 | Antique Glass
 | Mouth Blown Antique
 | Characteristic features of
Genuine Antique Glass are the pronounced yet subtle
structure and the small round, sometime oval bubbles or
seeds. These small
bubbles (known as seeds) are one of the most important
characteristics.
Exposed to light, these Genuine Antique Glasses display their
inimitable transparency, brilliance and body. |
| Churches, mosques, banks,
government and office buildings as well as private homes are beautified
by the magnificent play of color within these glasses. |
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| Flashed Glass
| These carefully mouthblown
glasses are not colored throughout their mass. They attain
their coloration through the "flash" technique of
glass blowing. One or more colored glasses are applied to a
clear or colored base glass referred to as the "carrier
glass". This method creates a practically unlimited
variety of glasses. Multicolored glasses, glasses with or
without shading, gently shaded, cloudy or torn - all may be
produced using this method. White "milk" glasses, available
in dense "opaque" or translucent "opal"
densities obscure views but allow light transmission. |
| Has two or more layers of different colored glasses. Usually a heavy heavy base layer is covered with a thin layer, a flash, of another color. This flash can be engraved, etched or
sandblasted to create designs or the appearance of shading. Flashed glass is produced by Lamberts, St. Just, and DESAG. |
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| Drawn Antique
| A machine made glass with striations on the surface giving the appearance of mouthblown glass but with less
"movement". Available in an attractive color range. |
| Molten glass is drawn vertically from the furnace to produce the sheets of this type of glass. It is then passed through rollers as it cools which leaves striations in the surface of the glass. The resulting glass looks similar to mouth blown antique glass. German New Antique (GNA) is produced by DESAG and French New Antique (FNA), also known as Nouvel Antique, is produced by St. Just. |
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| Baroque Glass
| Wildly swirled textured glass. It is produced by combining two glasses of different compositions, and then stirring them together. Baroque is produced exclusively by Spectrum Glass. |
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| Bevels
| A piece of 5mm thick clear or glue chip glass that has a 1/2" wide beveled edge. Bevels come in standard shapes such as squares, rectangles, circles and ovals. Clusters of beveled pieces are very popular for use in doors, sidelights and transoms. Companies that produce beveled clusters include
American
Bevel and Mika. |
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| Cathedral Glass
| Obscure, machine made glass, smooth on one side and usually textured on the other. |
| Mostly made as a single color glass. This transparent glass is primarily a machine made glass and comes in a variety of textures, such as granite, hammered, and ripple. Most glass companies produce cathedral glass, including Armstrong, Kokomo, Spectrum and Wissmach. |
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| Craquel or Crackle Glass
| Mouthblown crackled glass differs
from regular antique glass because of its crackled surface finish
resembling alligator skin. |
| Crackled glass is often used in door
and window openings where light and privacy are desired. They are
also used effectively in the furniture industry |
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| Drapery Glass
| This opalescent type glass is formed by passing hot sheets of glass through machine rollers. The top roller moves faster than the bottom roller so the glass bunches up forming a drapery effect. Uroboros Glass produces drapery glass. |
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| Fractures and Streamers
| The fractures are thin pieces of glass that are created by breaking thin glass bubbles into small pieces. The streamers are simply thin rods of molten glass that are stretched. These fractures and streamers are spread on the rolling table and become fused to the back of sheets of clear or white opal glass. This produces a glass that is a
multi-colored collage which is very usual in landscapes. Both Bullseye and Uroboros Glass produce this type of glass. |
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| Glass Nuggets or Globs
| Glass nuggets or globs are rounded pieces of melted glass that have a flat back and a dome top. They are irregular in shape, from oval to round, and come in small (3/8"), medium (9/16"), or large (1"). Use them as an accent in lamps and panels. Can be sometimes used in place of jewels. |
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| Glue Chip Glass
| To obtain this effect glue is baked onto the surface of clear glass. When it is peeled of it leaves a fern-like pattern. Useful as a background glass. |
| A clear or colored glass that is sandblasted on one side. Animal hide glue is applied to the roughened surface. As the glue dries and contracts, chips of glass are pulled off the sandblasted surface creating the pattern. Double glue chip is created by repeating the process a second time. We find using this glass as a background for clear bevels produces an excellent effect. The handmade glue chip by Duncan is available in four superb patterns -
sea foam, tsunami, ocean and cascade. |
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| Iridescent Glass
| This glass has a front surface that looks like is it coated with oil. The highly reflective surface characteristic of this type of glass can be found on both cathedral and opalescent glass. |
| Light reflected from the surface of the glass reveals the
iridescence while light passing through shows the color in the glass itself. Useful in creating exciting projects as the
iridescence sparkles to produce a most pleasing effect. |
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| Jewels
