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glossary (F to M)

A to E F G H I J K L M N to Z
click on any of the above to take you to entries beginning with that letter

(N.B. Headings in italics are Italian terms)

Cut in the fashion of gemstones, with adjoining flat planes Faceted stem
Cut as gemstones, with adjoining flat (sometimes slightly concave) diamonds, hexagons or rectangular planes. The last of the distinctively 18th Century stem forms, c 1775-1810 Façon de Venise
"In the Venetian style", but not necessarily produced there. Finely-blown glassware, often with latticino threading, produced in Germany, Bohemia, France, the Netherlands and England as well as in Venice in the 17th and 18th Centuries

Filigrana

Filigree, a general term used to describe embedded threads or ribbons of coloured glass, either in parallel or network patterns

Filigrana a retortoli

Twisted filigree, alternating spiralled latticino and/or twisted ribbons (also called Zanfirico) Finger-bowl
A small (usually round) bowl for holding water (sometimes scented) for rinsing one's fingers at the dinner-table. May be clear or opaque, plain or decorated, and are often accompanied by a matching saucer Firing glass
Short, rudimentary-stemmed, funnel- or trumpet-bowled glass on a thick foot, used on ceremonial occasions when, after a toast, the glasses would be rapped on the table (like a volley of shots being fired). Also known as a "bumping" glass Flashed
Usually clear glass dipped in a thin film of coloured glass and often engraved Flint glass
Original (not strictly correct) name for English Lead glass Flute
Tall slim funnel glass used for drinking champagne and sparkling wines Fluting
Cut or moulded relief ornamentation of a series of narrow or broad parallel concave flutes (as opposed to reeds or pillars, which are convex) Folded foot
The rim of the foot is folded back under to give added protection against chipping (c 1685-1750, although there was a brief revival at the beginning of the 19th Century) Foot
The base of a glass. Until the invention of the gadget, was held by the pontil-rod while the glass was being finished. After c 1800 the pontil-mark was usually ground out, so the foot could be made flat. See decanters & drinking-glasses Free-blown
Another term for hand-blown Frigger
Usually small glass article made by craftsman outside normal working hours, as a gift or for sale, or lampworked article by an itinerant glassblower. Often of no functional use. (Known as a "whimsy" in the USA) Frosted glass
Glass given a semi-opaque frosted surface by dipping in, or exposing to the fumes of, a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and ammonia Gadget
Spring-clip device used (from c 1860) for holding the foot of a drinking-glass while it was finished, so obviating the pontil mark Gadget mark
Faint mark in the shape of a Y or T, left by the gadget. After c 1900, asbestos pads prevented this mark appearing Gadroon
Ornamental decoration of continuous reeding, either vertically, horizontally or twisted. First used on 17th century silverware Gather
An amount of hot metal appropriate to the size of the article being blown or pressed, gathered onto the blow-pipe before blowing commences Giant ale glass
Tall (often over 12" high) ale glass, usually trumpet-shaped, and probably made for special occasions rather than general use Gilding
Ground gold-leaf mixed with oil, honey or mercury, painted on then fired in a low temperature kiln Gold leaf
Genuine gold leaf used as an inclusion

Graffito

A technique whereby gold leaf is applied to the surface of an article, and then scraped away in places with a pointed implement, to leave a pattern

Gulvvase

The 'Gulvvase' (literally 'floor vase', sometimes also referred to as a 'telescope vase'), was designed by Otto Brauer, Master Glassblower at Kastrup, in about 1962. At first they were only produced in an uncased dark olive-green, amber and dark blue (by Kastrup, and later Kastrup-Holmegaard). Kastrup also made them in opal (white) glass cased in clear, probably around 1963/64. Around 1967 they were re-issued in yellow, cased in clear glass, and opal cased in coloured glass. The colour range was opal/blue, opal/red, opal/green, and a very few using Kastrup's original dark olive-green over opal. Around 1970/71 an opal/yellow version was introduced and the opal/clear and yellow/clear versions were phased out. The size range was 25cm, 30cm, 38cm, 43cm, and 50cm (although not all colours were available in all sizes). The vase is also found in clear, light blue, smoke-grey, and 'rauchtopaz' (a sort of 'smoky amber'). These were made in England, under license from Holmegaard, under the tradename 'Cascade Glass'. The identity of the manufacturer is uncertain, but could be either Wood Brothers, the Waterstone Glasshouse, or the Trent Valley Glassworks Hand-blown
The article is blown and manipulated entirely by hand Hobnail-cut
Method of cutting parallel horizontal and diagonal (in opposing directions) V-shaped grooves, so as to leave faceted hexagonal hobnails. Also imitated in pressed glass Hochschnitt
High-relief cutting (as in Cameo glass) where the background is cut away to leave raised decoration (the opposite of Tiefschnitt) Hydrofluoric acid
The only acid that will dissolve glass. Neat, it leaves a clear finish; in conjunction with sulphuric acid, it produces a high gloss finish used in polishing lead glass; in mixture with ammonia, it produces frosting

