Mosque lamp, free0blown glass, enamelled and gilded, tooled on the…Because of the refractive nature of glass, it is supremely suitable for lighting fixtures (see Lighting). Although many early lamps were made of terracotta or bronze, glass examples are known from the Roman period (e.g. lamp, 2nd century AD; London, BM). Particularly fine Islamic mosque lamps, many of which have survived, were made towards the end of the 13th century (see fig.). These three-sectioned lamps (spread base, bulbous body and flared neck) were fitted with rings so that they could be suspended from the ceiling. Many were decorated with enamelled and gilded arabesques, Arabic inscriptions in cursive script (naskhi), heraldic devices, flowers and foliage (see Islamic art, §VIII, 5). As the skill of the glassmaker developed, lighting fixtures became increasingly sophisticated and intricate. The Chandelier took numerous forms: simply decorated upward branches soon gave way to such intricately decorated chandeliers known as ciocche made by the Venetian glassmaker Giuseppe Lorenzo Briati (1686–1772). During the late 18th century and early 19th, the basic form was suspended with numerous pendants and cascades of cut and multi-faceted drops, which sparkled brightly and created a magnificent display when the candles were lit.

Glass has been used to make mirrors since at least the  her mdelde erkek ayakkabı 1st century BC, when mirrors were made of silvered glass in Egypt. The Roman glassmakers backed their mirrors with a metallic substance or a dark resin to create a reflective surface. By the 16th century the Venetians had produced a superior mirror backed with an amalgam of tin and mercury; the process was known as silvering (see Mirror). Mirrors were in great demand from the 17th century and were framed with lavish surrounds of wood decorated with paint, lacquer, gilding, ivory or precious metals. Such was the expense of glass in the 17th and 18th centuries that rulers, eager to show off their wealth, would sometimes decorate whole rooms with panels of glass (see Cabinet (i), §4(ii)); the most famous room is the Galerie des Glaces at the château of Versailles (see Versailles, §1 and fig.). Coloured glass inlays have been used as a way of decorating furniture since they were first employed in this capacity in ancient Egypt and were used to decorate drawer fronts on some bureaux in Venice during the 18th century. During the 19th century press-moulded drawer handles were widely produced in both Europe and the USA and even entire pieces of furniture were made of glass (e.g. toilet-table, designed by Voronikhin, 1804; Corning, NY, Mus. Glass). During the 19th century, many unlikely items were made entirely of glass (e.g. birdcages and clock-cases), some specifically for the international exhibitions in order to demonstrate the virtuosity of the factory or maker; one of the most outstanding examples was the glass fountain (destr. 1936), made by F. & C. Osler of Birmingham, that formed the centrepiece of the Crystal Palace in London where the Great Exhibition of 1851 was held. The Paperweight, another 19th-century invention, was extremely popular throughout Europe; it was made in a variety of forms and decorated using