Molten glass is poured into a steel or cast iron mold, hinged or otherwise, and firmly embedded to take the mold’s exact shape.

This industrial technique, a mechanization of an ancient manual process already known 3,000 years ago, made great strides in the U.S. during the first half of the XIXth century. The American process required a team of two glassmakers: one to place the mass of molten glass gathered at the end of his dip rod into the heated mold, the other to operate the plunger that stamps the glass. The technique was developed in England and Europe, allowing for the production of very affordable, decorative tableware. These mass produced objects could not rival the shine and finesse of hand made pieces, but they did offer commercial possibilities with their bright seductive colors and competitive prices. This technical innovation together with the invention in 1864 of the steam press, gave rise to major mass production. Already in the 1830’s in France, the Saint Louis glassworks, using the pressed glass method, was manufacturing beautifully ribbed and profiled pieces of impressive quality. Baccarat also took full advantage of the new technology. Pressed glass can also be used to form solid glass sculptures in the round or bas-reliefs for artistic or even monumental purposes. During the “Exposition des Arts Decoratifs” of 1925, the glass artist René Lalique made a spectacular display of the architectural and artistic capacities of an industrial technique that he himself worked hard to improve. His now famous statues of the “Fontaine des Sources de France” became emblematic of the exhibition. Using the same industrial techniques, he and other glass industrialist followers like Sabino, produced and made available for the masses various objets d’art, statuettes, stamps, or radiator knobs

The late XIXth and early XXth centuries remain the artistic zenith of pressed glass, but the technique is still used by many glass manufacturers -- Lalique among others.

INGOLD Gérard, “Saint-Louis, de l’Art du Verre à l’Art du Cristal, de 1586 à nos jours”, Denoël, Paris, 1986 MARCILHAC Felix, “ Lalique Catalogue raisonné de l’œuvre”, Editions de L’Amateur, Paris, 1989