History of Artificial Eyes By J.W. Sibley At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Although archeological evidence found in Iran in 2006 suggests that artificial eyes may be as old as five thousand years, it is not believed that they were widely known until the mid 16th century in Europe. William Shakespeare made reference to “glass eyes” in his King Lear and around that same time, Ambrose Paré, a famous French surgeon described artificial eyes made of gold and silver in his writings. Paré discussed two types of artificial eyes: the ekblephara, designed to be worn in over the eye lids and the hypoblephara, to be worn under the eyelid, probably over a damaged eye, since eye removal surgery was not common until almost two hundred years later.

It doesn’t appear that many advancements were made in ocular prostheses until the early 1800s, when enamel prostheses were fairly common. However, enamel was expensive and lack of durability made it a less than ideal medium for artificial eyes. Later that century, in 1835, German craftsmen created a new kind of glass, called cryolite which was made from arsenic oxide and sodium-aluminum fluoride. The resulting new glass was a slightly off-white color, which was a huge advancement in making glass eyes appear more natural. The craftsmen who created these eyes, used glass blowing techniques to form a small round ball which they painted to look like eyeballs.

Throughout the 19th century, this new trade flourished in Europe, particularly in Germany. These German artisans were called ocularists, a term still used for modern makers of artificial eyes. In addition to making ocular prostheses for people, ocularists were also known for making eyes for dolls. Like most artesian skills, the crafting of artificial eyes was passed down from generation to generation, with later generations touring Europe and the United States to fit patients with prosthetics. Also, during this time, many American eye doctors would buy a variety of eyes to keep on hand. These eyes were called “stock eyes” and an eye doctor may have had hundreds in his office, choosing the best match from his selection for each patient.

These procedures continued through the onset on World War II, when German imports were limited and the German ocularists ceased their tours of the United States. This necessitated the domestic production of ocular prostheses, which was spear-headed by the United States military, due to an increased need for artificial eyes for soldiers who had lost an eye in combat. Along with a few private practitioners in the United States, the military abandoned glass as the preferred material and instead switched to plastic to increase affordability. Many different types of plastics have been used over the years, but modern ocular prostheses are made from methyl methacrylate, a high quality medical-grade acrylic. The switch to plastic allowed artificial eyes to be mass-produced and they became more accessible to the general public. Although ocular prostheses are still mass-produced, many people now choose to have their artificial eyes custom-made by modern ocularists in order to achieve the closest match to their remaining eye, thereby creating a natural look.

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