Posted 9 years ago
DrSignal
(43 items)
Lilac, purple and Royal purple: left to right. There are actually other shades of purples that would fill in between these...unless you have these in hand when going to purchase other purples to fill the gaps, can be tough to get different shades...you better have some serious cash also as these in purples/lilacs will cost you a pretty penny
Mostly just Manganese in the glass irradiated.
The first two look natural. The right is artificially irradiated.
And just a little pearl of wisdom, you may want to be Absolutely sure that a piece is artificially irradiated before saying someone's insulator is...may run some ppl the wrong way. It really is good to be aware that some ppl attempt to alter pieces for monetary gain, and to be able to recognize a fake from real ones. Good to be educated on the matter. I have looked at thousands upon thousands of insulators, the fake ones stick out like sore thumbs. There is a good link on the artificial alteration of any of you are interested, stay educated: http://www.nia.org/altered/
All 3 of these are legitimate pieces...Rayal purple is a color found in this EIN and this one lacks the burnt look that artificially altered pieces typically have...you can feel free to show this pic to any long time collector and they will confirm its a real Royal purple. If others are interested I can add a couple posts of a few altered pieces along with legitimate ones.
prolly only way to know with a degree of certainty is to have a sample of the glass lab tested to determine actual manganese content; manganese content less than 1% in dark purple glass is an indication of artificial irradiation...
The genuine collectors know their stuff and do not waste money on fake or altered pieces let alone post them for the world to see. The experienced collector can identify the fakes in an instant and dont need to have them analyzed. You can tell by the pieces this collector has that he knows his stuff and has put thousands into his passion. There are many beautiful colors out there, but you must pay the price, spend the time, and do the research and know what you are looking at in order to get to this sort of magnificant collection.
Half of these are irradiated:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Purple+glass+antique+bottle&espv=2&biw=1152&bih=629&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0ktHqppPKAhUByWMKHa0FCHwQ_AUIBygC
Manganese, supposedly, was added to decolourize the glass back before 1920. Most of it came from Europe, and we stopped buying from them in WW1. Our stock of it ran out in 1920, so it was rarely used in the glass after then.
Yes, I know many bottles have been faked… The bottle hobby has been inundated with altarpieces, primarily the purples and browns. I don't know much about the bottle hobby, but show me any insulator and I could tell you within seconds if it is altered or if it is legitimate. Leave it to crooks out there to try and rip people off… If there is big money involved, you better believe there will be faked pieces
And all of these insulators:
http://www.nia.org/altered/Pictures_rad_1.htm
Yea great link to study from the NIA...you can see how they have the burnt/sick purple hue to them. They stick out like a sore thumb. I know there are many unsuspecting collectors out there that have been burnt… That's why it pays to know your stuff