A traditional hand-crafted glass piece is composed of both hot and cold glass. The material is used to manufacture hollow glass objects, flat glass, and crown glass. The workshops can be classified as 'hot' or 'cold'.
It was around 100 B.C. that glassworks appeared in Spain, France, and Germany. Blown glass production moved from regions where raw materials were available, such as Czechia and Hungary, in the Early Middle Ages. Glasswork was founded in Finland in 1681.
According to the different national inventories, each country keeps its own traditions and practices. Despite this, all of the steps described in this section are acknowledged as part of the element by all of the countries submitting applications. Some bearers have operated small glass studios since the late 1960s. To raise public awareness about the history and profession of glass, the group focuses more on experimentation and education. Women were mainly responsible for handling, packing, and decorating the finished products at glassworks until the early 1980s. Today, women are now included in blowing work at glassworks and in studios thanks to the contemporary glass movement that has developed over the last 30 years.
Adding an inscription to a craft will contribute to raising public awareness of its intrinsic value and becoming a powerful motivational factor for safeguarding and developing it. As an example, it will demonstrate that a craft that provides its practitioners with a functional and viable source of sustenance is a prerequisite for economic success, not an obstacle. The inscription would allow glassmakers to become more aware of diverse glassmaking techniques and promote mutual respect for other craftspeople's skills and knowledge. Human creativity, individuality, and dexterity will never be replaced by automation in handmade glass production. This process of the inscription has helped the communities understand and respect the combination of common heritage and diversity, which may offer a model for other international communities sharing common intangible heritage.
Handmade glass production must be economically viable in order to be safeguarded. Due to this, it is essential that the administrations involved, each in its own jurisdiction, though in collaboration, continue to take measures that emphasize and value the historical and cultural significance of this activity and its products, as well as promote and promote the current glass production market, and to support transmission strategies. As a result, state parties place a special emphasis on two areas: education and preservation and transmission through state museums.