Antique 18th-19th Century Commodes.

October 9th, 2009

Antique 18th-19th Century Commodes

THE COMMODE EVOLVED slowly during
the late 18th century, only gradually incorporating Neoclassical elements into its design. In its early transitional stage, in the 1760s, its shape retained many Rococo features, such as rounded corners and cabriole legs, but, the
case became more rectangular and the decoration Neoclassical. However, by the 1770s, the shape of commodes had also been refined, as commodes became plainer and more linear in design, with straight legs. Their angular shape was sometimes augmented by the adoption of a breakfront — the result of inset drawers being placed on either side of protruding drawers — a feature that was particularly popular.
By the 1790s, the French commode generally had two or three short frieze drawers with long parallel drawers below them. Columns of term figures, headed by female masks in Classical or Egyptian garb, flanked the drawers. The columns were also often headed by engine-turned, plain, Tuscan, gilt-bronze capitals. Commodes with three
deep drawers on short feet turned like tops were also common.
In the 1770s and 80s, commodes with sumptuous ormolu mounts and pictorial marquetry were still made for royal households, but decoration became more sparing after 1790.
Mounts were rare and plain ring handles and escutcheons, inspired by simple Grecian design, were used. Transitional commodes used satinwood veneer or mahogany but, as designs became more refined, plain, well-figured wood such as mahogany, or fruitwood for provincial pieces, was used with marble tops. Decoration was provided by moulded wood, ebonized columns, and grisaille panels.
In Britain the side cabinet became plainer but was still of good quality. No particular shape was favoured, but some designers were influenced by Egyptian campaigns. Italian designers used walnut, olive, and tulipwood, combining a pictorial frieze drawer with two plain drawers. Geometric marquetry was used to emphasize the commode’s rectangular shape.
The rounded corners of the case Crossbanded veneers and light
are inlaid with three rectangular boxwood string inlays emphasize
panels corresponding to the the edges of the drawers. depths of the drawers.
Lion’s head brass pulls like these became popular towards the end of the 18th century.
hepplewhite COMMODE
This commode has three walnut-veneered drawers. Its skirt is slightly shaped and it has short, cabriole legs with carved toes.
ITALIAN COMMODE
This rectangular walnut commode has three drawers, the top one narrower than the two below. Its drawers have floral marquetry and a central oval inlaid with an architectural scene. Its handles are lion’s head masks with a circular pull held in each lion’s mouth. c.1780.
ENGLISH CHEST OF DRAWERS
This mahogany william and mary chest of drawers is serpentine in shape. It has a moulded edge, four graduated drawers, a moulded plinth, and the piece terminates in four ogee bracket feet. The top drawer of the chest is fitted as a dressing chest. c.1770.
GERMAN COMMODE
This rosewood commode’s rounded, breakfront shape is echoed in the conforming top, which slightly overhangs the case. It has three drawers of equal size with Rococo-style drawer pulls. Its base moulding is shaped and the case stands on small bracket feet. c.1770.
PARISIAN A LA GRECQUE COMMODE
This commode has three drawers, the upper one hidden by an applied ormolu entrelac frieze. Its two lower drawers are covered with a veneer pattern. The four cabriole legs end in feet ornamented with sabots. c.1775.
SWEDISH COMMODE
This breakfront commode, with three small drawers flanking three larger central drawers, is closely related to French styles. This one is slightly heavier, particularly in the canted corners and the marginally tapering legs.
PARISIAN MARBLE-TOPPED COMMODE
This rectangular commode has three drawers, and doors in the central section, flanked by a single door on each side. It has rounded pilasters on the sides that connect with its turned and tapering legs. It has circular escutcheons with swags, and circular pulls.
MILANESE VENEERED COMMODE
This kingwood-veneered commode has three long drawers, a straight apron, and square, almost bracket-shaped legs. Its light, distinctive colour is a result of the inner sapwood of the kingwood being used for the veneer. Its pulls are Neoclassical in design. c.1790.
ITALIAN COMMODE
This rectangular fruitwood commode has three drawers, the upper one narrower than the others, and stands on short, tapering feet. It has a floral inlay, and its central cartouche, outlined in a darker veneer, is inlaid with birds and flowers. c.1780.
SWEDISH COMMODE
This three-drawer commode has a marble top. Its case has canted corners, as do the feet, which taper slightly towards the base. Its side panels and drawers are veneered, and the central drawer has an inlay of musical instruments c.1790.
FRENCH COMMODE
This three-drawer walnut commode has a moulded top over three graduated panelled drawers and a shaped and moulded apron.
Short, scroll feet, each with a block terminus, support the case. It is decorated with pierced, foliate C-scroll escutcheons and handles. The style of this commode is provincial and rather old-fashioned. c.1765. W.139cm (54 ‘ 7). 4
FRENCH VENEERED COMMODE
This commode has a breakfront shape, created by three short drawers inset either side of three protruding long drawers. It has a moulded
white marble top and geometric parquetry veneer, which includes kingwood, tulipwood, and rosewood. The cabriole legs are squared and veneered, and terminate in gilt-metal sabots. c.1770.
FRENCH DEMI-LUNE COMMODE
This mahogany commode has a semicircular, or demi-lune shape. It contains three central drawers, and curved side doors, which open to
reveal shelves. It has a marble top, gilded bronze escutcheons that are Neoclassical in design, and pulls with swags surrounding them. c.1795.

