Iridescent glass is glass which is, simply put, iridescent. To elaborate slightly, the glass has a lustrous sheen, similar in appearance to mother-of-pearl or the wings of some butterflies and beetles, with a fluid, molten look to it. The glass is made up of various glasses of different colors being mixed together while still hot, allowing them to partially blend and form the multicoloured swirls and whorls characteristic of the style. A subset of this glass, favrile iridescent glass, refers to glass in this style which is made by hand, patented by Louis Comfort Tiffany in the late 19th century.
Used in stained glass tiles, lighting and household objects like vases, iridescent glass was considered a haut-couture décor-style of the early 1900s. The Art Nouveau movement was particularly fond of using iridescent glass, with Tiffany and others like him incorporating it in their designs for such banal objects as household lamps and windows.
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Companies like the Loetz Glass Company, with designers like Moser and Holubetz, produced many fine works using iridescent glass, using it in their trademark vases and a variety of design ranges. At the height of iridescent glass’s popularity, even such items as candlesticks and finger bowls were being produced. The style remains popular today, with the Tiffany products and others of the era considered of highest quality.
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