Blenko Dalle de Verre - Cerulean

These Blenko Dalle de Verre slabs show a substantial cerulean-blue color. Even before it is cut into facets, it has many of the qualities prized in architectural slab glass: saturated color, optical depth, and a lively internal texture. Dalle de verre slabs are hand-cast, typically around 1 inch thick.

Overall appearance

• Color: A vivid cerulean to tropical cyan with remarkable transparency. The hue shifts subtly depending on thickness—appearing almost electric aqua along the thinner edges while becoming a richer blue-green through the center.

• Light transmission: The glass glows intensely when backlit, creating a jewel-like luminosity that is characteristic of thick cathedral glass.

Surface character

The broad faces are not perfectly flat. Instead they display:

• gentle casting ripples,

• flowing striations,

• faint waves from cooling,

• scattered seed bubbles,

• occasional elongated air trails.

These irregularities animate transmitted light rather than obscuring it.

Internal qualities

The slab contains numerous optical features:

• suspended bubbles of varying sizes,

• wispy currents that record the movement of molten glass,

• localized cloudy or frosted-looking regions,

• subtle density variations that create areas of brighter and darker saturation.

These inclusions produce a sense of depth, making the glass appear almost liquid even in its solid state.

Edges

The edges are thick, smoothly rounded, and highly polished from the casting process. Along these margins the glass behaves almost like a prism, concentrating light into brilliant neon-blue bands that frame the slab.

Form

The slab is rectangular with softly radiused corners and appears roughly the proportions commonly associated with architectural dalle de verre stock. Its substantial thickness gives it considerable visual weight and emphasizes the depth of color.

Photographic observations

Front view

• Shows the richest color saturation.

• The interior textures appear layered, almost like underwater currents.

• Small bubbles sparkle throughout the field.

Side view

• Reveals the impressive thickness.

• Demonstrates how light travels through the mass of glass.

• The long internal bubble field and cooling gradients become especially evident.

End view

• Highlights the slab's optical depth.

• The color becomes more luminous as light passes through the full thickness.

• Internal bubbles and slight refractive distortions are clearly visible.

Aesthetic impression

Rather than being perfectly homogeneous, this slab possesses the organic qualities expected of hand-cast architectural glass:

• luminous,

• aquatic,

• crystalline,

• richly saturated,

• and full of internal movement.

Its color evokes tropical seawater, glacier ice, or a deep alpine lake. Once faceted with a hammer or saw—as is traditional in dalle de verre work—the chipped edges would multiply these qualities, scattering light into brilliant flashes and intensifying the slab's already exceptional brilliance.

Overall, this is an especially attractive example of transparent cerulean dalle de verre, with excellent clarity, strong chromatic intensity, and enough natural internal texture to produce dramatic light effects in architectural or sculptural applications.