Tooley Glass - Glass Definitions

Acid etched	Glass (usually flashed, see definition below) that has had a layer eaten away by hydrofluoric acid. This leaves a matte finish and usually a lighter color.
Annealed	Glass that has been cooled slowly, resulting in a soft glass that is easy to cut. Opposite of Tempered.
Antique	Glass made by the "antique" method, namely by an artisan blowing a glass bubble that is formed into a cylinder, cooled, cut open, and then flattened in a reheat oven. This glass is characterized by variations in thickness that give the glass a gradient in color across each sheet. It usually also has some small air bubbles and/or variations in the refractive index that produce slight prismatic effects.
Architectural	Glass designed to become part of a building's structure. This term is used when the architect specifies the glass as part of the architectural design.
Art	A generic category that covers all artistic uses of glass as contrasted with functional uses. Typical art glass types are stained glass, carved glass, fused glass, lamp-worked glass.
Artique	An imitation of antique glass made by Spectrum Glass Company. The fine lines from a change of density in antique glass are molded into the surface of this glass giving a similar effect in a machine-rolled glass at lower cost than true antique blown glass.
Backing	A thin piece of glass used to hold together broken fragments of old glass by adhering to them (usually with silicone or epoxy).
Backlighting	A method of using artificial light to illuminate stained glass that is not illuminated by sunlight.
Baroque	An artistic style of stained glass characterized by the use of curved lines and extravagant ornamentation.
Bent	Glass that has been bent by heating and, usually, forming it over a curved mold.
Beveled	Glass that has the edge cut off at an angle. This bends the light and produces a prismatic effect. The width of the bevel can vary but ½" is the most common width. The bevel is made by grinding off the edge of flat glass. Straight-edged bevels are made by multiple machine grinding steps while curved edge bevels must be made by hand.
Blown	Glass made from blowing a glass bubble on the end of a tube. An artisan may then shape it by spinning, rolling and pinching with iron tools to make a vase, bottle, glass or other object. Alternatively, the bubble may be placed into a hollow mold and further blown until it expands into all of the details of the mold. It may be blown into a cylinder that is later opened into a flat sheet of blown glass.
Border	A band of glass that surrounds the main work in a window. Its purpose is to frame but also to allow removal of a non-essential area to adjust the fit of the stained glass to the window.
Bottle	Sheet glass that is cut from the four sides of a glass bottle that was blown into a square mold.
Carved	Glass with the appearance of a three-dimensional sculpture imprisoned within the glass. This is achieved by etching the glass to varying depths.
Cast	Glass made by pouring molten glass into a mold.
Cathedral	Transparent glass of uniform thickness made by squeezing molten glass between rollers. The color is uniform across the piece of glass (no color gradient). Usually one roller is smooth and the other textured, which gives texture to the glass. (See 'Hamm
Copper-foiled	Copper-foil is a method for making 2 or 3-dimensional objects from small pieces of colored glass. Very thin strips of copper foil are wrapped around the edges of each piece of glass. The pieces are positioned into the desired shape or design and then so
Crackle	Glass made by dipping a molten cylinder into water.
Crown	Glass that is rotated as it is blown, thereby creating a disk shape with a knob, or crown, in the center. Same as Roundel.
Curious	Glass that did not meet the manufacturer's specifications (in other words, 'rejects').
Cut	Sculptural glass (three-dimensional, like a vase or goblet) that has designs cut into the glass with a copper wheel.
Cylinder	Most common type of blown glass. The glass bubble is blown into a cylinder, the ends cut off, the cylinder split along its length, and then unrolled into a flat sheet.
Dalle de Verre	Slab of glass' (translation from the French) is a cast chunk of glass approximately 1inch x 10 inch x 8 inch that is used to make 'faceted' glass windows (see 'Faceted').
Dichroic	Glass which has a thin metal film vaporized onto its surface. The glass transmits one color and reflects a different color. Each manufacturer offers about a dozen different color combinations.
Drapery	Glass with varying thickness and irregular ripples.
Enameled	Glass design made by melting enamels on the surface of the glass.
Encapsulated	Glass which has been sealed inside a 'sandwich' of two sheets of clear glass.
Etched	Some of the surface glass has been removed leaving a rough finish that makes clear glass appear more white. The removal can be by an abrasive (leaving a fairly course, white finish) or by hydrofloric acid (leaving a smoother, less white finish).
Faceted	Slab glass that has been chipped on the edges to cause thin flakes of glass to break off the flat surfaces. Pieces of this type of glass are set into an epoxy or concrete mixture to produce large architectural window-walls. The fractured edges ('facets')
Favrile	Type of glass produced by Louis Comfort Tiffany that is opalescent with a coppery metallic coating. Note: Starting in 1892, Tiffany called his glassware 'Fabrile', supposedly, derived from the old English, meaning 'hand-made'. 'Fabrile' evolved into '
Fired	Heated to a critical temperature in a kiln. The temperature depends on the glass and the desired effect. Painting becomes part of the glass about 1200 degrees F. Glass will slump or fuse (see definitions) at higher temperatures.
Flashed	The glass has a thin coating of a second color of glass processed onto the base glass.
