Glass has been used in and as artistic objects for millennia. Drinking cups, chandeliers, plates, mosaic floors and windows, art vases, jewelry … the list is endless.

The investigation of these objects has provided numerous benefits to both scientists and historians, as the coalescence of glass art and glass science allows both the material itself and its accompanying knowledge to be celebrated in tandem. But studying the objects themselves is not the only way to glean insight into the evolution of glass through the ages. In this article, we will concern ourselves with studying glass objects that appear within artistic works, specifically paintings, inspired by the recent bestselling book Mona’s Eyes.¹