Vase, 1878–94
Made in New Bedford, Massachusetts
Black lava glass with rose, green, and blue glass and enamels, and gilding, 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (14.0 x 11.4 cm)
Yale University Art Gallery
2000.77.4
During the 1880s, novelties were the focus of many glass manufacturers. Larger, more established companies, including Mount Washington Glass, were leaders in the innovations of artistic glass, using both color and applied decoration as key components. Patented in 1878 by Frederick S. Shirley of Mount Washington Glass, most Sicilian ware was black with irregularly shaped colored areas. This unusual effect was achieved by laying glass chips and enamels onto the surface of the newly blown form, placing it on the pontil, and reheating it so that the colors fused to the body. The gilded decoration was applied after the form had gone through the annealing process. Later called Lava Glass, the rare Sicilian ware may have been the first line of colored art glass in America.
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