Origins and History of Hebron Glass
Hebron glass, known in Arabic as zajāj al-Khalīli, traces its roots back to ancient times. This Palestinian craft started in the region during Roman rule in Palestine, building on techniques that originated from earlier Phoenician glassmakers. As coastal Phoenician centers declined, artisanal glass production moved inland to Hebron. Archeologists have discovered glass pieces from the 1st and 2nd centuries in Hebron, now held in collections like the Drake Collection. This heritage highlights the long-standing local tradition of skilled glassmaking.
Medieval Legacy and Migrations
By the Crusader period, Hebron glass had evolved into stained glass windows seen in important structures. In the 12th century, glassmakers crafted decorative windows for the Ibrahimi Mosque, which served as a church during the Crusader era. Similar medieval glasswork from Hebron appears on the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem’s Old City. These pieces demonstrate the historical reach and artistic impact of Hebron glass beyond its local origins.
Medieval Travelers and Pilgrim Accounts
Travelers in the Middle Ages remarked on Hebron’s glass industry. Between 1345 and 1350, the Franciscan friar Niccolò da Poggibonsi recorded that “they make great works of art in glass.” Later in the 15th century, Felix Faber described Hebron as an “ancient city” centered on a long street lined with craftsmen, especially glassworkers. He noted that the region specialized in dark-toned glass rather than clear, emphasizing its local character and stylistic identity.
Traditional Techniques and Materials
Traditionally, Hebron glassmakers used raw materials sourced from the surrounding region. Sand came from nearby villages, sodium carbonate from the Dead Sea served as a flux, and metals such as iron oxide and copper oxide provided color. Workshops often stood just outside the Old City. Over time these materials and methods formed a distinct artisanal tradition, carried through generations.
Modern Production and Family Lineages
Today, the craft lives on through a few Palestinian families who guard the trade’s secrets. These families operate workshops outside the historic “Glass‑Blower Quarter,” locally known as Haret Kezazin. While they once relied solely on raw materials, many now incorporate recycled glass into their production. The result remains true to local styles but adapts for sustainability and resource availability.
Range of Products and Tourist Appeal
Hebron glass craftsmen produce a variety of items. These include jewelry pieces such as beads, bracelets, and rings. They also craft stained‑glass window panels and glass lamps that mirror traditional colors and forms. Visitors to Hebron can explore these pieces, especially in the Old City’s Glass‑Blower Quarter, where shops offer handmade glass as souvenirs and decorative items. This area continues to draw tourists and preserves a living link to the city’s past.
Challenges Facing the Industry
The zionist occupation and colonization of the Holy Land, especially the ongoing occupation of the West Bank, have disrupted Hebron’s glass industry. Checkpoints, restrictions on movement, and economic pressures have reduced production and affected the ability to export goods or receive tourists. Despite this, families continue to keep the tradition alive, adapting to current limitations while honoring centuries of craft.
Origins and Dating of Hebron Glass Techniques
Although glassmaking in Palestine began during Roman rule, Nazmi Ju’beh, director of RIWAQ Centre for Architectural Conservation, believes that modern Hebron glass techniques likely took shape in the 13th century CE. That fills a gap between Roman-era production and medieval descriptions. Pilgrims like Jacques de Vitry, writing around 1080, noted glass production in coastal cities such as Acre and Tyre, but not in Hebron. By contrast, records from 1483, including Felix Fabri’s account, reference a long street in Hebron where many craftsmen worked, especially glassmakers. He wrote that they made “not clear glass, but black, and of the colours between dark and light.”
Influences: Venetian links and Crusader era
Ju’beh also cites a theory that attributes today’s Hebron glass methods to Venetian glassmaking traditions. A different viewpoint suggests these skills existed during the Crusades and were transported from Syria to Hebron, or even taken from Hebron back to Europe. The exact story remains unclear. It seems Hebron’s glass techniques could be a blend of local development, regional influence, and Mediterranean trade.
Products and Trade Routes of Historical Hebron Glass
Hebron’s glass factories traditionally made items for everyday use: drinking and eating vessels, olive oil lamps, and, later, petrol lamps. They also produced jewelry and small decorative objects. Bedouin merchants from Negev, Sinai, and the Arabian Desert bought this jewelry, sometimes carrying it on guarded camel caravans to markets in Egypt, Syria, and Transjordan. By the 16th century, Hebron glass had its own trading hubs in Cairo and al-Karak in southern Jordan. These well-organized networks made glassmaking one of the city’s main employers and a key source of wealth.
