| Abstract Scope |
Glass designer Frederick Carder of Steuben Glass in New York, United States, developed an idea for an iridescent glass he named Aurene. Inspired by weathered archaeological Roman glass, Carder created the first Aurene prototypes in 1905-1906. While Carder’s Aurene glass has been written about from an art historical perspective, scientific investigations of the glasses are few. Through a combination of archival and scientific research, the general macrostructure of Aurene glass was investigated, including analysis by x-ray fluorescence (XRF), Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The glass is a standard soda lime silicate art glass with added lead, silver, and nickel oxides. The glass is then treated with tin chloride during the manufacturing process, requiring tight control of the atmosphere of the furnace. These manufacturing steps lead to a glass with an iridescent surface instead of a soda lime silicate glass with an applied iridescent layer. |