I come across many excellent examples of art glass, including items made of uranium glass, in my daily quest to locate timeless treasures. Uranium glass is treasured in part for the era it comes from, but mainly because it fluoresces under a blacklight. If you’re a collector of antique art glass, you may have uranium glass in your display case and not even know it.
Uranium was first used to create commercially available fluorescent colored glass around 1830, but the height of it’s popularity was from 1880 to the mid-1920’s. Before long uranium glass was in widespread use to make tableware and other decorative, household items throughout Europe and spread to Ohio in the states. It continued to be popular until the early 1940’s. Most of the examples we find today are from that era. Although the name uranium glass may sound a bit ominous, the uranium used to make it is used in very small quantities, typically 1-2%, and is harmless. We have yet to have a piece register on our Geiger counter. That said, it’s worth noting that you probably want to avoid eating or drinking out uranium glass items.
Uranium glass is also known as Vaseline, depression, custard or Burmese glass in some circles, although there is a bit of crossover in the use of the terms. Vaseline Glass is sometimes used in reference to the color and not necessarily the use of uranium in the piece. Depression glass is sometimes used in reference to ‘any’ art glass made during the Great Depression. Custard and Burmese glass is typically opaque uranium glass. Regardless of the term used to describe it, if you want to be absolutely certain you’re buying uranium glass, do what we do and carry a small blacklight flashlight, which you can purchase online for $5-10.
Nearly all uranium glass art available today is considered antique, although you can still buy new uranium glass items today. If you wander the thrift stores, you may well find uranium glass being sold among the normal glassware items; many times sellers aren’t aware of what they have, and you can find some very good deals. A simple blacklight flashlight (Ultraviolet or UV) will tell you for sure if a piece you have is uranium glass; the piece will fluoresce or glow if it contains uranium. The higher the uranium content, the more it will glow.
Most of the uranium glass in circulation today is either green or yellow, but clear and other colors do exist. The value of a uranium glass item depends essentially on how rare it is. Many of the antique items in circulation today were common household items of the day, and many of those can still be found readily. Antique uranium glass items can resell for anywhere between $30-40 all the way up to over $10,000. We’ve included several of the uranium glass items we currently have listed in our eBay store, and a couple of photos of items we have in inventory but haven’t yet listed. Please let me know if you have any questions, or are interested in one of the items we’ve not yet listed.
I started Olga’s Fine Art to share my passion and expertise with others who love art, regardless of the medium. Art, antiques and vintage items have been my passion from the time I was a young girl growing up in Minsk, and it was my chosen area of study at university. Locating, researching, photographing, listing, packaging and shipping these treasures bring me great joy. I hope you enjoy our store, your shopping experience with us, and many, many years of enjoyment from your items should you choose to shop with us.
Best Regards,
Olga