In the States, commercial manufacturing of uranium glass has ceased although small glass makers still continue to make pieces whenever vaseline cullet can be found.
In this context, a piece of uranium glass might be the one thing of visual extravagance in an otherwise drab household setting. (image via Uranium glass was made into tableware and household items (some quite curious), but fell out of widespread use when the availability of uranium for civilian purposes was sharply curtailed in the 1940s.Īccording to UK Antique Roadshow’s glass expert Andy McConnell, at the beginning of the 20th century, uranium glass objects were often given as wedding gifts amongst the working classes. For instance, Baccarat developed a green uranium glass which they named chrysoprase from its similarity to that green form of chalcedony.
The Austrian Franz Riedel was the first major producer, but soon other European glassworks developed new varieties. Between 1880 and the 1920s, uranium glass became the rage. The extraction process for uranium salts was greatly refined in the 1840s leading to a surge in green uranium glass. Baccarat oval molded glass plate sold at auction for 278 euros. Baccarat goes so far as to emphasize the fact by identifying each of their contemporary chandeliers with one “red” signature crystal. If there is a signature red crystal, it’s Baccarat.Įven today, red glass in general is often considered the most coveted and expensive, no doubt due to this association with gold. This Bohemian cup and saucer were produced for the Persian market around 1850. Scientists already knew that cadmium turned glass yellow, cobalt produced a blue, manganese brought out violet hues and certain compounds of “gold” turned red when heated, blown and cooled. Originally, uranium was seen as nothing more than just another mineral to colour clear silicon dioxide, the main constituent of glass. German chemist Martin Klaroth discovered the uranium element in 1789 and further studied its use as a colourant for glass. In the late Middle Ages, pitchblende (or uraninite) was extracted from the Habsburg mines in Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic) to be used as a colouring agent in the local glassworks. Somewhere in this wall decoration of the Imperial Villa in Posilipo, one finds uranium glass mosaics dating from 79 AD. This mosaic combined yellow glass with 1% uranium oxide. We can date uranium glass back to at least 79 AD in the form of a mosaic fixed in a small niche in a wall of the Imperial Villa on Posilipo near Naples. (Photo via Dave Peterson at ) A bit of history…Įven before the discovery of uranium as an element, uranium compounds were used for centuries as a coulourant for glass. Uranium glass keg and mugs produced in Ohio by the Cambridge Glass Co.
Under normal lighting, uranium glass objects can range from pale yellow to medium green, varying from opaque to transparent. Uranium glass glows green under ultraviolet light. “It is the chemistry of uranium that makes the glass glow, not radioactivity”, explains expert Barry Skelcher (whose collection once numbered over a thousand pieces). One might deduce that uranium glass glows green because of reactivity, but this is not the case. glass box glow, not the reactivity! Sold for 450 euros at auction. Bohemian dog buttons in uranium glass.( images via It is the uranium which makes this 19th c.
The proportion ranges from minuscule levels to about 2% (although some 20 th century pieces were made with up to 25% uranium).ġ9th c. (Image via Uranium glass (or ouraline as it is termed in French), is glass which has had uranium added for coloration. ….but a UV light or the sun’s natural UV rays will make the green glow in fluorescence. This 19th century condiment server is a pale green in regular light… (Banner photo courtesy of Dave Peterson at ) Line up a few pieces of antique “uranium glass” on a window sill, and “when the sun is over the yardarm” you will have a sure visual cure for the blues of winter. but the luscious green colours produced will have you in awe. Get out your Geiger counter! Certain 19 th century green glass can zing with radioactivity….
0 kommentar(er)
