Murano Art Glass Bowl | Danielle Fisher

Bowl Art Glass

Decorating With Art Glass

Have you really considered the language used for art glass? Most find these terms both numerous and perplexing, so much so that I threw a ringer right in the title. For instance, mica isn’t glass at all (as most of us learned in science class). Instead it’s a mineral. But mica flakes nicely into translucent sheets, making it ideal for use in lamp shades, such as the famous “coolie” shades made by Dirk van Erp.

Although you can’t go wrong using the term “art glass” to refer to most kinds of decorative glass in period lighting, windows, doors, or hand-blown vases, there are terms that are much more accurate and specific. Let’s begin with a tough one: figuring out the distinction between stained and leaded glass. In European cathedral windows of centuries past, the stain glass is actually colored glass, which has been painted with vitreous oxides and then fired, with or without the application of silver nitrate. What makes this stain glass leaded is that individual pieces of the composition are held together with lead cames, which are easily recognizable as the rib-like dark material between the bits of light-filled glass.

Fortunately, nowadays things are much simpler. Those who use the term “stained glass” today are simply referring to any window with colored glass. If you have a clear glass window that’s leaded, you would simple call it “leaded.”

Minerals give colored glass its tint. However, not all stained glass is transparent. Translucent stained glassed are most commonly known as “opalescent.” But opalescent glass is not transparent—it’s milky. Also, this type of glass can have more than one color in a sheet. Tiffany windows are a great example of opalescent glass.

{Another notable example of this is the windows by Greene & Greene, who layered their glass the same way as Tiffany, but they used copper foil and lead overlay to enhance the dimensional quality of their compositions.} Today, the glass made by Greene & Greene is actually a very common glass. Iridized on one surface so it has the appearance of a rainbow, it’s been used by Frank Lloyd Wright and Tiffany.

Tiffany called its version of this shimmering opalescent glass Favrile and had the name trademarked in 1894. What makes this iridescent glass so special is that it appears to change colors when it’s seen from different angles. Other companies also made iridized glass, but none used the term Favrile.

So we’ve gone through mica, stained glass, leaded glass, opalescent, iridescent, and Favrile—now what exactly are slag and slumped? Well, slag glass is the term used for the sheets of opalescent glass slipped into Arts and Crafts light fixtures. (People used to believe that the glass got its color from the slag from iron smelting works—hence the term “slag.”) The term slumped glass refers to glass that’s been fired in the kiln to make it curve. Glass artisans will actually get into the kiln to manipulate the glass into shades, which are first “slumped” over a bowl. Artists can even create more complicated shapes, ranging from delicately folded glass in a tulip-like shade to futuristic shapes that resemble a translucent article marshmallow after a swipe through the campfire.

Avo Barsoumian has been part of the interior decorating and home flooring community for the past 25 years. He owns and operates a flooring installation company in Orange County. They have a huge selection of elegant hardwood flooring, beautiful laminate flooring and plush carpeting. Searching for that perfect best quality laminate flooring for your new town house or carpeting showrooms to makeover your older house? Then give Carpet Wagon a call.

Over the top 1960s Murano art glass bowl 2(2)

Stunning Vintage Murano Red Blue Venetian Freeform Art Glass Bowl or Dish
$26.75
Time Remaining: 29d 16h 55m
Buy It Now for only: $26.75
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Vintage Murano MANDRUZZATO Art Glass Faceted Ashtray Bowl
$26.00 (5 Bids)
Time Remaining: 8h 25m

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Danielle Fisher

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Decorating With Art Glass