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	Glass making began in the Middle East during the Bronze Age.&nbsp; In the first century B.C blown glass developped, a quicker and easier method of making glass which spread rapidly through the Roman Empire.&nbsp; In the 12th C. Venice was the glass making center of Europe, moving to the island of Murano in the 15th C.&nbsp; Venitian glass dominated the market until the 17th C when the English invention of lead crystal took over.&nbsp; This method led to the opening of the Baccarat and St Louis facories in the late 18th C.&nbsp; The early 19th C saw the invention of pressing glass into a mold to produce imitation cut glass, a method also used by Baccarat and St Louis.&nbsp;&nbsp; In the late 19th C in Nancy, Emile Galle invented the multi-layer acid etched glass representative of the Art Nouveau period.&nbsp; He was joined by Jean Daum thus creating the famous Nancy school with the cabinet-maker Majorelle.&nbsp; The Art Deco period saw the fashion of pate-de-verre as can be seen in the Lalique perfume bottles and&nbsp; in the work of Legras and Martinot.</p>