Some Useful Information About Collecting Antique Glass
Nick Besson

Defined Tag: Antique Glass.

Did you know glass can be considered antique, just as well as any other antique object? Old bottles, old figurines, old chandeliers, etc, these are all antique glass. Antique glass comes in many forms; that old bottle you found on the beach might be decades old! That's why for some, collecting antique glass is a both a fun, and fascinating hobby. 18th century glass, and more recent glass objects that are some decades old, are not really that hard to find. Let's look at antique glass in more detail.

The origins of glass are obscure, but ancient Rome, Egypt, and Syria were already producers of glass. Early glass can be fragile, but there are still a few relatively good specimens exhibited in museums. Old glass was made with sand, that was heated, and fused with the aid of something like soda or potash; then stabilized with lime.

Mouthblown glass...

Glass that is 25 years old or older, is known by their trade name as antique glass, yet at the same time, some glass don't have to be old to be called antique glass. This sounds like a paradox, but it can be explained this way - handblown glass which are later cut into flattened pieces, look just like antique glass made centuries ago. The methods of mouthblowing glass is a good example of a craft dating back centuries and continuing till today, although it is restricted to certain parts of the world.

What kinds of antique glass are out there?

What types of glass were made in the past 1000 years? Some examples include:

1) Glass made with potash, originating from Northen Europe
2) Glass made from soda derived by burning seaweed around the 13th century, in Venice.
3) Potash glass with lead instead of lime, made in the 17th and 18th centuries, in England and Europe.

What should you look out for in hand blown glass?

There are some things to look out for in hand blown glass. One of the interesting features of handblown glass is the structure of small bubbles that are round or oval, resembling seeds perhaps. They are subtle, yet pronounced. This type of glass has a brilliance and a transparency that no other glass can imitate. There might be ripples or some unevenness to the glass, but these imperfections are what makes antique handblown glass unique and valued.

Stained glass

One of the reasons why people value old glass is because of their myriad colors, and their light refractions, which set them apart from most other types of glass. Take stained glass for example. If you have look at the windows of old churches, monasteries, and cathedrals, you will notice their window panes are old, yet strikingly beautiful.

The charm of stained glass lies in the way their colors glow with a subdued light, when the sunlight shines through them. It is easy to picture the grainy texture, or the brilliant mix of red, green, silver, and yellow, that are unique to antique glass; it's unforgettable once you have seen them. That will give you an idea of what antique glass is like, in all its glory.

Nick Besson is an antique lover who likes researching and collecting antiques. He has been collecting antiques for a decade now, and also writes articles on antiques for websites.