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Pair of Mercury Glass Candlesticks, Early 20th C.
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$1,175. for the pair of candlesticks
item #577853
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Exceptional Pair of Mercury Glass Candle Sticks from the Early 20th Century in very good condition, tall and elegant.
H:17" Diameter of base: 5"
Mercury glass, also known as silvered glass, contains neither mercury nor silver. It’s actually clear glass, mold-blown into double-walled shapes and coated on the inside with a silvering formula, which is inserted though a small hole that is then sealed with a plug. A few manufacturers did, for a time, try to line their glass with a mercury solution; this practice was discontinued due to expense and toxicity, but it helps explain the origin of the misnomer.
First discovered in early-nineteenth-century Germany, mercury glass was used as an inexpensive and tarnish-free substitute for silver in such objects as candlesticks and doorknobs. It then gained favor in France and England, where it was made into useful household wares like vases and goblets, and in America, where it was turned into glass vases, goblets, tankards, sugar basins, tumblers, and even spittoons. Some critics condemned it for “looking too much like mirror and too little like silver,” which is precisely what people liked about it: At worst, mirror attracts a few vain glances, while genuine silver attracts thieves. Appreciation for the inexpensive baubles rose, until the advent of the lightbulb: in “modern” light, no burglar would mistake glass for silver.
Mercury Glass Revival
After briefly falling out of favor, mercury glass reappeared around 1900 in the form of pretty Christmas ornaments and gazing balls, as well as blown fruits and flowers. Today, most serious collectors concentrate on antique forms, like curtain pins, salt cellars, or pedestal-footed silvered vases. Many such vases were decorated by assembly lines of little girls, each of whom would paint her own specialty—such as swans, leaves, or daisies.
Rose bowls, made primarily in the twentieth century from colored mercury glass, are also sought after by collectors. Silvered-glass objects with acid-etched decoration, often of wheat or flowers, turn up frequently; cut silvered glass is much rarer. (You can tell the difference by rubbing a finger over the decoration: Cut glass has definite edges, while acid-etched glass will feel slightly rough, while these candle sticks are smooth and in an elegant style.
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