#0301 An Art Deco green uranium glass vase with geometric panels.Sowerby UK

6 x 9 inch No chips or cracks

Glass companies in England, notably firms like Sowerby in Gateshead, produced bright uranium glass tableware and decorative objects during the 1920s and 1930s. These pieces were moulded to catch the light with sharp geometric patterns that suited the popular design trends of the period between the wars. Molten glass was pressed into heavy iron moulds using mechanical plungers, allowing factories to turn out decorative items quickly and in large quantities.

Families placed such colourful vases on mantelpieces and sideboards to brighten everyday rooms with their glowing yellowish-green hue under ambient and ultraviolet light. They were inexpensive household ornaments bought by ordinary shoppers from local department stores and ironmongers. Production of this bright tinted glassware eventually slowed down as tastes shifted and manufacturing priorities changed during the middle of the twentieth century.