"Lampwork" means glass that is formed and decorated in a torch
flame hot enough to melt the glass. The "lamp" in lampwork came
from the oil lamps and blowpipes originally used in seventeenth
century France and Italy. Blowing by mouth or with a bellows
into an oil lamp flame with a small pipe makes just enough heat
to soften and form the softer types of glass. I'm always amazed
at what great work the early lampworkers were able to do with
such a minimal amount of equipment. Today lampworking is usually
done with a fuel gas and oxygen torch and a few hand tools. The
tricks and moves used to form and decorate the glass haven't
changed much in Millenniums. Hot glassworking skills came to us
from a long history starting with the Syrians around 1700 BC,
the Egyptians around 1450 BC, the Chinese around 550 BC, the
Romans at the turn of the first millennium, and with the French,
German, Italian, Indian and Islamic folks bringing us up to the
present.