In Italy and Spain I have watched the glass-makers at much the same work, but in these instances the glass was made in cut moulds, so that the glass was pressed into a pattern while hot, and not cut afterwards.
The illustrations are of Irish ornaments in my possession on family chandeliers, and vary in length from 5 in. to 8½ in.
BLOW-PIPE AND LADLES (one shown side view). USED IN MAKING STARS AND ORNAMENTAL PENDANTS.
[The Characteristics of Irish Glass]
Irish glass, more especially Waterford, of the typical period, may be distinguished from contemporary English glass and foreign and modern fakes of all nationalities by a number of characteristics which may be grouped under the headings of Weight, Colour, Resilience, Feeling to the Touch, and Ring. Let me take these one by one.
[WEIGHT.]
Irish glass is generally very heavy, though there are exceptions to this rule, markedly in the blown specimens from about 1735 to 1750, which are extremely light. These pieces were never cut, but either engraved only or left perfectly plain. They can be distinguished from foreign pieces of similar weight, as they never show the little specks of sand in the metal peculiar to the latter. On the other hand, air-bubbles often appear in the Irish glass, which were caused by the faulty stirring of the molten metal. These are sometimes so minute that they appear like sand specks to the naked eye, and it is only possible definitely to identify them as bubbles by the use of a magnifying glass.