From their beginnings, due to their delicate and fragile nature, glasses
were generally provided with a cases the functional and aesthetic qualities
of which were in direct proportion to the unique and precious nature of
their contents. The bulky glasses of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries were provided with cases which varied greatly as regards their
aesthetic value and the materials used. Cases were produced in precious
woods, engraved and decorated brass and in more common, less valuable,
materials.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries alongside the workshops which
produced glasses there sprung up others which produced cases and which
gave birth to the systematic (and later industrial) production of the
objects which have always been characterized by their precious
adornments and stylistic affectations.
