Milk glass

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Decorative pedestal milk glass bowl

Milk glass is a relatively recent name for opaque, milky white or colored glass, that is blown or pressed into a wide variety of shapes. Animal-shaped covered dishes are popular collectibles. First made in Venice in the 16th century, the white color is achieved through the addition of tin oxide. 19th-century glassmakers called milky white opaque glass "Opal". Other milk glass colors include blue, pink, yellow, brown, and black.

Made into decorative dinner-ware, lamps, vases, and costume jewelry, milk glass was highly popular during the fin de siecle. Pieces made for the wealthy of the Gilded Age are known for their delicacy and beauty in color and design, while Depression glass pieces of the 1930s and '40s are less so.

Milk glass has a considerable following of collectors, and many examples can be found on eBay. Some glass makers continue to produce it, including reproductions of popular collectible pieces and patterns.

Milk glass will often glow under an ultraviolet (UV) light source, and there is a popular misconception that this is because it contains uranium. This glow however is due to the reflection from the white oxide or dioxide pigments used in its manufacture, and is similar to the way in which white clothing will glow violet under a black light.