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Black Sea Glass, Black Beach Glass

What is black sea glass?

Is it really black? Where does it come from?

Most of the black glass that ends up as tumbled, frosted sea glass was originally produced to protect fluid contents from sunlight

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Black beach/sea glass is quite rare among collectors probably for two reasons.

First, most black glass bottles were made before 1880.

Secondly, it is extremely hard to distinguish a tumbled black glass fragment from the other rocks on the beach, so what little there might be is likely to be overlooked.

Black Sea Glass - Italy

Although referred to as "black," the color is actually a very dark green, amber, or olive amber (see photo above).

Black glass was probably the first glass produced in the America. Why black? Two good reasons:

First, black protected the ingredients from the effects of light, especially sunlight, on the ingredients of the bottle. This was very important in the days before the "sophisticated" preservatives that we have now become available.

Secondly, most of the black glass bottles were made by adding iron slag, which produced a stronger glass more resistant to shattering.

You might compare the strength of this "fortified" glass to some other glass colors, such as cobalt blue, which seems to shatter easier and large fragments are hard to find.

The fragments of black glass will tend to be much bigger than other colored glass and may be somewhat hunky.

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Of course, black glass was not used only in bottles. Sea glass coming from a dump can contain glass from many sources. Some interesting facts related to black sea glass are:

The center for glassmaking from the 14th century was the island of Murano, which developed many new techniques and became the center of a lucrative export trade in dinnerware, mirrors, and other luxury items. Black glass was called obsidianus after obsidian stone.

Milk glass first made in Venice in the 16th century included black glass.

Influenced by the milk glass from Venice, Opaline glass was a decorative style of glass made in France from 1800 to the 1890s and colors included black glass.

Some Depression glass was black. This was dinnerware, not bottles.

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Contemporary Fiesta ware (since 1986) included black glass.

Vitrite, also known as foam glass, is a very low fusing point black glass mainly used for the insulation base of electric lamps.

Other agents used to produce "black" glass are: Chromium, a powerful coloring agent used to produce dark green to black glass, now replacing the iron oxide used previously. Sulfur with iron and carbon produces amber glass which can vary from very light straw to a deep reddish-brown or even black.

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