The Glass Menagerie: Collecting Spun Glass Figurines

Spun glass figurines are a wonderful accent for any home; perhaps you've seen them in gift shops, and are looking for something that adds a glint of sparkle or a touch of class to your home,  There are lots of people who make a hobby out of collecting spun glass figurines, which range from the tiny (under three inches) to the gigantic (over eight inches).  All are made from delicately spun glass crystal, by hand, meaning no two are exactly alike.

It's that uniqueness that causes some people to collect them.  They're spun from viscous molten glass at over 800 degrees, much the same way glass is blown to make goblets.  In practice, and when watched, it's like spilling hot honey onto a chilled plate, only more so – the viscous glass turns solid nearly instantly.  While they're viscous, little droplets of spun glass are molded and fanned to make out the theme of the piece, sometimes with different tempers and impurities of glass to build forms.  (The color of glass is based on impurities within the glass, and a lot of spun glass figurine artists will mix and match different colors of glass for specific effects, like setting the eye or wing of a piece at a different color from the main body.)

There are a lot of themes for spun glass figurines; some go to abstract art – cascades that look like perfectly transparent waterfalls or icicles.  Others are animalistic, with themes ranging from cats and dogs, to birds and butterflies.  Even more impressive are the ones built off of fantasy themes, with spun glass nymphs and sylphs, dragons and unicorns.  There are 'name brand' glass figurines, and some of the antique pieces are quite valuable because of this.  The most famous of the spun glass figures is Steuben, who produced a lot of items in the 1960s and 70s, many of which sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars now.  Because the art form is so old, it's worthwhile to check out antique shows for rare, treasured pieces.

Styles of spun glass figurine materials vary from studio to studio, and with materials.  All batches of glass are different, and it's these differences, plus the handcrafted aspect, that make spun glass figurines unique, and worthy of collection.  There are particular patterns, like flambeau mixes, where glasses with different melting temperatures are mixed to make flame like patterns in the spun glass figurine, usually in hues ranging from red gold to pale amber.

Once you've got a collection of spun glass figurines, the next question is how to display them.  Any display system should be carefully sealed, so that they don't get jostled or broken, and most should have some sort of indirect lighting on them.  High end cases use subtly placed mirrors to let the light catch and refract within the spun glass figurine.