Mousselene

from Rande Bly of Birmingham, Alabama

I thought I would share some on Carder Steuben Mousselene because many Steuben collectors are totally unaware of what it even is.

Carder got the word Mousselene from the French word Mousseline. Mousseline is a fine sheer cloth resembling muslin. The original came from Mousl Iraq and was treasured around the world. Muslin is used in the theater in drapery form as back drops. It is very uniform in color when viewed in flat form. When ruffled in drapery form it reflects both light and dark shades of the same color from the rear folds to the forward folds. This popular characteristic of muslin cloth inspired Carder to create his Mousselene. What you look for to spot it is a drapery effect in the glass resembling the ruffles of a fine muslin curtain.

Carder had a reputation of being able to maintain an even color constancy between thick and thin areas in the glass. This is perhaps best demonstrated in his dinner plates where the centers of the plates were twice the thickness of the edges of the plates yet the color is totally consistent.

The reverse of this is demonstrated in his Mousselene. Carder altered his glass formulas to get this effect. He was looking for as much contrast in color as possible between the thick and thin areas of the glass object. Using the 1932 catalog and other sources I have identified at least 24 shapes that Mousselene was offered in. I have only written down the shape numbers of vases so far. If you want another way to spot it think Dark Blue Jade. About 80% of the 24 Mousselene shapes are offered in Dark Blue Jade. It commonly came in Dark Blue Jade Mousselene, Ivory Mousselene. Henna Alabaster Mousselene, and Cerise Ruby Mousselene. It also comes in more colors. Shapes 7429-7438 show 9 Mousselene shapes in a row. The 1932 catalog shows low shape numbers like 913 and 938 were available in Mousselene. Mousselene came in both heavy and light.

The best piece to show the most contrast in my opinion is the quite rare Green Jade Mousselene. I will show a picture of it today. I guess my favorite of all might be the extremely rare Henna Alabaster pieces. More rare than Dark Blue Jade Mousselene. Ninety nine percent of Steuben collectors today have no idea even what Henna Alabaster is.

I see an Opalescent glass mixed in three of my Mousselene pieces. It is also in a Henna Alabaster Mousselene piece and in a cased piece of Henna Alabaster I have. This was surely added to enhance the contrast of color.

2013 Carder Steuben Club annual Symposium will be held at The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY from September 19-21, 2013. The festivities will begin with Frederick Carder’s 150th birthday celebration on the evening of September 18, 2013.

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