Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article
July 31, 1988
By Susie Dewey
Vigo County Historical Society
History of museum’s glass vase not clear
A small, three-bubbled glass vase at the museum set off a long, exhaustive search about its origin.
the vase measure 6 1/2 inches in height and has been free blown. A polished pontil mark or scar on the bottom of the base shows where it broke away from the rod. The surface of clear glass is spattered with a random pattern of blue-green and yellow splashes of color. The flanged top is smooth except for a small nick, invisible to the eye but tactile to the touch.
Some glass blower worked expertly to form the three orbs of glass and to keep the symmetry of the pattern. Actually, the vase is more ornamental than practical for the neck above the two orbs is too narrow for many flower stems. The colors are pleasing to the eye but rather too vivid to combine with many flower colors.
One theory about the vase refers to it as “end of the day” glass. Supposedly, at the close of work, the glass blowers put all the colors they had used together and created this type of glass. Such pieces are unique and often are very beautiful.
Indiana was one of the large glass-providing states n America. An abundance of natural glass, water and work force led many eastern companies to expand into Indiana between 1825 and 1900. The famous Greentown glass was only one of the factories in the state.
The second theory about the vase, which fits its appearance, is that it is an example of spatter or splash glass. This colored glass was produced largely in Indiana. The coloring goes through the clear glass, which does not have a white lining, as many colored items do.
The glass blower spread many fragments of colored glass on a stone or metal surface, known as a marver. The gob or molten glass, which he took from a central furnace, was rolled over the fragments. The then blew it, warmed it, and completed the desired article. The gob of molten glass was known as a gather in the trade. He could control the spatter by choosing the fragments by color or he could spread the fragments in a haphazard pattern. The resulting ware could be in any one color or in any combination of colors. Items made usually were pitchers with matching tumblers, vases or bowls.
Practically all glass factories in the 1880s that could produce such novelty art wares did so. The popular demand was great and the profit from such items was high. Each company varied its products either by shape or coloring in order to avoid patent suits.
Although firms in West Virginia and Pennsylvania made such glass, it was commonly called Indian spatter. Even some English glass manufacturing firms use the technique with gold and silver leaf
It is impossible to be positive as to where this vase was manufactured, but it is likely that it was made at an Indiana firm.
The foreman of glass factories guarded their color recipes very carefully in order to maintain their market position. Until 1860, colored glass was restricted to decanters and bottles. After that date its use spread to novelty items as well as matched sets.
The glass vase in the cabinet at the museum can lead to the story of the glass industry in America, and especially in Indiana. Today, few of the original factories exist and molded glassware has become the rule. But the artistry of an unknown glass blower makes the viewers aware of a skill in the 19th century that pleased both artisans and viewers.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.