The Monster From The Slag Lagoon

White and Orange Goblet

When I received this "Slag Glass Goblet" in the mail I nearly screamed. It was the most hideous piece of glass I had ever seen! At first I thought the dealer had swindled me, but after I calmed down and sent a polite email asking, "What the heck is this?" I found out the seller knew even less about the piece than I did. She did offer a full refund, but I thought this was a good lesson to learn in that things aren't always what they seem.

Let me describe this piece. It looks like a milk glass King's Crown goblet that was left in the back yard in a bucket of rusty water and the water evaporated leaving a rusty stain on the goblet.

I had been wanting a piece of King's Crown slag glass ever since I had heard there was such a thing. It sounded like it would be a really interesting piece to have. I do have a penchant for the strange, the odd, the unusual.

After doing some research on slag glass to find out what it was; I realized as with most subjects having to do with King's Crown it was a little fuzzy.

Slag is nonmetallic waste matter obtained when iron ore is smelted, which is a process in which iron ore

is infused, usually with chemical reducing agents (eg. coke), in order to separate out the metal in a molten form. This slag is added to glass to achieve the different colors, but what is called "slag glass" isn't always made in this fashion. To collectors any pressed glass that is opaque with colored streaks or swirls is called "slag glass."

The 2 so called pieces of "slag glass" that I have don't even fall into the above definition of having slag added to the glass. The goblets have a stain added to them after they have been pressed. Or rather they have been painted as evidenced by the rubbing off of some of the added color. Any good crafter could make their own pieces of slag glass. Or any lazy person could throw a goblet in a bucket of rusty water and let nature take its course.

In conclusion, even though I was highly disappointed by the grotesqueness of the rusty goblet... it grew on me. So much so that I bought (on purpose) the purple and gold goblet and I'll take any other pieces of "so called King's Crown slag glass" that differs in colors from the 2 pieces I have. Now you are prepared should you ever purchase a piece of King's Crown slag glass off the internet. No screaming please.

Purple and Gold Goblet