Cranberry Glass

I grew up with a house full of beautiful glass vases. I'm told my great-grandparents once had one of the finest collections of antique American glass in the United States, though the collection has since been divided repeatedly among children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I had many individual favorite vases when I was growing up, but my favorite kind of vases were the beautiful, rosy cranberry vases.

In addition to cranberry glass production, history, and purchasing advice, you can find on this page a selection of antique and modern cranberry glass for sale, including vases, goblets, tumblers, pitchers, baskets, lamps, rose bowls, and plates.

What is Cranberry Glass?

Cranberry glass is a form of art glass used primarily for decorative pieces and fine dishware and drinkware.

Cranberry glass is known in Europe as Gold Ruby glass. Though the two names are sometimes used interchangeably, Cranberry glass is actually a paler red than true Gold Ruby glass.

Cranberry glass is made by adding gold chloride (a gold solution made by dissolving gold in aqua regia, a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acid) to molten glass. The more gold chloride used, the deeper the shade of red in the finished glass. Small amounts of stannic chloride, a type of tin, are sometimes added as a reducing agent. The finished, hardened piece is a colloid: one solid (gold) dispersed inside another (glass).

Because of the cost of the gold and the delicate mixing process, cranberry glass is very difficult to make and a single finished piece is the result of multiple skilled craftsmen and women. Cranberry glass is always mouth-blown, molded, or mold-blown, never factory pressed. Blown glass can usually be identified by the pontil mark on the bottom, molded glass by the mold mark.

Cranberry Glass on Flickr

IMGP0927 cranberry glass lamp by littlefeather100

Beaded Flower Arrangement by WithUibelong

"Mary Gregory" basket by Christopher Proudlove

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Cranberry Glass History and Lore

According to legend, the secret of making cranberry glass was discovered when a nobleman threw a gold ring into molten glass. Romantic as the story might be, it's false - if there was any gold ring tossing involved, it would have had to be into aqua regia.

Regardless, the secret of making red glass was known to the Romans. The famous Lycurgus cup contains both gold and silver and looks green in reflected light and red in transmitted light.

After the fall of the Roman empire, the secret was lost for centuries before being rediscovered in the 17th century by either the Bohemian glassmaker Johann Knuckel or the Florentine Antonio Neri.

The height of cranberry glass production occurred in the late Victorian and Early Modern eras, from about 1870 to 1930. Cranberry glass is still produced today by such companies as Fenton. Modern cranberry glass is not generally considered to be reproduction glass, even though many of the shapes and styles are similar to those popular in the past.

Books For Collectors

The bibles for glass collectors

The Collector's Encyclopedia of American Art Glass: Identification And Values (American Art Glass Identification and Values)

by: John A., III Shuman

Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 01/09/2009)

Fenton Art Glass Patterns 1939-1980: Identification & Value Guide

by: Margaret Whitmyer, Kenn Whitmyer

Amazon Price: $23.96 (as of 01/09/2009)

Dictionary of Glass: Materials and Techniques

by: Charles Bray

Amazon Price: $51.52 (as of 01/09/2009)

What to Look For in Cranberry Glass

Fine cranberry glass should be free of ash, chips, or unpolished markings. The pontil - the rough place where a finished piece of mouth-blown glass is seperated from the blowing rod - should be polished as well, not broken or chipped, as should any places where one piece of glass attaches to another, such as a handle.

Though some bubbles and striations are normal in mouth-blown glass, they shouldn't be too large or interfere with the piece's design.

If you are looking for collection pieces, it is best to buy only from a reputable dealer. Novice collectors can sometimes mistake cheaper "cranberry flash" for true cranberry. ALWAYS check the age of a piece if you are unsure - some styles of modern glass can be easily mistaken for Victorian antiques. Fenton glass from the 40's and 50's, before the company began marking their products, are particularly prone to being mistaken for Victorian-era treasures.

