Antonio Neri (29 February 1576,
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
– 1614) was a
Florentine priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
who published the book ''L’Arte Vetraria'' or ''The Art of Glass'' in 1612. This book was the first general
treatise
A treatise is a Formality, formal and systematic written discourse on some subject concerned with investigating or exposing the main principles of the subject and its conclusions."mwod:treatise, Treatise." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Acc ...
on the
systematics
Systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: phylogenetic trees, phylogenies). Phy ...
of
glassmaking
Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass.
Glass container ...
.
Early life and education
Neri's father was a
physician
A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
. Neri entered the
priesthood in 1601. He then became a member of the household of Alamanno Bertolini where he met the chemist Sir Emmanuel Ximenes, who introduced Neri to the fundamentals of glassmaking.
Bertolini was a member of the Medici royal family, and his household in Florence was known as Casino di San Marco. Various glassmakers visited the Bartolini household from time-to-time, giving Neri ample opportunity to learn glassmaking and to eventually develop improved
formulations
Formulation is a term used in various senses in various applications, both the material and the Abstract object, abstract or wikt:formal, formal. Its fundamental meaning is the putting together of components in appropriate relationships or struc ...
.
In one account, he is known as Antonio Lodovico Neri.
Career

Prior to Neri's time, glassmaking was part of the field of
alchemy
Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
, and Neri had a background in alchemy. Through his efforts and those of glassmaking contemporaries of Neri, glassmaking began to evolve into a systematic scientific endeavour.
[Machado, A. S. (2018)]
Historical Stained Glass Painting Techniques: Technology and Preservation
(DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.25726.64329) h.D. dissertation, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa researchgate.net. An example is that Neri recognized that the red colour in the red glass called "
crocus martis" is due to oxidized iron.
Neri travelled extensively in Italy,
Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
, and
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
. Much of his time in Antwerp was spent with chemist Sir Emmanuel Ximenes from whom Neri learned much of the basic chemistry of glassmaking. Neri also worked in the glasshouses belonging to the
Medici
The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...
family in Florence and in Pisa. These experiences significantly deepened his knowledge of glassmaking and its underlying
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
. Neri's other endeavours included
herbalism
Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...
and
alchemy
Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
, in addition to glassmaking.
Much of what is known about Neri's life is based on correspondence between Neri and Ximenes in addition to research conducted by
Muranese glass historian
Luigi Zecchin during the 1960s. An annotated bibliography of written works by Neri has been published.
Much of the correspondence between Neri and Ximenes is preserved at the
Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze.
Systematics of Glassmaking
Between 1598 and 1600, Neri published his first compilation on glassmaking, ''Il Tesoro del Mondo'', which included some basic information on equipment and raw materials for glassmaking. He was, at the same time, conducting his own experimentation on glassmaking in the household of his Medici family patron in Florence. Following the publication of ''Il Tesoro del Mondo'', Neri began his travels to Antwerp and Pisa, during which time he interacted more frequently with Ximenes. He returned to Florence in 1611, publishing ''L'Arte Vetraria'' the following year.
In 1612, Neri published a seven-volume treatise, ''L' Arte Vetraria'', that was a significant step toward systematizing the preparation of glass. The title of the book translates to English as ''The Art of Glass''. The first volume describes the materials, mixing, and melting of the ingredients to produce crystals and colorless glass. Subsequent volumes describe colored glasses, leaded glass, artificial gemstones, enamels, and glass paints. The treatise includes many glass formulations that were devised by Neri by improving on formulations that he became aware of through his work in the Medici court, through his interactions with Ximenez, and likely other sources.
The contents of ''L'Arte Vetraria'' volume-by-volume are:
# Basic glass colours and preparation
#
Chalcedony
Chalcedony ( or ) is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of quartz and moganite. These are both silica minerals, but they differ in that quartz has a trigonal crystal structure, while moganite is monoclinic ...
glass
# Advanced colours
#
Lead glass
Lead glass, commonly called crystal, is a variety of glass in which lead replaces the calcium content of a typical potash glass. Lead glass contains typically 18–40% (by mass) lead(II) oxide (PbO), while modern lead crystal, historically a ...
and colours
# Artificial gemstones
#
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by melting, fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between . The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitrification, vitreous coating. The wo ...
# Paints and transparent red glass
''L'Arte Vetraria'' went through three editions up until 1817. By 1752, it had been translated into Dutch, French, and English.
While Neri's contemporary Galileo Galilei made note of ''L'Arte Vetraria'', more widespread recognition of the treatise came later. In 1662, British physician and scientist Christopher Merret published an English translation of ''L'Arte Vetraria'', which included extensive annotations by Merret. Subsequent translations were usually based on Merret's version of Neri's treatise. By 1900, there were an estimated two dozen translations based on Merret's version or on Neri's original version. The ''L'Arte Vetraria'' was a standard reference book among glassmakers up until approximately 1900 and served to enhance the ability of glassmakers to improve upon prior glassmaking processes.
See also
*
List of Roman Catholic scientist-clerics
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
References
External links
L'arte vetraria distinta in libri sette (The art of glass) 1612 edition printed by Nella Stamperia de'Giunti in Firenze
Heldby the Corning Museum of Glass. (Accessed 17 April 2014)
The art of glass 1662 edition printed by A.W. for O. Pulleyn in London, England. Originally owned by King Charles II
Heldby the Corning Museum of Glass. (Accessed 17 April 2014)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neri, Antonio
Glass makers
Italian non-fiction writers
Italian male non-fiction writers
Italian chemists
17th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests
Catholic clergy scientists
17th-century Italian scientists
Clergy from Florence
Scientists from Florence
1576 births
1614 deaths