Glass Paperweights
Glossary of Glass Paperweight Terms
Blowing: technique of forming an object by inflating a gather or gob of molten glass on the end of a blowpipe. Usually blowing s thought of as several steps. First the glass blower or gaffer blows through the tube, slightly inflating the glass gob. Next, the glass is worked by spinning, twisting, rolling it on a marver, or shaping it with tools or in a mold. Once the shape is what the glass blower wants, it is enlarged by blowing into the blowpipe.
Blowpipe: iron or steel tube, usually four to five feet long, for blowing glass. Blowpipes have a mouthpiece at one end and are usually fitted at the other end with a metal ring that helps to retain the gather or glass
Borosilicate glass: glass which can withstand sudden changes in temperature. It is called Borosilicate because boric oxide is used in the mix making the glass instead of alkali. At Stowe Craft Gallery, you can see borosilicate glass used in the colorful windchimes on display.
Gather: the molten glass (also called a gob) collected on the end of a blowpipe, pontil, or gathering iron. It is also used to descibe the action of gathering glass on the end of the blowpipe
Cane: a rod of glass with a pattern or mix of colors when looked at in cross section. Cane is made by bundling thin rods of glass in patterns or colors and then fusing them into one rod by heating them in a glass oven. Cane is what creates the millefiori or thousands of flowers pieces often seen in papeweights
Filigrana: blown glass made with colorless, white, and sometimes colored canes. It may be made to show a pattern of parallel lines, crisscross patterns or even spirals.
Crystal: popular term for colorless lead glass, which is particularly brilliant. In the UK, glass described as crystal must contain a defined percentage of lead oxide. Today, the word is often used to describe any fine glass tableware. Lead glass is also soft and easy to carve. Lead however has been found to leech out of glass when it is in contact wih acidic or alcoholic liquids and drinks. None of the glass at Stowe Craft contains lead. Modern artisans have found other minerals that make the glass brilliant without the hazrds of lead.
