Hi
" I wonder how many people helped Kunckel make that goblet? Handling even an 8lb piece of glass(24lb goblet made in three pieces I thought so I just divided 24lb by 3 pieces to get an average weight for each piece) and getting that gold ruby colour perfect through the right temperature must have been difficult I would have thought? "
I dont think that question has been answered by anyone , though it is said that Kunckel was responsible for both the chemistry and the glassblowing himself , it also comments that his first attempts to make this huge goblet were unsuccessful due to an incorrect translation of Neri and due to the huge size of the piece which apparently had 1 ins thick walls as requested by his patron who had instructed Kunckel to make red glass no matter what time or cost it took,
from your post above
"Neri, at the end of the sixteenth and commencement of the seventeenth century, stated, that in order to stain glass a ruby color, it was only necessary to employ calcined chloride of gold.
also form G of th A
" Sixteen of the 133 chapters in Neri are devoted to red glass,9 of these offer formulas that produce a more violet or brown colour and these are based on the use of manganese, six formulas employ copper, and 1 recipe mentions the use of gold."
"Neri's recipe apparently works (it was tested under ideal conditions in 1930) Kunckle's attempts though to reproduce the recipe did not succeed,misled by an incorrect translation of neri's work.",,,,,,,,,,,,, and a lot more information follows
cheers ,
Peter.