Corpus Vitrearum - Centre André Chastel

Résumés des communicationsmardi 4 juilletFig. 3 Brugge, Steinmetzkabinet (inv.n°.0.3110-f° 8) : Early 18thcentury pattern sheet with similar pattern.Fig. 2 Leuven, Stedelijk Museum (inv.n°.B/III/75) : Masterpiece of J.-F.Bosmans ; Leuven, ca. 1790.script was probably written around 1525, and isbelieved originally to have belonged to the privatelibrary of the Antwerp pharmacist and herbalistPieter Coudenberg (1520-1594). This recipe bookalso provides quite accurate information on how toconstruct an oven for firing stained glass, completewith a nice illustration of a kiln. Furthermore, themanuscript contains an overview of recipes forpreparing blue, purple, green and blue-green enameland (probably) also for the production of silver stain.The latter process is also illustrated with a drawing inthe margin of the manuscript.Where at all possible,these technical descriptions were confronted withthe material and technical characteristics of differentoriginal panels and other archival documents, such asdrawings and pattern sheets.Thanks to the quality oftheir products, crafts guilds were able to competesuccessfully for several centuries.They responded tothe production of and trade in cheap and inferioritems (often produced in rural areas) by issuing strictregulations regarding the materials to be used, themethods to be applied, the required quality of finishingand the training of producers.We propose thatFig. 4 Antwerpen, Museum Plantin-Moretus, Ms. n o . 64, f° 33 :Drawing of a kiln to fire stained glass in a manuscript ; ca. 1525.they were not so much concerned with safeguardingtheir trade against new labour-threatening technologiesas with guaranteeing the quality and durability oftheir products and with protecting the consumer.They adapted to changing fashions and fluctuatingdemand by emphasising those skills and techniquesthat were most relevant to the market situation atany given time. In the 17th and 18th centuries,however,they were confronted with a fundamental problem.As a result of increasingly quickly changingtastes and growing demand for fashion-sensitive butcheaper products, the guilds soon found themselveson the back foot.The rise towards the end of the17th century of casement windows with woodenglazing bars (« chassisraemen ») resulted in a sharpdecline in demand for leaded glass. Consequently,demand for craftsmen possessing leaded-glass skillsalso declined. Competition from the countrysidewas fierce,as many town dwellers also had their glasscut more cheaply by rural craftsmen. The specificorganisational form of the glaziers’ and stained-glasscrafts, which was geared entirely towards collectiveagreements,was unable to face up to this new challenge.21