18th and 19th Century Travelers on Hebron Glass
Many travelers in the 1700s and 1800s described Hebron’s glass trade. In the 1780s, the explorer Volney remarked that artisans produced large quantities of colorful rings and bracelets, some of which reached Constantinople. Ulrich Jasper Seetzen, visiting between 1807 and 1809, counted around 150 workers employed in the industry. In 1818, explorers C.J. Irby and J. Mangles toured a lamp factory in town and confirmed that heat-resistant glass lamps were exported to Egypt.
Decline and Continued Production into the Late 19th Century
Later in the 19th century, European-made glassware arrived in the market, cutting into Hebron’s sales. Despite the competition, Hebron glass remained popular among less wealthy buyers and traveling Jewish merchants. At the 1873 Vienna World Fair, Hebron was still represented with its glass ornaments. A French consul in 1886 reported that four local factories together brought in about 60,000 francs annually -evidence that glassmaking remained a major part of Hebron’s economy.
Hebron Glass Today
In the 21st century, Hebron’s glassblowing tradition continues in three factories located just outside the Old City, near Halhul. The Natsheh family owns two of these workshops. They produce functional souvenirs and everyday household items. Visitors can still observe traditional techniques and browse a range of handmade glassware displayed in the factories’ halls.
Tourist Draw and Export Challenges of Hebron Glass
Hebron glass draws both local and international tourists. Visitors come to see the craftsmanship and buy handmade items. But since the Second Intifada, Palestinian movement restrictions, export hurdles, and less tourism have hurt the industry. Nazmi al‑Ju’bah, who leads the RIWAQ Centre for Architectural Conservation, has pointed out that under these pressures the future of Hebron glass is uncertain.
Changing Materials: From Sand to Recycled Glass
Historically, Hebron glassmakers used sand from the nearby village of Bani Na’im, combined with sodium carbonate from the Dead Sea. In the 19th century, locals also harvested saltwort plants (Salicornia fruticosa), burned them, and sold the ashes to the glassworkers. These ashes provided another source of soda ash. Today, most artisans use recycled glass as their main raw material, replacing traditional sand.
Trade Secrets and Family Apprenticeships
The exact steps of crafting Hebron glass remain closely guarded by a handful of Palestinian families who run the remaining workshops. These families pass their skills from generation to generation, with children apprenticing early. A master glassblower once said that you might learn to play the oud at any age, but to master glasswork you must start as a child.
The glassblowing technique used today mirrors that of ancient Phoenicians, according to the Holy Land Handicraft Cooperative Society. Scholars agree that glassblowing gained popularity only in the last centuries BCE. The process begins with a molten blob pulled from the furnace on an iron pipe. The craftsman blows into the pipe, while using a metal tool called a kammasha to shape the glass. The object is reheated and reshaped repeatedly before being detached and cooled in a chamber.
Traditional Glass Beads and Jewellery
Hebron’s glassmakers have long created beads for jewelry. Blue beads and beads with an “eye”, called owayneh, served as amulets against the evil eye. The Museum of Mankind holds Hebron-made necklaces from the British Mandate era or earlier. These include strands of blue and green beads, eye beads, and hamsa beads shaped like a hand, a symbol tied to Prophet Muhammad’s daughter Fatimah. In the early 1920s in Bayt Dajan, a glass bracelet known as ghwayshat made in Hebron was viewed as essential bridal jewelry, part of a woman’s dowry gift collection.
Historical Export of Beads to Africa
In 1799, English traveler William George Browne noted the production of coarse glass beads in Palestine named Hersh and Munjir. Munjir (or Mongur) beads were large while Hersh (Harish) were smaller. During the early to mid‑1800s, these Hebron beads were exported to Africa, where they became known as “Kano Beads” in Nigeria’s Kano region, though they weren’t made there. They were adapted by grinding their edges for better fitting on strands. By the 1930s their value had fallen. In 1937, archaeologist A. J. Arkell described Sudanese women in Darfur selling these beads “for a song” to Hausa traders.