Incalmo

A technique whereby two bubbles are blown, then cut and fused along their rims before final shaping. Possibly refers to the calmness required to perform this tricky operation Incised-twist
Cheaper imitation of air-twist stem, with external parallel grooving twisted to give a spiral pattern Inclusions
Any metallic particles, foil, bubbles, sections of millefiori cane, pieces of contrasting-coloured glass or any other bodies embedded in the main body of the glass

Intaglio

Engraving using small stone wheels to create mostly curved cuts (such as flowers or leaves), giving the visual illusion that the cut-away parts are actually raised (also called Tiefschnitt) Jacobite glass
18th Century drinking-glass engraved in support of the Jacobite pretenders to the throne Jelly-glass
Short glass (usually no more than 4") on rudimentary stem, used for eating jellies (often savoury, such as calf's foot etc.). Bowl may be bell, round funnel, pan-topped, sometimes hexagonal. Some are handled. After c 1745 they may have cut decoration Knop
Decorative feature of the stem, formed by re-heating part of the stem and compressing it, or made separately and inserted into the stem (as with Venetian-style glasses). See decanters & drinking-glasses Kuttrolf
A type of decanter, based on a much older German or Scandinavian design, where the four corners of the square-sectioned body are pinched together down the side, so that the lower reservoir is effectively connected to the upper by five 'tubes'. The name is believed to derive either from the German 'Kuttering' ('gurgling' - from the noise heard when liquid is poured out), or the Latin 'Gutta' ('a drop of liquid' - as the design derives from a Roman 'dropper' bottle for dispensing medicines). Also called a 'cluck-cluck'. See decanters & drinking-glasses for an illustration Lacy glass
A type of mainly American and French pressed glass with elaborate moulded decoration, any gaps being filled with small raised dots, thus hiding many of the faults inherent in early pressed glass. First developed c 1830 by Deming Jarves of Boston & Sandwich Glass Co (also called Sandwich glass) Lampwork
Articles formed out of thin rods or canes over a small burner, usually small ornaments (also miniature flowers, insects etc for inclusion in paperweights)

Latticino

Lattice, fine threads of specifically lattimo glass in spiral or net patterns

Lattimo

Opaque white glass (from latte, the Italian for milk) Lead crystal
Glass containing a high proportion (about 25 to 30%) of Lead Oxide Lead glass
Discovered by George Ravenscroft in 1673. Often (not strictly correctly) called Flint glass, it contains Lead Oxide, as opposed to Potash glass or Soda glass. It cools rapidly, making it hard to manipulate into complex shapes, but its hardness and brilliance make it well-suited to cutting and engraving Lehr
Oven used for annealing Lemon-squeezer
Georgian foot-type, square with moulded domed ribbing beneath Lost-wax
See Cire Perdu Machine-threaded
Thread of (often coloured) glass mechanically wound on to a hand-blown article Martelé
Having a surface texture in imitation of beaten metal (the French word for 'hammered') Marver
Flat metal plate onto which the article being blown may be pressed or rolled when being shaped. Sometimes deliberately covered with fragments of broken glass or pieces of cane which then fuse to the exterior of the article Mead glass
For drinking mead (from fermented honey and water), rare type of 17th or 18th Century glass - always with shallow cup-shaped bowl, with plain, baluster or air-twist stem Mercury twist
A rare form of air twist stem where the air bubbles are flattened, the increased reflective surface giving a quicksilver effect

Merletto

Various different net-like patterns of lattimo threads Metal
The basic glass mixture, particularly when molten

Mezza filigrana

Half-filigree, a pattern of fine parallel (often diagonal or spiralled) threads, ribbons or rods Mica
A naturally-occurring silicate mineral, flakes of which, included in glass, reflect light somewhat like silver-leaf

Millefiori

Literally, "thousand flowers". A type of Murrine consisting of a slice of a flower-shaped multicoloured cane, either fused together with others (see mosaic glass), picked up from the marver, or embedded in clear glass (as, for example, in paperweights) Mixed twist
A rare mixture of opaque and air twists within a stem. Rarest of all include air, opaque and colour twists Monteith
A circular or oval bowl with a scalloped rim, which allows several wine-glasses to be suspended by the foot, with the bowls immersed in iced water to cool them before use (see Wine-glass cooler) Mosaic glass
Sections of murrine fused together flat, then either (a) joined into a cylinder before being manipulated or blown into the final shape, or (b) slumped over a former to create the required shape Mould-blown
The paraison is blown into a mould, either by hand or as part of a mechanised process

Murrine

Short lengths or slices of canes (including millefiori), used in mosaic glass, or picked up onto the gather or paraison from the marver before or during blowing, and therefore sometimes smeared or distorted in the finished article (also spelt Murrhine)

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