Auction Prices for Various Antique Items

September 20th, 2009

Dishes
Pair of George III oval meat dishes by Frederick Kandler, London, 1765, 73 oz 2 dwt Pair of Victorian octagonal entree dishes and covers with
vegetable dividers for each and ball finials, Sheffield, 1880,
120 oz 14 dwt 450 0
George III circular vegetable dish with ivory grips, pierced sides and four scroll and foliate feet, by W.S., London, 1809, 80 oz 2 dwt 360 0
William IV shaped oblong entree dish and cover with engraved armorials and foliate ring handle, by J. C. Eddington, London, 1835, 61 oz 5 dwt 260 0
George III muffin dish and cover, the domed cover with urn
shaped finial, by Henry Chawner, London, 1791, 15 oz 1 dwt        210 0
Jugs—Cream and Milk
George III helmet-shaped cream jug with ‘bright-cut’ engraving, loop handle and square pedestal foot, by George Smith, London, 1790, 3 oz 7 dwt 80 0
George II cream jug of conch shell type with serpent handle and
three coral-like supports. Circa 1755, 3 oz 5 dwt 80 0
George III oblong milk jug engraved with crests and with gadroon lip and scroll handle, by R. and S. Hennell, London, 1808, 6 oz 2 dwt 70 0
Victorian baluster milk jug chased with flowers and scrolls and on three feet. Possibly by William Brawn, London, 1845, 5 oz 7 dwt 52 0
Jugs—Water
George III pear-shaped hot-water jug, stand and lamp, the jug with rams’ masks and laurel festoons, the stand on three claw feet with female bust terminals, by Andrew Fogelberg. The jug 1776, the stand 1775, 40 oz