Flat	Art glass that has minimal thickness. It is glass that has NOT been fused, molded, bent, slumped, lampworked into a 3-dimensional shape.
Float	Glass that is made by floating molten glass on a bed of mercury. This makes an extremely smooth and flat surface.
Fluted	Glass that has evenly spaced flutes running parallel to each other.
Fused	Two or more pieces of glass that have been melted together to form one piece.
Globs	Non-uniform round or oval smooth 'puddles' of glass with one flat rough side formed by dripping glass onto a table.
Glue-chip	Glass that is covered with an animal glue and then dried in an oven.
Grisaille	Black or brown fusible paint used for shading on glass. Grisaille glass is glass that has been painted and fired.
Hammered	Glass textured by indentations which resemble a surface that has been beaten with a ball-peen hammer.
Hot	Glass that has been worked by a hot process such as fusing, firing, blowing or lamp-working.
Inlaid	A term used for a new type of flat stained glass made by laminating separate pieces of glass to a plate glass base with a transparent epoxy.
Insulating	Two pieces of glass that have been sealed together at the edges.
Iridescent	Glass on which a very thin coating of metal has been applied.
Jewel	Glass that is cast into molds with jewel-like facets and then polished to a smooth brilliance.
Laminated Art	Laminated Art glass is made by laminating a layer of 1/8 inch art glass to a thick clear glass substrate. The art glass layer is typically formed by edge-gluing the pieces together using an epoxy or curable resing.
Laminated safety	A sandwich of two pieces of glass with a plastic-like material between them. In this type of safety glass, it is difficult to penetrate the glass even if both layers of glass break.
Lamp-worked	Art glass that is made by heating with a torch and then 'worked' in order to bend or fuse or shape the glass.
Leaded	Art glass composed of multiple pieces of thin glass joined by a metal channel of lead soldered at every intersection. Lead is strong enough to hold the glass yet flexible enough to withstand the thermal expansion stresses of the glass and the window frami
Liturgical	Glass designed for a prayer or worship space.
Medallions	A series of stained glass panels that have been arranged within a larger window in a narrative sequence.
Mosaic	Opalescent glass that has been sliced into small pieces (smalti) for assembly into designs that are cemented into building walls, floors or other surfaces.
Mottled	Glass that has variation in coloration in the form of small spots, some of which run together.
Mouth Blown	Flat glass made from a glass cylinder bubble blown by an artisan on the end of a tube.
Obscure	Clear glass through which images cannot be can be seen because the light waves are bent by the texture on the glass surfaces. Obscure glass is used where light is desired but visibility is not, for example, in a bathroom.
Opak	Glass which has a thin coating of white on one side. This makes it behave somewhat like opalescent glass, but gives a more delicate effect which transmits more light.
Opalescent	Glass containing some white pigment.
Painted	Glass with designs painted onto it. The usual process is to then fire the piece so that the paint becomes part of the glass. However, there are 'cold' or unfired paint designs.
Plated	Multiple layers of glass used together to achieve a color not available as a single piece of glass.
Privacy	Glass which does not reveal much about what is on the other side. Etched, Opalescent and Obscure glass are automatically privacy glass because of their structure. Most bathroom windows are designed as 'privacy' glass.
Reeded	Glass with uniform parallel ridges. Any
Reinforced	Leaded glass that has been strengthened by the use of iron. Common methods are:
Residential	Art glass designed for residences. The most popular locations, in descending order are: Entranceway (door, sidelights, transom), bathroom window, kitchen window, door or window separating rooms, built-in cabinet doors, etc. Any location with light
Restoration	Clear glass that is manufactured to resemble glass made in the 18th and 19th centuries. This glass has some slight variation in thickness that causes some distortion.
Ripple	Glass with a ripple texture rolled into it while still molten. Various widths exist from fine (spaghetti ripple) to wide.
Roundel	Glass that is rotated as it is blown, thereby creating a disk shape with a thicker center and a cut-off from the punti (iron glass-working rod).
Safety	Glass with reduced hazard of cutting when it breaks, and therefore specified by building codes for hazardous areas. The two main types are Tempered and Laminated. (see definitions). Glass may also be made safe by coating with a thin transparent film desi
Seedy	Glass that contains small bubbles or
Slab	Glass poured into a mold to make small slabs of glass. See 'Dalle de verre.'
Smalti	Small slices of opalescent glass that are used for assembling mosaics.
Stained	Colored glass assembled into designs. The color comes from the addition of metallic oxides during the process of melting the glass ingredients. The name comes from the silver nitrate that was used in the Middle Ages to 'stain' clear glass yellow or orang
Tempered	Glass that has been heat treated to make it very hard and brittle.
Tessera	The individual small square (or nearly square) piece of glass (or stone) used as to assemble a mosaic.
Tiffany	Used to refer to either a type of glass (see 'Opalescent' and 'Favrile'), or a style of art glass design made popular by the studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Transparent	Glass through which light passes freely.
Vaseline	Glass that is the color of petroleum jelly, emits slight radioactivity, and glows neon green under ultraviolet light.
Vision-obscuring	See Obscure. Opposite of transparent.