See-through glass serving tray decorated with images of keys and locks. The key designs are surrounded by a rectangle of color, and are slightly raised from the tray. The keys themselves are golden. The lock decorations are golden and lay flat on the glass tray. The tray is rectangular and has a raised border. On the length-wise sides there are two small grooves, which may be an aesthetic design but also could be functional for holding cigarettes. In the bottom right corner, "higgins" is written in golden cursive. Higgins is presumably the name of the artist who designed the tray.

The Higgins Studio, home of “modern miracles with everyday glass” was founded in 1948 by Michael and Frances Higgins. Today, the miracles continue, under the leadership of the Higgins’ chosen successors, Louise and Jonathan Wimmer. This direct line of continuity means that glass objects in the distinctive Higgins style will continue to enchant collectors for many years to come.

Michael and Frances Higgins, who met at the Chicago Institute of Design, were pioneers in the rediscovery and refinement of the ancient art of glass fusing. Because it is so labor-intensive, fusing had, by the mid-twentieth century, been all but abandoned in favor of glass blowing. Essentially, fusing is the creation of a “glass sandwich”. On one piece of enamel-coated glass, a design is created, either drawn with colored enamels, or pieced with glass segments. Over this, another piece of enameled glass is laid. Placed on a mold, the object is then heated. Under heat, the glass “slumps” to the shape of the mold. The design itself is fused between the outer glass pieces, with additional layers often adding to the texture and color complexity.

Today, Higgins Glass, at 33 East Quincy Street, is part of the Riverside fabric of life. The Studio is open year-round, and collectors particularly look forward to the Holiday Open House, which, for over fifty years, has been held on the first Friday evening of each December. Higgins pieces are included in the collections of, among others, the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan, and the Corning Glass Museum. The Studio is also the subject of the books Higgins: Adventures in Glass and Higgins II: Poetry in Glass. More than fifty years on, Higgins glass, an “old craft for modern tastes”, continues to fascinate.

--Taken from Higgins Glass Studio website
http://www.higginsglass.com/index.php?m=3

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