How can I tell if an antique cranberry red blown glass bottle is flashed or red all the way through?
Written by J. Sloan on October 19th, 2008
formernooyawker аѕkеԁ: Obviously, I don't want tο SCRATCH аt tһе surface tο see іf tһаt wουƖԁ reveal clear glass underneath. Tһе pontil іѕ polished, аחԁ I wουƖԁ tһіחk tһе polishing wουƖԁ reveal clear glass іf іt wеrе flashed. Hοwеνеr, tһеrе іѕ nothing bυt red. Please tеƖƖ mе іf tһеrе іѕ a definitive way WITHOUT harming tһе glass.
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Tags: Blown Glass, Glass Bottle, Pontil
October 21st, 2008 at 7:40 pm
No there is no way without damaging the glass
If you look at the top lip and bottom and turn on sire with bright light behind it you may see a strip of clear then it would be flashed-
but if all you are seeing is red thru and thru then i would have to suspect its not flashed-
is there a reason why you want to find out? either way cranberry glass is pretty valuable (pure gold used in getting the cranberry color)
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:03 pm
If the bottom is polished and still red, then either the color is on the inside or it is all the way through. If it is on the inside then observation across the edge of the glass in the thicker parts will show a halo of clear beyond the inside color (which carries through on direct viewing.) No halo, then it is solid. The amount of gold in the glass is trivial, what makes the red valuable is the difficulting in making a good red that does not turn a muddy brown while working the glass.