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Carnival glass is press-moulded iridised glass. That is, glass which has been created using a mould, and has had a coating of liquid metallic salts applied after it has been taken from the mould to give the surface an iridescent lustre.

Glass with an iridescent finish was known in Roman times, but this finish was not used again until the famous hand crafted glass of Louis Tiffany appeared in the late 1800s. The glass that we now call carnival glass was not originally known this way, but was instead referred to by a number of names including iridescent glass, poor man's Tiffany, Imperial Jewels, Imperial Art Glass, taffeta, lustre glass, Aurora and even rhodium ware to name just a few. These names were meant to describe the silken sheen like iridescent glass that came in colours like marigold (orange), green, blue, amethyst (plum), white and red which helped to brighten up the dark heavy furnishings of the Edwardian period. Carnival glass was intended to provide the same effect as the more expensive Tiffany glass, but at a price much more affordable to the average person.

The American company, Fenton Art Glass Co, was founded in 1905 by Frank and John Fenton, and is credited with being the first producer of press-moulded iridised glassware, now called carnival glass. Thus the home of carnival glass was the USA, but it was also produced in England, Europe, Central and South America, India, China and Australia.