, techniques and magic of glass in all its forms.
