Not to see, but to be seen

They look a bit sinister, all those eyes in a box. Still, I would like to ask you to enter into a staring contest with them and take a closer look. Because these “reform eye prostheses” are quite special. Each one is hand-blown from glass. With their double glass wall and semi-spherical, thick shape, they provide a more comfortable fit for the wearer and don’t fall out of the eye socket so easily. Because the prosthesis rests against the eye tissue, in many cases it also rotates in the viewing direction. These are the reasons why, even though these eyes are over a hundred years old, the method by which modern eye prostheses are made has remained virtually unchanged: an example of fine craftsmanship!

But why do people actually wear these prostheses? The function of these artificial eyes is purely aesthetic: they do not restore the wearer’s vision. So they are not meant to see, but to be seen. Yet in 2017, 20,000 people in the Netherlands alone had artificial eyes. So what exactly is the story behind these eye prostheses and why can they be a solution for people who have lost an eye or were born without one?