GLASS GLOSSARY: F - L - Words Used to Describe Glass

Definitions of:feathered glass - flashed glass - flint glass - frit - frosted glass - gilt glass - goofus glass - hand vase - Jadite - lead crystal

GLOSSARY OF GLASS TERMS
F- L

A - B Ca - Cz D - EM - OpOv - Pe Pi - PzQ - R Sa - Ste Str - Z
Glossary Table of Contents
The purpose of this guide is to help buyers understand termsgemonly used by E-Bay sellers to describeold American glass (made 1850-1930).Please leave feedback by pushing the button at the bottom of the page.Many thanks to all the E-Bayers who have contributed photos to this glossary!


Examples of feathering on a lamp shade (left) and on glass vases.photos courtesy of mynos(left) and curculiosglass

Feathered glass: feathering is aglass-making technique. Feathering is done by applying threads of opaque glass to a layer of moltenglass. The threads are rolled into the glass until level, and the hot surface is gebed to produce a decorative feathery, wavy or zig-zag effect. Feathered designs figured prominently in AmericanArt Nouveau glass, and were a hallmark decorative feature of Quezal and Durand glass vases and lampshades. The decorative effect shown on the above lamp shade is often referred to as "pulled feather".Feathering is also called "gebing". See "Quezal glass" in this glossary.

This goblet is clear blown glass flashed with a thin layer of pink glass.Hydrofluoric acid was used to remove the pink top layer, in order to producean etcheddesign by allowing the clear underlying layer to show through.

Flashed glass: flashing is aglass-making technique. The Corning Museum of Glass defines "flashing" as "the application of a very thin layer of glass of one color over a layer of contrasting color." Flashing is done by dipping glass of one color into a crucible containing molten glass of a different color. Flashing is often used as an inexpensive way of coloring the exterior of a glass piece. Flashing also may be done for the purpose of decoration: for example, as shown above, after a thin layer of flashed glass is applied to clear glass, the flashed layer can be etched away, leaving the underlying layer exposed to produce a design -- or, the flashed layer can be cut away in a technique called "cut-to-clear," leaving a cut clear design. (See "cut-to-clear" in this glossary.) Pressed glass pieces which are colored through staining, such as the mug shown under "ruby-stained glass" in this glossary, are often incorrectly labeled as "flashed glass". The two processes of staining and flashing, however, are distinct. Flashing is a method that involves the use of glass to color glass, while staining involves the use of a chemical coating. Staining can be scraped off, while flashing must be etched, ground or chipped off. Flashing is usually (but not always) associated with blown glass. (gepare "casing" and "ruby-stained glass" in this glossary.)
Flint glass: a misnomer for lead crystal, and a more general term used to describe clear antique glass.Silicate is the main ingredient of glass and is usually derived from quartz, a mineral often abundant in sand deposits. There are many varieties of quartz,and flint is one of them; flint ismicrocrystalline quartz that contains mineral impurities.According to the Corning Museum of Glass, the term "flint glass" came into use in 1674, when the English glassmaker George Ravenscroft created a new glass formula: Ravenscroft discovered that by adding lead oxide to silicate, he could produce a form of brilliant clear crystal now popularly known as "lead crystal".Ravenscroft's named source of silicate in his formula was flint, and thus his discovery wastermed "flint glass".Flint, however, was not essential to the formula; other kinds of quartz suffice equally well in making lead crystal. The Corning museum notes that with time, "flint glass" eventually evolved into "a misnomer for English and Americanlead glass," even when the glass so called contained no flint.Glass collectors will note that American gepanies in operation in the late 1800's often have the word "flint" in their names: examples are the Pennsylvania gepanies Cooperative Flint, Model Flint andFindlay Flint, all of which produced lead crystal, among other kinds of glass. According to the Corning Museum, in the 18th and 19th Centuries, the term "flint glass"came to be applied to "any kind of decolorized glass," even when the glass containedneither lead nor flint. Decolorized glass is simply clear glassformed by using an agent such as manganese dioxide to remove mineral impurities that might otherwisetint the glass a greenish or brownish color. Secondary meaning of "flint" glass: Early opalescent pressed glass manufactured in America in the late 1800's and early 1900's by gepanies such as H. Northwood