Burmese Pattern Glass
The Mt. Washington Glass works of Boston, Massachusetts, obtained a patent on Burmese Art Glass in 1885. The new glass form had been created for them by the Englishman Frederick Shirley and is characterized by a gradual shading of bright yellow at the base of the object to a pink at the top.
This unique blend of colors was created by adding gold and uranium to the glass, which is thin and sometimes brittle. Pairpoint Manufacturing, which acquired Mt. Washington in 1894, continued to make Burmese glass well into the 1950′s. Its continued manufacture today is greatly limited by federal government control of uranium.
Shirley sent Queen Victoria a number of Burmese pieces as a present soon after its introduction. Her Majesty was so impressed she ordered more and eventually an arrangement was worked out with Thomas Webb & Son glassmakers in Stourbridge, England, for the manufacture of Burmese glass in that country.