December, 1913 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



419 



Aquamarine 

 Glass 



By Elizabeth Lounsbery 

 Photographs by T. C. Turner 



F the many forms to which glass 

 has been adapted, the orna- 

 mental has proved quite as 

 necessary as the glass of utility 

 since the earliest days of its us- 

 age, and it is in one of its most 

 unusual forms that it is pre- 

 aquamarine glass, illustrated 

 which was designed by the 



decorative and 



sented in the 



in this article, 



American artist, Louis C. Tiffany. 



In imitation of the effects obtained by look- 

 ing through a glass-bottomed boat, such as are 

 used in tropical waters and from other aspects 

 of beautifully colored water, clear and deep, 

 this glass was conceived, in which sea vegeta- 

 tion, fish and seaweed are reproduced in a most 

 realistic manner by the subtle chemistry of glass 

 making, in which the glass is partly blown and 

 partly left in a solid form with the objects of 

 decoration disposed within its solid mass. 



Except in the matter of shape, which is de- 

 signed to conform as nearly as possible to the 

 object of decoration that it contains, no defi- 



The tall "Gold Fish" vase 

 is one of graceful propor- 



tions and remarkably imitates actua 

 fish in water. This vase is truly an 

 achievement of high order in artistic 

 glass-making, yet stands for naturalness 



nite design is followed by the glass blower, his 

 idea being to produce a certain character of 

 work, and, while he may depart from the direct 

 scheme, the ultimate object is never lost sight 

 of. An example of this glass often weighing 

 twenty-five pounds is manipulated by the glass 

 worker at the end of a five-foot blow-iron or 

 "pontil" and takes several hours to evolve. 

 Many pieces are lost in "annealing" the glass, 

 in spite of the care used during the long period 

 necessary to complete this part of the work. 



Although not really belonging to this group 

 of aquamarine glass, though suggestive of it, 

 is the bowl-shaped vase decorated with sprays 

 of white blossoms and green leaves. The pe- 

 culiarity of this piece is that when held in a 

 certain position the decoration appears to be 

 both inside and outside the bowl, although it 

 is actually only upon the outside. This is due 

 to the peculiarities of the "lens" principle upon 

 which the lower part of the vase is based. 



Fascinating in their naturalness are the 



(Continued on page 44-1 J 

 gold 



fish- 



Jelly-Fish Vase 



Phantom-Fish Vase 



Minnow Vase 



