Mandarin Yellow–Rouge Flambé–Really

from David Chadwick-Brown

Alan, I had previously sent accompanying commentary with shots of two sock darners in one of my display cabinets, and must set the record straight, thanks to Greg Merkel’s X-Ray Fluorescence analysis. The one purchased at a modest price, in the hope it might be Mandarin Yellow, is apparently not Steuben, notwithstanding the fact that it came from a home in the Corning area, and the color appears to match pictures of Mandarin Yellow. Here follows his extensive analysis and reasoning, the logic of which I deeply appreciate, if not the conclusion.

“The present darner is distinguished from the two examples of Steuben’s Mandarin Yellow that have been examined to date in (1) the use of potassium in place of some or all or the sodium, (2) substitution of zinc for some of the barium and all of the calcium, (3) presence of arsenic, (4) presence of a low level of selenium, and (5) absence of the low level of antimony found in the Steuben Mandarin Yellow. Therefore, the darner is not “Mandarin yellow” per se. Carder did conduct a series of experiments with potassium barium zinc yellow glasses in the 1922-23 time period: however, those compositions contained antimony (which the darner lacks) and no selenium or arsenic (which the darner contains). Furthermore, those glass compositions were directed toward making a transparent orange-yellow glass, not an opaque yellow (although they could probably have been turned opaque with sufficient reheating). The absence of arsenic and selenium from all of Carder’s 100+ cadmium yellow glass recipes argues against the present object being Steuben; however, their presence as impurities from residual glass in the pot or from stray cullet can’t be ruled out.”

The second darner, sold by a reputable auction house with the asseveration of the consignor (whom I know and have always trusted) and fetching a Rouge Flambe price, was not a Steuben product. Similar XRF analysis makes the mistake clear.

Both darners have been stowed with my other mistakes out of sight. The foregoing is not only to set the record straight, but to emphasize the importance of scientific analysis in support of our Steuben collecting endeavors.

David