AROUND HOME : Notes on Spanish Colonial Furniture, IBM Selectrics, Etched Glass and Goldfish : TREASURE HUNTING : Etched Glass

ANCIENT EGYPTIANS frosted it. Bohemians etched it with faceted pictures. Jamestown colonists etched it and then exported it. But eventually glass reached its peak of embellishment--and production--following Queen Victoria’s unveiling of London’s 20-acre Crystal Palace in 1851.

Early in this century, Americans who relocated in row houses, apartments and suburbs welcomed the light-filtering privacy of etched glass for transoms, doors and windows. The glass was frosted and decorated with deadly hydrofluoric acid, a process in which the engraver pasted a cut-out pattern onto the glass, protecting the main surface with wax while acid ate away the pattern. Then the embosser waxed the pattern and acid-washed the background. Some artists etched 500 layers into a single piece. But the making of etched glass was tedious, risky and at times resulted in fatalities.

Today, hand-etching remains arduous but is much safer. Using tape instead of wax to create the pattern, artists frost, engrave and emboss the glass with sandblasting guns. Special jets create deep-carving and bas-relief. For a pebbled, glass-chip finish, a coat of animal glue is applied to the glass, then heated until it anneals, and sunbaked until it chips off. For a cameo effect, white glass is layered over colored glass and etched to reveal the contrasting pattern. Other time-honored techniques are employed for fluting, trailing, gilding, tinting and piercing.

For many years, etched-glass panels were relegated to bathroom windows. Now that their beauty has been rediscovered, however, they are being used again throughout elegant homes. Patterns range from Art Deco to futuristic; historic designs also are popular. Treasure hunters can occasionally track down old pieces, but most enthusiasts will find today’s painstakingly hand-sculptured designs just as exciting as antiques.

Old etched glass as well as custom designs are sold by Age of Elegance in Pasadena and Glass Horizons in Studio City. New etched glass is custom-designed by Abrasive Arts in Los Angeles, R.D. Gibbs in Glendale, Dave’s Art Glass in Azusa and Masters Stained and Etched Glass Studio in Costa Mesa.