Featured Green Uranium Glass Centerpiece? Any Thoughts

I didn't know this was Uranium glass (Thank you TallCakes) in the store, but I bought it because it has a great deal of natural wear on the bottom. I have been trying to find it, but since I don't even know what it is, this has been quite difficult. It is short (6") and wide (8"). Taller than a bowl, but shorter and wider than a vase. There are engravings of flowers on the top and small semicircles on the base. It is ribbed. The bottom has a mark, but I'm not sure it is a pontil scar, as it is flat against the base. I guess what I want to know does it speak to anyone about its place in time. Or anything else.

 

"if it's green it ain't vaseline"... it's uranium glass... vaseline is yellow...

looks like there are letters on the bottom; look closer and see if you can read anything... 6th image down shows something

 

You are right. I forgot that. I'll change the title. I'll look again, but it is very scratched (well loved) on the bottom. Thank you.

 

Glass spitoon?

 

I am always amazed when you do that so quickly. I spend hours and you spend seconds. That's it, of course. I don't agree with vase though.

 

Very interesting idea! This would account for the downturned lip. Thank you.

 

form sometimes called sweet pea vase

Glass Etch and Pattern Gallery (chataboutdg.com)

Lancaster #A1-1/2 Hat Rim Vase w/ Wheel Cutting

 

Excellent. You are absolutely wonderful! I am completely surprised that it is a vase. Perhaps for short flowers. I am very jazzed that you found the maker - I thought that would be impossible. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

 

I have a similar shape vase (in porcelain) that's about 5 inches (base to rim). Works just fine for flowers. Not tall ones, of course.

 

I'll have to get some short flowers then.

 

I went to image 7 and enlarged it as I saw what looked like writing or something in that corner.....no I'm not crazy.....but I don't know if the enlarging program gets creative....it hasn't ever to my knowledge before, but!!! The coloring is the best one that showed what showed up.......IMHO, it's very strange, but I just calls 'em as I sees 'em.....I believe it's a corner of the bottom of the "vase".....one of the pics taken of the inside of the "vase"..

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You are sooooooooooo delightful. I love that you took your time to do this. After TallCakes thought something was there, I went out into the sun with my magnifier and my fingers and tried to find something written there. I will tell you what I'll do. When I get back tomorrow afternoon, I'll scrub the white residue off the bottom and set up my new light box and take some more pictures. We will investigate. Right now, I can only feel a slight waviness on the bottom edge. Thank you. You are wonderful.

 

I see this posted quite a bit these days, but it doesn't follow what I learned (admittedly many years ago). I seem to recall adding uranium salts makes glass go yellow, so true uranium glass is yellow. Green versions are made by adding iron or other oxides, so these are modified uranium glass. We always used to call vaseline glass the type which was greasy yellow toned - like petroleum jelly (where it gets it's name from).

So I get that green glass isn't called vaseline as it should be the greasy yellow, but I don't get the green colour being called uranium glass as this should technically be yellow. Has something changed in the naming conventions as it seems a bit topsy-turvy to me?

 

I guess the question would be: what other chemicals are responsible for glass reacting to UV light?

 

Manganese, selenium and cadmium. Other salts and oxides can modify the colour of these too. Green UV reactive glass is usually uranium with iron, 'vaseline colour' is uranium with a tiny bit of iron or other colourant. Bright yellow is uranium.

Perhaps Antiquers as a forum could gather the knowledge and come up with a satisfactory naming convention! Would be good to have a definitive terminology guide, afaik there isn't one for this subject yet.

 

you could start with Dave Peterson (Mr. Vaseline Glass)
Vaseline Glass Collectors, Inc. » What is Vaseline Glass?

and while we're at it also work on naming convention for shapes; as the shape here is a "sweet pea" vase and often originally marketed as such... then there's agreement on the motif's used in EAPG... and then........... how about agreement that the term 'vintage' refers to wine and has an actual year attached...

 

Those are huge subjects though, uranium/vaseline glass is a fairly tight grouping, at it can also be objectively measured to some extent via a geiger counter.

 

I know you are talking to @TallCakes, another expert, about technical details, but I love your interest and explanations of the various distinctions.

 

Great question.