Wednesday, August 15, 2012

End of Day Glass











Before I became the owner of this small, approximately 12" tall, green vase, I had never heard of the term "end of day glass".






















The glassworker would traditionally use up the molten glass that was leftover from the day's work. All the specks that are seen in the finished object make a very unusual, one-of-a-kind, piece of art.

Here is the description quote from the Corning Glass dictionary:
End of Day
The English term for an object made by a glassworker on his own time. Most friggers were made from the molten glass that remained in the pot at the end of the day. Such glass was considered to be a worker's perquisite. American glassworkers referred to friggers as "end of day" objects. They are also known as whimsies.


All of the pieces I have collected, have an unfinished bottom. It's difficult to see this one because the bottom part is black.

Do you think the company's owner stipulated that the glassworker was not to finish out the bottom?










Unlike the rough cut of the bottom, the top of the vase has a delicately fluted opening.











I'm thinking, the glassblower never dreamed the pieces would become so collectible....

Meggie Mac

11 comments:

  1. I've never heard of this! How interesting! And beautiful!

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    1. Hi Anne...And to think, they are very much in demand on Ebay....

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  2. I'm guessing it allowed the glassblower free reign with creativity...probably a welcome change from stock pieces.
    Jane x

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    Replies
    1. I think you are correct....there are some very creative "end of day" pieces. What a way for the worker to unwind after working all day.

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  3. That's fascinating, I've learnt something there. I love the vase. x

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  4. I love the colours on that vase, it makes me think of goldfish swimming in a pond. It is a little treasure.

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  5. You taught me something new and have the most beautiful collectables! XOXO

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  6. This is why I love blogging, I get to see beautiful photos and learn something new all the time!

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  7. After reading about "end of day" glass, I had to google "slag glass" to see what the difference was. It seems that slag was processed by the makers (even Tiffany used it) while end of day was just rubbish. All the more credit to their creativity!

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  8. Beautiful piece of glass! I attended the demo at Wimberley Glassworks some years ago and wondered what they did with the glass the glassblower would break off from the formed piece. I like the idea of unexpected color.

    Janet

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