Topic: Small blue vase with mica flakes - Sowerby Blue Nugget?

[glassobsessed]

I have seen these little vases described as Sowerby, if so are they the "Blue Nugget, a type of spangled glass made by Sowerby" - mentioned by Charles Hajdamach, page 307, British Glass 1800-1914?

Construction is a very thin layer of 'jet black' - actually amethyst, then the large mica flakes and a thick layer of pale blue on top. 3 inches tall.

John

[Lustrousstone]

Look like it to me, looking at the pics in Cottle

[glassobsessed]

Thanks for taking a look Christine.

With Sowerby my first thought is usually pressed glass, is 1880s for the date about right for this one?

[Lustrousstone]

Cottle says c1883. You'd be surprised at the facon Viennese stuff they did too

[glassobsessed]

Yes, read a very little about them but would like to see some images too, I have seen the odd bit at auction that I wondered about, England or Italy? Decided they weren't going to be from Netherlands...

[Lustrousstone]

I'll try to remember to bring Cottle with me on Sunday

[glassobsessed]

That would be very kind.

I am hoping to buy a few books at the National, if I get the Chance to...

[Bernard C]

John — Sowerby pattern 1248 in Pattern Book IX of June 1882, Registration No. 314280 of 18 September 1877, Parcel No. 7 (according to Cottle and Thompson, both of which will be in my book box on Sunday).    Cottle notes:  "Both Gold and Blue Nugget [were] produced in 1883 by the introduction of sheets of cadmium to the glass metal".   1248 is one of a small group of mould blown vases shown in Pattern Book IX as patterns 1243 to 1250.

There's a useful image of a Blue Nugget 1243 here.   Unfortunately the accompanying text misquotes Cottle, corrupting Simon Cottle's valuable research, and is without acknowledgement to the copyright source, making it difficult for any reader to establish the correct information.

None of these mould blown vases is common, but I can't recall seeing an example of Nugget in the free world before.   Great find.

Bernard C. 

[glassobsessed]

Thanks Bernard, I did spot that example when attempting to research and managed to find conflicting information online - not an unusual situation...

With hindsight, cadmium does seem like a better bet than mica for those silver flakes - they are so big, all the mica I remember seeing in glass has had a much smaller 'grain' size.

Image of a lump of cadmium: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L7Qz1cn1Y4E/UVNjjZl0egI/AAAAAAAAAC0/k0G7Mkgusz8/s1600/cadmium.jpg

John

So perhaps Gold Nugget was made with amber instead of blue glass?

[Lustrousstone]

Mica also comes in sheets. As a scientist, I doubt the flakes are cadmium because a) I doubt cadmium metal was readily available off the shelf or as metal foil (the colorant is cadmium sulphide) and b) its melting point is way below that at which glass is worked and blown. I suggest this is an error.