Posted 2 years ago
IronLace
(930 items)
I don't purchase internationally very much any more, only when I find something particularly interesting that is also not too heavy on price or postage. This was a good example of both!
This small vase is made from green glass with an iridescent crackle finish. It measures 13.5 cm tall, 6 cm across the top rim, & 5.5 cm across the base.
Most likely by Kralik, circa 1900.
Hi IronLace, I always look with interest your posts, are you sure this is a crakle decor or it was done with a mold? I am not an expert thus why am I asking.... Thanks
Thanks for your question, kivatinitz!
I think this is a crackle as the edges feel rough, as well there is quite a lot of variability in the thickness/thinness of the crackle. In the past I had a vase which I believed to be a sort of moulded crackle & the texture was quite uniform all over. This one has a random quality to both the texture & size of the crackle lines.
My take is that crackle glass has artificially induced cracks achieved by immersing hot glass in cold water. The cracks leave the surface relatively smooth, inside and out. A raised pattern on the outer surface, except for threading etc. usually comes from a mould. I'm not an expert either!
A gather of glass is partially blown and then introduced to water. The water causes the surface tension of the gather to be broken or fractured, while the interior remains pretty hot. The gather is then blown into a mold to form the actual shape. By blowing it larger after being momentarily cooled, the surface cracks or fractures separate further to cause the crevices and ridges in the final form, while the interior glass remained molten, or in it's elastic form... Hence, the solid interior glass, and the fractured or crackle outer surface. If the finished shape is not reheated, then the surface remains ridged, or feels rough. If the piece is reheated after being mold blown, then the crackle surface become smoother without the crevices in the surface to disappear. That is commonly referred to as "Soft Crackle".
The one other style of crackle glass is the glass with small internal cracks that look like micro interior fractures. In that case, the object is blown, generally with thinner walls, and while still quite hot, briefly submerged in water to crack the glass. This is a much easier process, and one that is still widely used today.
thanks for the answers to all of you
Many thanks, Peggy! Crackle glass has always fascinated me & thus I've collected a fair few examples, & it seems to vary quite a lot!
Much appreciated, Craig! Really great description of the various forms of this technique!
Thanks also, kivatinitz!