Blue glass is glass coloured blue by the addition of metallic oxides to the molten batch, most often cobalt oxide, which produces a deep, intense blue even in very small quantities. Copper can give lighter turquoise and aquamarine shades.
Blue glass has been made since antiquity, and the Romans produced fine blue vessels and beads. In Britain the best-known type is Bristol blue, a rich cobalt glass associated with Bristol from the later eighteenth century, although similar glass was made in other centres, including London, Stourbridge and the north of England. It was used for decanters, finger bowls, wine glass coolers, scent bottles, cream jugs and the liners of silver salts and mustard pots, sometimes decorated with gilding. Victorian factories produced blue glass in large quantities, from cut and engraved pieces to pressed and novelty wares, and twentieth-century makers such as Whitefriars continued the tradition. Collectors look for depth and evenness of colour, quality of form and decoration, original gilding and freedom from chips and cracks. Displayed on a windowsill or shelf, blue glass glows beautifully when light passes through it.
