Glassmaking Technique: Gold Glass

Gold glass is made by sealing gold foil between two layers of glass. The process begins with the creation of a base disc. Glass is inflated at the end of a blowpipe and the bottom of the bubble is flattened. After cooling, a scratch is made along the side. The scratched area is heated until a crack forms to separate the top from the base. Adhesive is painted on the base and gold foil is applied. A sharp tool is used to create decorative patterns in the gold. When the decoration is complete, the disc is placed in an annealing oven. A second glass bubble is inflated and held upward to form a spheroid. The glass is reheated and carefully lowered onto the decorated base disc. The two parts are reheated so that they're fully fused and placed into an annealing oven to cool. The vessel is scratched, heated, and cracked off to form the rim. Finally, a stone is used to smooth the rim.