Libbey Cobalt Blue Glass Decanter Bottle Hammered Texture Cork Made in Canada

A cobalt blue decanter with a hammered texture across the body, tapered shoulders and a cork stopper. The original Libbey label is still on the base, printed MADE IN CANADA.  Cobalt is the expensive colour and always has been. The blue comes from cobalt oxide added to the batch, and cobalt has been a costly import since antiquity, which is why blue glass and blue-and-white porcelain historically cost more than anything else on the shelf. It is also an unusually strong colourant: a very small quantity gives a very deep blue, which is why cobalt glass is almost never pale.  The hammered texture came out of the mould rather than a hammer, but it is doing a real job. A flat surface on transparent coloured glass reads as one uniform block of colour. Break the surface into facets and every one of them refracts separately, so the same blue reads as a dozen different blues depending on where you stand. Hold it to a window and watch.  The surviving paper label is the collector detail. Labels are the first thing to wash off, and one intact on the base tells you this bottle spent its life on a shelf rather than in a sink.  Condition: No chips or cracks found on the rim, the body or the base. Glass is clear of cloudiness and interior etching. The cork stopper is present and seats correctly, with light wear to the cork. Original paper label on the base is present and legible.  Ships flat rate from Baltimore via FedEx, out the door within the stated handling time. I price shipping by size