We take precautions when handling uranium glass, including wearing nitrile gloves and minimising the time exposed to prescribed amounts. Luckily, the radioactivity of individual, often mass-produced objects such as these, is typically very low. These forms of energy have varying strength, and depending on the levels of exposure, can be very dangerous. During this process of decay, energy is emitted in the form of radiation, which can be made up of alpha, beta, and gamma rays. Uranium slowly decays over extensive periods of time, meaning that its atoms break down, changing it into other elements, including radium. Uranium glass was produced on a commercial scale, and used to create domestic as well as fine, individual pieces, until legislation was brought in in the 20 th century after the adverse effects of uranium were discovered. Made by the firm Davenport & Co., the service was commissioned by the Corporation of the City of London, for a banquet at the Guildhall to celebrate the accession of Queen Victoria. This finger bowl, as part of a service of 6,000 pieces, was designed not long after in 1837. The first use of uranium oxide in glass manufacturing is credited to Josef Riedel, who developed it in 1834, at his glassworks in the Isergebirge, Austria.
The first object is a finger bowl from the early 19 th century, an example of the first uranium glass to be produced in Britain. (Right) Finger bowl, photographed under UV light © Aimee Lax, 2020 C.110-1992, photographed under LED light © Victoria and Albert Museum. (Left) Finger bowl, Longport, 1837, made by Davenport & Co., uranium yellow glass, cut and engraved, Museum no. With the lights turned down in the glass gallery, Room 131, and a UV torch in hand, we get the chance to see some of the collection in a new way. Hosting the ‘Laboratory of Variable Risk Perception’ has prompted us to look again at the V&A glass collection on permanent display. Holding an ultra-violet (UV) light close to the objects, the fluorescent effect caused by the radiation of the uranium is obvious. Producing beautifully vibrant shades of mainly yellow and green (but also less frequently blue and black), it was popular for its glow-in-the-dark properties. The fluorescence occurs because there is uranium, used extensively as a colourant between the early 19 th and late 20 th century, in the glass. ‘Laboratory for Variable Risk Perception’, 101 pieces of domestic uranium glassware, collected by Ele Carpenter, 2012 – 20 photographed in natural light © Ele Carpenter, 2020 The Goddess of Uranium, one of the pieces from ‘Laboratory for Variable Risk Perception’, fluorescing under UV light © Ele Carpenter, 2020 But what’s most interesting about these pieces of glass isn’t immediately obvious until you have the right light: they glow. In January 2020 V&A Ceramics Artist in Residence, Aimee Lax, invited artist and curator Ele Carpenter to display at the museum the ‘Laboratory for Variable Risk Perception’, an artwork consisting of 101 pieces of glass, all various shades of yellow and green.
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