Product Details

A beautiful little piece of American glassmaking history, this vintage Fenton Blue Opalescent Hobnail Cruet combines one of Fenton’s most recognizable patterns with that dreamy blue-to-milky-white opalescence collectors love. The petite cruet features a classic raised hobnail body, graceful applied handle, flared pouring lip and its clear crystal hobnail stopper. Light passing through the glass makes the blue appear to shift from almost crystalline aqua to soft, opaque blue-white. Fenton’s blue opalescent effect wasn’t simply painted onto the finished glass. Period examples were formed from blue glass and then reheated during production, causing portions of the glass to develop their characteristic milky opalescence. The contrast between transparent blue and opaque white could vary from piece to piece, making each example subtly individual. Sources identify this petite form as Fenton’s No. 3869 Hobnail Mini Oil Cruet, dating the blue opalescent version to the early 1940s.