Keeping the furnace alight
Abdul Wakil and his sons blow recycled bottles into the cobalt and amber glass Herat has been known for for centuries.
Herat's blue glass is instantly recognisable: thick, bubbly and a deep cobalt that seems to glow when light comes through it. Only a few workshops still make it.
Glass from glass
Abdul Wakil's family doesn't start with sand. They collect broken bottles, sort them by colour, and melt them down in a wood-fired furnace. The bubbles that give the glass its character come from that recycled melt.
A family at the furnace
The furnace runs hot from early morning. Abdul Wakil gathers the glass on a long iron pipe and blows; his sons shape, reheat and add the handles and feet. A tumbler takes a few minutes. A carafe with a striped pattern can take half an hour of careful work.
Each piece is cooled slowly overnight so it won't crack. In the morning the family sorts what has come out, and no two pieces are ever quite the same shape.
