A tour of Brunnier Art Museum’s History of Glass display will be given Sunday as part of a program titled “Glass blowing: Sand, Fire, and Seattle.”

Lynette Pohlman, director of University Museums, said the university’s glass collection of over 500 objects is the largest and most comprehensive collection in Iowa.

“Glass work is known for being very functional as well as decorative and aesthetic,” Pohlman said. “Our collection features everything from glass containers to actual glass sculptures.”

Pohlman said the tour contains 75 objects selected from the university’s collection, dating back to 2500 B.C. and chronicling up to modern sculptors of this decade.

“The display contains several masterpieces,” Pohlman said. “One of the more significant pieces is an 18th century crystal goblet. It is the only one of its kind in the world.”

The tour will also feature several glass works from the Roman time period, when glass blowing was discovered, as well as glass from ancient Egypt.

ISU’s glass collection was donated by Ann and Henry Brunnier in 1975. Henry, a 1902 graduate of Iowa State, is best known for his work as a construction engineer in San Francisco around the time of the earthquake of 1906.

“His claim to fame was the Bay Area Bridges,” Pohlman said. “He and his wife traveled around the world and collected art.”

As part of the program, two videos will be shown on the process of glass blowing. Famous glass artist Dale Chihuly, who founded the nation’s first art glass school, will be featured in the videos.

“The craftsmanship and how art glass is produced is fascinating,” Renee Senter, director of education at the University Museums, said. “It’s interesting to see the forces of nature and the people behind it.”

Senter added that the program should appeal to people of all ages.

“People aren’t aware of glass blowing as an art form,” she said. “But it has really gained attention in the last few decades and is becoming highly collectible.”

Sunday’s program on glass blowing is free and will begin at 2 p.m. The Brunnier Art Museum is located on the second floor of the Scheman Building in the Iowa State Center.