| These pieces of glass are formed by one of two methods. The most popular jewels are formed by pressing molten glass into molds. The more expensive method to make a jewel is to hand cut and polish each facet of the jewel. Jewels are available in round, square, oval or tear drop shapes and in a variety of colors. They are used extensively as accents in Victorian windows. |
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| Mottled Glass
| This type of glass is most identifiable with Tiffany. It is also known as being the most difficult type of glass to create. It has a characteristic ring of opalescence, also called ring mottle, which gives the glass a three dimensional appearance. It is popular for use in lampshades. Mottled glass is produced by Bullseye, Oceana, Uroboros Glass, Wissmach, and Youghiogheny. |
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| Mouth Blown
| Produced by a glassblower blowing a long cylinder of molten glass called a muff. When this has cooled it is cut along its length and then reheated so that the cylinder can be opened out into a flat sheet. The glass is generally known as hand made 'Antique' and is the best for making quality stained glass windows. Its apparent 'imperfections' - bubbles and reams - cause movement when looking through the glass. Each piece is unique and the thickness of glass will vary considerably from sheet to sheet as well as within each sheet. The density of
color will also therefore vary. |
| Traditional way to produce a full antique glass. This time honored method relies heavily on the craftsmanship of a master glassblower. This glass is made by blowing a large
cylinder of glass. The ends are then cut off and the cylinder is split lengthwise and flattened to form the sheet. This glass is manufactured by several glass companies - Lamberts, St. Just,
DESAG, and Blenko to name a few. |
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| Muffled Sheet
| An old pattern now remade as a machine rolled cathedral. Translucent, semi-obscure glass with an
irregular pattern on one surface. |
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| Opalescent Glass
| This is a dense glass that allows little light to pass through. Opalescent glass gets its opacity from the adding of
fluorine to the glass. White opal glass is actually a clear glass that had
fluorine added to it. Multi-color opalescent glass consists of two or more colors added together. |
| Attractive either in face light or with light passing through, it is very versatile as the finished project will be pleasing whether lit or unlit. For this reason opalescents are mostly used in Tiffany lamps or
jewelry boxes, although in the USA it is commonly used in full sized stained glass windows. |
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| Reamy
| A mouthblown variation of Genuine
Antique glass displaying pronounced, fluid motion throughout the
sheet. |
| Reamy glass is often used in door
and window openings where light and privacy are desired. These
glass is also effectively used in the furniture industry. |
| Reams are 'imperfections' such as lines and bumps in the glass that used to indicate that the glass had been mouthblown. However a number of manufacturers now produce attractive machine made reamy glass, every sheet being different. The Spectrum trade name for their machine made reamy is Baroque. |
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| Restoration Glass
| Restoration glasses are specially
intended for the renovation of historic structures, old homes and
antique furniture. Restoration glasses are individually
handcrafted in the traditional mouth blown method. |
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| Rondels
| Brilliant handspun circles of glass. These circles are available in various sizes and colors. Blenko produces rondels in sizes from 4" to 15" in diameter. |
| Glazing of windows with small, round
pieces of glass was very common in the Middle Ages in private
homes as well as public buildings. In old towns, some of these
windows, set in lead channels, may still be found in sensitively
restored buildings. Glazed in lead, Rondels display the
harmonic play of color and light bringing life into the window. |
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| Sahara
| Sahara is a rolled glass similar to the
Pilkington's clear cathedral that is no longer made. It is available in 18
colors and is very useful for restoration or new work. |
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| Stipple Glass
| This is an opalescent-type glass that has an icy or waxy look to it. Stipple was created by Youghiogheny to recreate the look of Tiffany, and is especially useful for reproducing Tiffany lampshades. |
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| Streaky Glass
| Consists of more than one color
streaked in the glass. |
| This type of glass is clear or wispy
cathedral. |
| Translucent or opalescent glass with
streaks of one or more colors unevenly distributed throughout.
Produced in mouthblown and machine rolled glass. |
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| Seedy Glass
| Another type of cathedral glass that
contains lots of tiny round bubbles. This glass is also known as
seedy marine antique. This cathedral glass is produced by Kokomo,
Spectrum and Wissmach. |
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| Textured Glass
| Cathedral glasses are available in many different classes of textures. These include
Cotswold, chantilly, minister, and Warwick. Textured glass is available in clear and a variety of colored glasses. One of the world's largest producers of glass, Pilkington Glass Ltd produces a great selection of textured glass. |
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| Waterglass
| This glass resembles a shimmering
texture of rippled water. It is created by stretching a sheet of
hot pliable glass. This produces a glass which resembles the
surface of water. Iridized Waterglass is especially appealing.
This glass is unique to Spectrum. |
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| Wispy
| A mixture of opalescent and cathedral, resulting in a glass which is more translucent than opalescent. This is another glass unique to Spectrum. |
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