hello antonizz - if you think you're confused ...............
It's probably fair to say that often what we believe to be solid and definitive answers, as to the definition of much glass terminology, turns out to be more subjective (prone to personal interpretation), that we once believed. For all of us, this is unhelpful, confusing and makes for much disagreement, and imho is the result of the commercial aspect our market. There is far too much use of dubious descriptive word association to confer a higher value, or improved provenance, on pieces which might otherwise remain of lesser importance, plus our interpretation can vary depending on our nationality!
Opaline/opalin is very much one of those areas of problematic definition, and I would still maintain that as already repeated by flying free, this material isn't cased, neither is it opaque, and it should show sufficient translucence such that the sunset glow is apparent. Unfortunately, I'm not aware of the original Italian or French recipe for the batch make-up, so can't prove that they were either different or identical - although I suspect they weren't the same - the inclusion of ashes of calcined bones as the opacifier, seems to have been essential.
Colour wise, opaline can be almost anything from a pearly white through most pale colours and on to deep blue and even black (apparently).
Allegedly the best pieces came from Baccarat (French) mid C19 and are possibly the closest in appearance to what we think of as standard opaline.
In addition to information provided in m's link, I notice that one of my dictionaries provides a reference for a full discussion on opaline, its makers, forms and colours - as follows:
'Opalines Francaises du XIX Siele (1950) - Yolande Amic.
I asked the question regarding the opaqueness, or otherwise, of your vase, as it would seem to be contrary to what most of us think of as opaline, if your vase was simply an opaque coloured glass that lacked the properties of opaline. That is not to say that your vase isn't from Baccarat or wherever you believe it may have an association, but simply that if we are forced to say we cannot determine it has the properties of opaline, then it remains impossible to verify it as such.
Opaline glass is one of those materials that often carries with it certain physical properties that are definable and allow us to say with reasonable conviction what it is.
Hope you don't consider we have let you down with our little knowledge - most of us here have other day time jobs (like being retired etc.:-)) and would only ever consider ourselves as amateurs. Regret I don't know your location, but can only suggest that when you do have your vase that you seek appraisal from an expert, and wish you luck. Please do keep us informed of any further information on this one.
Yes, very much like the scents, will give some thought to these and hopefully one of us will give an opinion - deep turquoise is a stunning colour.
P.S. On behalf of all those here, my thanks for your high quality of written English - your linguistic skills are very good, so thanks.
Topic: BACCARAT- Blue French Opaline Glass Vase - Molded (Read 7340 times)