Cranberry Treasures

Antique glass for collectors and connoisseurs

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Decorating With Glass

Useful tips and inspirational photos for showing off your glass collection to its fullest advantage

Decorating with China and Glass

by: Caroline Clifton-Mogg, Simon Upton

Amazon Price: (as of 01/09/2009)

The Art of Display : Creating Style with Decorative Objects

by: Katherine Sorrell

Amazon Price: (as of 01/09/2009)

A Passion for Collecting: Decorating with Your Favorite Objects

by: Caroline Clifton-Mogg

Amazon Price: $14.24 (as of 01/09/2009)

The Collector's Eye: Decorating With the Objects You Love

by: Christine Churchill

Amazon Price: (as of 01/09/2009)

A Passion for Collecting: Decorating with Art and Antiques

by: Jean Demachy

Amazon Price: $36.30 (as of 01/09/2009)

Cranberry Vases

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Cranberry Lamps

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Cranberry Rose Bowls

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Cranberry Baskets

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Glass at the Table

Inspiration and advice for incorporating cranberry and other fine glassware into your table settings

The Art of the Table: A Complete Guide to Table Setting, Table Manners, and Tableware

by: Suzanne Von Drachenfels

Amazon Price: $28.40 (as of 01/09/2009)

Tabletops: Easy, Practical, Beautiful Ways to Decorate the Table

by: Barbara Milo Ohrbach

Amazon Price: $18.15 (as of 01/09/2009)

The Perfect Setting

by: Peri Wolfman, Charles Gold

Amazon Price: (as of 01/09/2009)

Table Inspirations: Original Ideas For Stylish Entertaining

by: Emily Chalmers

Amazon Price: (as of 01/09/2009)

Cranberry Tumblers

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Cranberry Goblets

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Cranberry Pitchers

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Cranberry Plates

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Cranberry Depression Glass

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More Cranberry Treasures

The most valuable items for collectors and connoisseurs

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Mary Gregory

Mary Gregory was a 19th century American glass painter whose work often appears on Cranberry glass.

Mary Gregory (1856?1908) was an American glass painter at the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company in Cape Cod, Massachusetts who helped popularize glass-painting.

read the rest of the Wikipedia article

Mary Gregory Cranberry

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Other Types of Red Glass

True Cranberry and Gold Ruby glass is made with gold, but an attractive shade of red glass can also be made with copper. Most modern, factory-made red glass is made with neither gold nor copper but a combination of either selenium and cadmium or antimony, carbon, and sulphur.

There is also a kind of glass known as "cranberry flash." Much cheaper than true cranberry glass, cranberry flash consists of a thin overlay of color on top of clear glass. The color does not look as deep as true cranberry and there is often a hint of gold iridescence.

Learn More About Cranberry Glass

Gold Ruby Glass from the Glass Encyclopedia: Gold Ruby and Cranberry Glass: information, pictures and references on Gold Ruby glass and Cranberry glass from the Glass Encyclopedia on-line, the ultimate reference source on glass.
Collect a Crop of Cranberry Glass: Ever see glass good enough to eat? Pretty cranberry glass is just that. Read all about it here.
Family Treasures: Information about Victorian era cranberry glass
Gold Ruby Glass made in Gibraltar: Gold Ruby Glass article with photographs and text explaining how a gold ruby glass vase is made, links to numerous useful and interesting sites on glass.
The A, B, C's of Cranberry: By Fenton Art Glass

Guestbook

Lensmaster

GlasswareGirl wrote...

Nice lense. I like cranberry glass too- my favorite is Fenton.

Visit my store at http://KLGlassware.blujay.com

Posted July 04, 2008

Lensmaster

clefty wrote...

Informative and beautiful lens. Rated 5 stars. Why not check out my art glass lens?
http://www.squidoo.com/stainedglassartwork

Posted April 07, 2008

Lensmaster

Nisbets_Antiques wrote...

OOOOO AAAA I love the glass. Great Lens. I rated 5 stars, added you to favs and rolled you. I have a few cranberry glass that I collect also (not for sale).

Posted March 28, 2008

Lensmaster

bjslapidary wrote...

Very interesting lens. I have rated it and lens rolled it. Thanks for all the info.

Posted March 08, 2008

Lensmaster

fledgling wrote...

Great lens, 5 stars. My Mom had some cranberry glass lamps, and I could have stared at them endlessly, the color is so beautiful. Thanks, Good show!

Posted February 28, 2008

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Cranberry Glass

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Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

Explore related pages

What is Cranberry Glass?

Cranberry Glass on Flickr

Cranberry Glass History and Lore

Books For Collectors

What to Look For in Cranberry Glass

Cranberry Treasures

Decorating With Glass

Cranberry Vases

Cranberry Lamps

Cranberry Rose Bowls

Cranberry Baskets

Glass at the Table

Cranberry Tumblers

Cranberry Goblets

Cranberry Pitchers

Cranberry Plates

Cranberry Depression Glass

More Cranberry Treasures

Mary Gregory

Mary Gregory Cranberry

Other Types of Red Glass

Learn More About Cranberry Glass

Guestbook

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