Topic: Salviati Uranium Glass Plates

[NevB]

These are three 16cm. plates which I think are made by Salviati. They have a gold aventurine swirl pattern on the backs and rough pontils. They glow really well under UV and having tested them with a Geiger counter they are considerably more radioactive than my other glass, so they will be kept in a glass cabinet!

[chopin-liszt]

  A Geiger counter only detects about 10% of what is really happening, but Uranium activity doesn't get very far, can be stopped with a sheet of paper (lead aprons are not required) and is a low level sort of energy - not particularly harmful and the uranium itself stays in the glass.
It's only dangerous if bits of it get inside you - dust from it being etched or polished or from breaking, getting breathed in.

[NevB]

You're right Sue as I have to put the Geiger counter on the plates to get a reading. However it's a bit disconcerting at first when most of my uranium glass gives a reading of of around 30cpm (counts per minute) and the plates give between 320 and 350cpm  , but like you say it's still safe  .

[chopin-liszt]

  I used to play with it in labs, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with me... 

[NevB]

Gimme six on that 

[glassobsessed]

They are made with gold leaf, the 'stripes' are where two sheets have overlapped. Aventurine is copper particles held in suspension within the glass (is that the right terminology Sue?) . To my ear gold and aventurine do not belong within the same expression. A further complication is when gold powder is used instead (often by Seguso) but all three techniques look quite different if you pay attention to the detail.

John

[NevB]

You are right John, the gold swirls are made with a high carat gold, I should have said perhaps "aventurine effect".

[chopin-liszt]

Aventurine is copper powder or tiny tiny particles of copper, suspended in glass, yes.
But it can come in other colours, rather than copper metal.
Green aventurine involves chromuim as far as I know. It turned up on some Monart by accident when a chromuim "scum" developed on the pot.
Sometimes copper aventurine can look green, if clear green enamel is over them.

But these plates contain gold foil. Nothing to do with aventurine at all.