Rare Red Sea Glass Earrings

Historical Information

Object: Pair of Red Sea Glass Earrings

Material / Body: Weathered red glass, frosted by tidal abrasion

Technique: Coloured glass made using gold chloride, copper oxide, or selenium; later shaped by natural tumbling.

Date: Glass likely 19th-20th century

Likely Origin: Britain/Europe

Pattern / Style: Rare red glass

Find Location: Thames Estuary, Essex

Extra Information:

Red glass is one of the rarest historic glass colours, traditionally produced using expensive metals such as gold or copper, which made it uncommon in ordinary household items. It was most often used for ship and railway signal lights, perfume bottles, luxury tableware, and decorative glassware. Once broken or discarded, red glass entered domestic and maritime waste streams that fed into the Thames. Over many years, tidal movement and sand polished the fragments into smooth, frosted sea glass. These pieces, once part of a functional or ornamental object, now form a pair of earrings that carry the beauty and rarity of red glass along with the long, tidal history of the estuary.