How Sulphide Marbles Are Made
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Description and History
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A sulphide, or figure, marble is a clear glass marble with a small, frosted figure inside it. Sulphide marbles were sometimes made of translucent amber, green or blue glass, but these are extremely rare. The figures suspended inside the glass generally were animals such as pigs, dogs, birds, kittens or rabbits. Some of the marbles had unusual figures inside, such as a bust of a German gentleman or a pocket watch. The German-made marbles were very popular from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. Many of the sulphide marbles made during this period were large, about 2 inches in diameter or more, so that babies or children could hold them and examine the figurines inside.
Forming the Marbles
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The figures inside were made of porcelain and created separately before being inserted by the glass-making craftsman into a ball of soft, hot glass. Two methods were used. The first method involved one craftsman holding the end of a heated glass rod, while another inserted the pre-heated tiny figure into the softened glass. The figure was completely covered as the soft glass folded onto it, and the glass was rounded using marble shears. The end was then snipped off, reheated and smoothed over. The second method has the craftsman placing the preheated figure on top of a blob of heated, soft glass, and then folding and molding the glass around the figure.
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After Sulphide Marbles are Formed
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Once the marbles were formed, they were placed in an iron pot that was then put into a glass annealing oven. A very slow cooling process ensured that the newly formed marbles would not crack or shatter. Sulphide marbles often have tiny bubbles trapped inside the clear glass along with the figure, or a milky trail that swirls from the figure to the edge of the clear marble. Both the bubbles and the milky trail are indicators of authenticity. Most of the sulphide marbles made during the 1800s and early 1900s came from the German province of Thuringen.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Sulphide Marble Illustration by Mary Osborne
