Glass colorants

Description

Inorganic materials are used to color or opacify glass as well as to color ceramic glazes and vitreous enamels. Examples include:

• opaque white: fluorides, tin oxide, or bone ash.

• iridescence: silver and bismuth.

• black: two or more cobalt, copper, iron and nickel oxides; or iron and carbon.

• gray: nickel oxide and titanium dioxide.

• purple: neodymium oxide.

• blue: cobalt oxide, copper oxide.

• blue-green: iron chromate, or copper oxide.

• green: iron oxide and chromic oxide.

• yellow-green: chromic oxide, or cadmium sulfide.

• yellow: uranium oxide, iron/manganese, ceric oxide, or silver oxide (surface).

• amber: iron oxide and sulfur, coal and sulfur, or iron disulfide.

• red: cadmium sulfide, cadmium selenide, manganese, metallic gold, copper oxide, gold chloride or gold-tin purple (purple of Cassius).

• violet: manganese oxide

Synonyms and Related Terms

glass colourants (Br.); colorantes para vidro (Port.)

Resources and Citations

• Michael McCann, Artist Beware, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York City, 1979

• Edward Reich, Carlton J. Siegler, Consumer Goods: How to Know and Use Them, American Book Company, New York City, 1937