Combining the play of light off glass with the fluid curves of bells, glass bells have captured collectors attentions and interests for many generations. Over the passing centuries, glass artisans have created bells of great beauty. Early European glass bells were primarily colorless, allowing the clarity of the medium and the shape of the bell alone to capture the viewer s interest. Not until the early nineteenth century Bohemian discovery of overlay glass would colored glass bells in great numbers be produced. Closer to home, many of the leading glass manufacturers have produced a wide variety of glass bells, including Fenton, Imperial, Morgantown, Pairpoint, Seneca, and Steuben.
Bells come in a wide variety of forms.
Of these, glass bells take on the form of open mouth bells, generally shaped like an inverted cup with a handle. Sound is generated from within an open mouth bell by a clapper, a round or oval shaped device suspended within the bell by a rod or a chain. When the bell is swung back and forth, ringing results when the clapper strikes the inner surface of the bell. Since the glass used in bells is frequently transparent, the clapper is quite often a decorative feature of the bell. Some glass bell clappers are quite ornate or whimsical, taking on the form of acorns, pine cones, carrots, and mice among others.