Glass and other vitreous materials

Since ancient times, glass has been used for both decorative and everyday use. Glass, glaze, enamel, and faience—the four vitreous products—are manufactured from three basic components: silica, alkali, and small amounts of calcium. Glass, glazes, and enamel (but not faience) contain high amounts of alkali, such as sodium oxide (soda glass) or potassium oxide (potash glass).

Generally speaking, the mechanisms that are involved in the deterioration of glass are identical for all vitreous materials. Although a wide variety of agents are involved, inherent susceptibility to deterioration plays an important role. Composition is crucial, because it will determine how susceptible the glass is to various agents and processes of deterioration; for example, Roman period soda-lime-silica glass is quite durable, while medieval window glass is highly unstable due to its large content of potash (from beech wood ash). Lime is also unstable. Glass deteriorates quickly in an alkaline environment due to the breakdown of the silica network.

Of all the agents in the environment that are aggressively damaging to glass, none is more directly or indirectly destructive than water. Water, especially when it mixes with pollution products, becomes acidic (has a low pH) and extracts the alkali from the silica network of the glass. The alkali modifiers are leached from the glass structure and brought to the surface, where they attract and absorb more water. This buildup of moisture on the surface can often be seen as small droplets. The glass can also have a slippery feel. In either case the glass is then said to be “weeping.” The loss of the alkali from the silica structure leaves the structure under stress, resulting in numerous microfractures and a cloudy appearance. This is termed “crizzled” glass. The formation of soluble alkalies at the surface can cause a flaking of thin layers there, resulting in layers that become detached and reflect and refract light differently from that of the glass body. The result is often an opalescent and pearlescent surface with multiple colours. This particular phenomenon is often seen on ancient and archaeological glass, but it was chemically reproduced and intentionally caused for decorative purposes in the Art Nouveau glass of Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Vitreous materials are by nature brittle and fail catastrophically under loads that exceed their strength. Glass vessels and windows shatter under impact, and glazes can crack from thermal shock or pressure from salts crystallizing between the glaze and the underlying ceramic body. An unusual deterioration is a process called “solarization,” which is a change in the colour of the glass due to a reaction between the iron and manganese oxides in the glass initiated by light. The result—an irreversible alteration—can be a deep purple colour but is more often a subtle change in hue.

Glass can become so weak or its surface so delaminated that it is necessary to strengthen it. This is often done by the infusion of light-stable epoxy resin with an identical or similar refractive index to the glass itself. In recent years consolidation has also been carried out by using a variety of silane solutions as well as acrylic copolymers. Mending, meaning the rejoining of shards of glass, is carried out by using low-viscosity, light-stable epoxies with a refractive index similar to glass. Recently acrylic monomers and polymers, as well as some of the cyanoacrylate adhesives and acrylic copolymers, have been used as well. Infilling, or replacement, of missing segments is often accomplished with a synthetic resin of similar optical properties (refractive index and colour). Often the fills are made slightly different in colour, transparency, or thickness to clearly mark them as a restoration and not part of the original glass object.

Coatings for glass are normally reserved for windows that must resist the aggression of the outdoor environment. A range of products based on epoxy resins, silanes, and silicones, as well as amorphous silica, are available. Double-glazing can be quite successful in some instances for protecting stained-glass windows from the damaging effects of exterior (and even interior) environments. The process involves placing a clear pane of glass over the original stained glass with a suitable space for air circulation to prevent condensation. The exterior modern glass is meant to act as a protective and sacrificial barrier. Regular light cleaning has proved to have an enormous advantage in long-term preservation. The provision for appropriate environmental storage or exhibition conditions has also been a major contribution to their preservation.