Opaline Glass: French & European Translucent Colored Art Glass

Opaline glass is a translucent, semi-opaque colored glass that was produced primarily in France, Bohemia, and Italy from the early 19th century through the early 20th century. French opaline, the most collected type, was made at factories including Baccarat, Saint-Louis, and various Parisian workshops. The glass achieves its characteristic milky, luminous quality through the addition of bone ash, tin oxide, or arsenic to the glass formula. Opaline was produced in a range of soft colors -- white, blue, pink, green, and the rare "gorge de pigeon" (pigeon's throat, an opalescent pinkish-lavender) -- and was used for decorative vases, boxes, perfume bottles, and garniture sets.

Identification & Characteristics

• Translucency: Hold opaline to light; genuine pieces show a warm, fiery orange glow at thin edges (called "fire" or "opalescence")
• Colors: White, blue (the most common), pink, green, yellow, and the rare gorge de pigeon; deeper colors indicate later 19th-century production
• Surface quality: Fine French opaline has a smooth, almost unctuous surface feel
• Metal mounts: Higher-quality pieces feature ormolu (gilt bronze) mounts in Empire, Restoration, or Napoleon III styles
• Marks: Opaline glass is virtually never marked; attribution is based on form, color, and mount style
• Period: Early pieces (1810-1850) tend to be lighter in color and simpler in form; later pieces (1850-1900) are often more richly colored and elaborately mounted

Types & Forms

• Vases: The most common form, from small bud vases to large garniture pieces
• Caskets and boxes: Hinged boxes with ormolu mounts for jewelry and trinkets
• Perfume bottles: Often with gilt or ormolu stoppers and mounts
• Garniture sets: Matched pairs or sets of three vases for mantelpiece display
• Opaline table items: Tumblers, carafes, and dishes for the dressing table
• Bohemian opaline: Cut and enameled versions, often more ornate than French examples

Auction Price Ranges

Condition Factors

• Chips and scratches on opaline are difficult to polish out due to the semi-opaque nature of the glass
• Ormolu mounts should be checked for missing elements, loose hinges, and re-gilding
• The "fire" (orange glow at edges) should be visible in genuine pieces; modern reproductions often lack this quality
• Internal cracks or stress fractures reduce value significantly
• Original ormolu gilding with warm, mellow tone is preferred over cold, bright re-gilding

Collecting Tips

• The "fire" test is the simplest authenticity check: hold the piece near a light source and look for the orange-red glow at the thinnest points
• Gorge de pigeon is the rarest and most expensive color, followed by pink and yellow; blue and white are the most available
• Ormolu-mounted pieces bring substantially more than unmounted examples of similar size and color
• Pairs and garniture sets command disproportionate premiums over singles
• Italian opaline (Murano) and Bohemian opaline are distinct traditions with their own collector bases
• Early 19th-century French opaline is increasingly recognized as important decorative art and prices have risen accordingly