Opaline glass is a decorative style of glass made in France from 1800 to the 1890s, though it reached its peak of popularity during the reign of Napoleon III in the 1850s and 1860s.
The glass is opaque or slightly translucent, and can appear either white or brightly colored in shades of green, blue, pink, black, lavender and yellow.
The glass has a high lead content which defined it as "demi-crystal" or semi-crystal. The primary influences on this style of glass were 16th century Venetian milk glass, and English white glass produced in 18th century Bristol. Many different pieces were produced in opaline glass and cities involved in the production included Le Creusot, Baccarat, and Saint-Louis, Réunion, as well as various locations in England.
All opaline glass is hand-blown, without any seams nor any machine engraving. Many pieces of opaline glass are decorated with gilding, some with hand-painted floral motifs or birds, whereas several have bronze ormolu mounts, rims, hinges or holders.
The pair is delicately and intricately hand decorated by enamel and gilded floral arabesques in various shades of blue,