STAINED WITH NANOTECHNOLOGY

The Romans may have been the first to use nanotechnology to colour their glass, but they certainly weren’t the last. Long before the term ‘nanotechnology’ had even been coined, Medieval artisans used nanoparticles of gold and silver to colour panes of glass from around the 10th century. Although not always mixed together to create the same dichroism effect of the Lycurgus Cup, nanoalloys seen in stained-glass windows around the world were used to create glittery ‘lustres’ in ceramic glazes until the 17th century in Asia, before the technology moved to Europe.

Silver and gold were used to colour windows in churches