I read that the people of Venice made the best glass in the 1400s. What materials did they use?

In the 1400s, and even earlier, Venice, in northern Italy, controlled the trade routes, and Venetian glassmakers were able to obtain their raw materials - sand and soda ash - cheaply. Sand came from the rivers that flowed from the Alps. Seaweed, which the glassmakers burned to make soda ash, came from Syria. To protect their craft, the glassmakers made sure no glass could be imported into Venice and forbade anyone to leave the city or to give away the secrets of making glass. If a workman did leave, his nearest relatives were sent to prison. If he did not return, an assassin was sent to kill him.

Can you tell me about a tree an artisan made for one of the ancient Mongols? And, for which Mongol ruler?

Yes - the tree was a gift for Mongke Khan, the brother of the renowned Khubilai Khan (also known as Kublai Khan), the last ruler to have complete control over the vast Mongol Empire. A goldsmith from Paris, whom the Mongols had captured in eastern Europe and enslaved, had made the tree. Four pipes topped with gilded serpents spouted forth four different drinks. At the top of the tree stood an angel with a trumpet. When Mongke Khan wanted a drink, the head butler called to the angel. A man hidden in the trunk of the tree blew on a pipe connected to the angel. The angel appeared to blow the trumpet, and the proper pipe released the drink.

I was reading about Leonardo da Vinci and read that he used chiaroscuro? What is it?

Artists use many different techniques to make their painted objects appear real. The technique Leonardo used was chiaroscuro. Instead of using colors with no shading, he painted his figures lighter where the sunlight hit them and darker in the shadows. He did this by mixing each of his colors with other pigments to create a range of tones. As a result, he could represent the physical, three-dimensional world on a two-dimensional surface. The word "chiaroscuro" is a derivative of two Italian words: chiaro ("light") and scuro ("dark.")

How did they make Tyrian purple dye?

The dark, rich purple color came from a Mediterranean sea mollusk. In ancient times, special glands were removed from the sea creatures and heated for 10 days in a large tin vat. Salt and water were added. The mixture was checked periodically to make sure the dye was the perfect shade. Only the rich could afford Tyrian purple, one ounce of which required thousands of mollusks. Worth more than gold, purple dye became the favorite color of royalty.

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