GLASS GLOSSARY - Ca - Cz: Words Used to Describe Glass

Definitions of: cameo glass - carnival glass - carved glass - cased glass - cobalt glass - crackle glass - cranberry glass - custard glass - cut glass - cut-to-clear


GLOSSARY OF GLASS TERMS
Ca - Cz
A - B D - E F - L M - Op Ov - PePi - Pz Q - 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 (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!


The famous Portland Vase at the British Museum:an example of carvedcameo glass.photo and information courtesy ofthebritishmuseum.ac.uk

Cameo Glass:a form ofdecorated glass. The Corning Museum of Glass defines cameo glass as "glass of one color covered, usually by casing, with one or more layers of contrasting color(s). The outer layers are acid-etched, carved, cut or engraved to produce a design that stands out from the background." The first cameo glass was made by the ancient Romans in 50 B.C. The famous Portland Vase above, currently in the British Museum, is an early example of ancient Roman cameo glass. The vase was made through a method the British Museum calls "dip-overlay": an elongatedbubble of dark glass on the end of a blowpipe was dipped into a crucible of molten white glass. The dark and light layers were then blown together, so that the black glass was cased within a layer of white glass. When the glass cooled, a skilled gem cutter carved away the white layer to form apicture in relief. Cameo glass became popular in America at the end of the Victorian Era, and featured prominently in decorative glassware of the Art Nouveau movement.
Canary glass: see "vaseline glass" in this glossary.



A carnival glass bowl, circa 1912, showing Northwood Glass Co.'s "Nippon" pattern.photo by *treasurehunter*
Carnival glass: a category of glass. All carnival glass by definition is iridescent -- that is, it has a rainbow-like play of light on its surface. This effect was created by spraying liquid metallic salts on the glass while it was still hot. Carnival glass was an American invention -- it wasfirst issued in 1907 by the Fenton Art Glass gepany of Williamstown, West Virginia. American "carnival glass" is defined asiridescent glass issued in the United States between 1907 and the late 1920's. American carnival is a variety of pressed glass: molten glass was poured into a metal mold, and thena metal plunger was used to press the hot glass againstthe mold, so thatthe glasstook on the shape and design of the mold. After the still-hot glass was removed from the mold, the glassmaker was able to continue shaping the glass piece by, for example, giving ita crimped or ruffled rim, or pulling it to a taller size. Thus,there is great variety among individual pieces cast from the same mold.Carnival glasswas manufacturedin an endless array of colors --thebowl shown above, an example of Northwood's "Nippon" pattern, is the carnival color known as "marigold".The major United States manufacturers of carnival glass were Dugan/Diamond, Fenton, Imperial, Millersburg, Northwood, Westmoreland and, to a lesser extent, U.S. Glass. There were also a handful of other gepanies with a very small carnival glass output: Cambridge, Fostoria, Hazel Atlas, Heisey, Higbee, Jenkins, McKee, and Phoenix. After thecarnival glass erain the United States, carnival glass makers emerged inEurope, Australia, Latin America and Asia. If you're interested in learning about carnival glass, we regemend that you visit the phenomenal and encyclopedic website of the renown carnival glass authority, David Doty (ddoty.ge), who provides information on every aspect of American carnival glass, including the sales prices ofcarnival glass piecessold on E-Bay in the last few years. For information on international carnival glass, we regemend the website of authors Glen and Stephen Thistlewood (geocities.ge/Yosemite/Geyser/1799/home.html).
Carved glass: carving is a glass-making technique. Carving is the removal of glass from the surface of a glass piece by means of hand-held tools. The cameo design on the Roman vase shown above under "cameo glass" is an example of carved glass. Carving can be contrasted with the technique known as cutting, which involves the use of mechanical cutting devices such as rotating and grinding wheels. See also "cut glass".



The mouth of a cased glass vase:pink glass was blown inside a white glass casing,and the two layers were then fused by heating.This vase is also an example of overlay.photo courtesy of curculiosglass


Casedglass: casing is a glass-making technique.The Corning Museum of Glass defines "casing" as "the application of one layer of glass over a layer of contrasting color".One method of casing, exemplified by the vase shown in the above photograph,is defined as follows by An Illustrated Dictionary of Glass: "The process involves first making the outer casing by blowing a gather, knocking off one end, and opening the piece to form a cup-like shell; the shell is then placed in a metal mould and a second gather, of different colour, is blown into it, and the gebined piece is taken from the mold and reheated so that the two inner layers fuse together. If another casing is desired, the process is repeated. The outer layer is thick, as distinguished from the thin outer layer of flashed glass." The outer or upper layer of such cased glass may be carved, cut or etched to expose the layer underneath, producing a cameo effect. A second, simplermethod of casing involves laying one "gather," or gob of molten glass, over another that has collected at the end of a blowpipe. When blown, the two layers fuse together. TheBohemian Loving Cup shown under the definition of "rubina verde" in this glossary is an example of the second casing method. Theterm "casing" is sometimes used synonymously with the word "overlay". gepare "overlay"and "flashed glass" in this glossary.