780 0
George III vase-shaped hot-water jug, plain with wood handle and on circular foot, by William Fountain, London, 1801, 25 oz 11 dwt 460 0
George II baluster hot-water jug chased with scrolls, leaves and flowers, raffia-covered handle and rim foot, by Gurney and Cook, London, 1755, 19 oz 15 dwt 270 0
Jugs—Wine and Ale
Queen Anne ale jug, die ground embossed with foliage and flowers and a satyr spout, by John Wisdom, London, 1712, 35 oz 280 0
Victorian wine ewer with baluster body and engraved with Grecian figures and leaves, entwined snake handle and butterfly finial, by E. and J. Barnard, London, 1862, 27 oz 11 dwt        170 0
Marrow Scoops
Queen Anne scoop of typical form by Charles Jackson, 1713,
1 oz 10 dwt 68 0
Early George III scoop, the larger bowl engraved with initials,
probably by William Tuite, London, 1767, 1 oz 12 dwt 20 0
Mustard Pots
George III drum mustard with moulded borders, flat hinged lid and simple scroll handle, with spoon of earlier date. Pot by Ernes and Barnard, London, 1813, 5 oz 10 dwt 165 0
some auction room prices : 1968-69
William IV mustard with ribbed baluster body and hinged domed lid with floral finial, scroll handle and shell thumbpiece and spoon of same date but different maker. Pot by C.G., London, 1830, 6 oz 17 dwt
George III oblong mustard with domed cover, urn finial and angular handle on four bun feet, London, 1813, 3 oz 11 dwt
Salts
Four George I plain oval trencher salts with incurved sides, by
Mary Rood, 1723, 6 oz 15 dwt Pair of George III boat-shaped salts, reeded at the lips and
pedestal feet, gilt interiors, by Peter and Ann Bateman, 1792,
4 oz 6 dwt
Pair of George II compressed circular salts, with plain engraved bodies below gadroon lips each on three shell-headed hoof supports, possibly by Isaac Cookson, Newcastle, 1747, 8 oz 1 dwt
Salvers
George II large circular salver on four lions’ mask and shell bracket feet, the shaped border pierced and chased, by George Wickes, 1744, 137 oz
George I plain circular salver on central foot with moulded border, by W.P., 1720, 13 oz 12 dwt
George III circular salver, engraved with initials, chased wave border and gadroon rim, on three claw and ball feet, by Robert Rcw or Rugg, 1766, 24 oz 3 dwt
Victorian salver engraved in the centre with an initial and also with scrolls and foliage, moulded border, by J. and J. Angell, London, 1845, 25 oz 14 dwt
Sauceboats
Pair of George II plain sauceboats each on three shell and scroll feet with gadrooned rims and double scroll handles, by Peter Archambo and Peter Meure, 1754, 29 oz
George II two-handled plain double-lipped sauceboat on collet foot, with double scroll handles and waved rim, with a moulded drop beneath the spout, by Peter Archambo, 1732, 17 oz 5 dwt
Pair of George III sauceboats, each on fluted shaped lozenge foot, with gadrooned borders and double scroll handles, by William Sampcl, 1766, 25 oz
Snuff Boxes—See Small Decorative Antiques Sugar Basins—See Baskets—Sugar Tapersticks—See Candlesticks Tankards
William and Mary tankard on three lion couchant feet, scroll handle, cylindrical body and moulded base, by Robert Cooper, 1692, 31 oz
George II baluster tankard with domed cover, openwork thumb-piece and double-scroll handle, on moulded spreading foot, by William Grundy, 1755, 34 oz 5 dwt 650 0
George III baluster tankard, with domed moulded cover and heart-shaped lower terminal to the scrolling handle, by William Caldecott or Gripps, 1765, 27 oz 15 dwt 570 0
Tea Caddies
George III oval caddy, the body with two bands of bright-cut engraving in beaded borders and the plain hinged lid with urn finial, by Hester Bateman, 1781, 14 oz 10 dwt 900 0
George III shaped oval caddy, the body fluted at intervals, decorated with bright-cut engraving, hinged domed cover with wood finial, by Robert Hennell, 1787, 14 oz 17 dwt 480 0
Teapots and Stands
George II bullet teapot with engraved shoulder decoration of satyr masks, leaves and flowers, straight spout, loose lid, ivory handle and finial, by Isaac Liger, 1729, 15 oz 1 dwt 2,100 0
George III teapot stand on four fluted panel supports, by Hester
Bateman, 1789, 4 oz 15 dwt 280 0
George III oval teapot with moulded girdles and a matching stand, supported on four feet, by Crespin Fuller, London, 1800, 16 oz 15 dwt 270 0
George III oval, semi-lobed teapot, with swan-neck spout, ivory handle and finial, by P. A. and W. Bateman, 1799, 17 oz 3 dwt 170 0
George IV teapot, compressed circular body, ivory handle and
finial, curved spout, by Eley and Fearn, 1823, 25 oz 16 dwt        150 0
William IV compressed circular teapot with moulded girdle, wood finial and similar wood handle, by E. E. J. and W. Barnard, 1830, 14 oz 2 dwt 135 0
Early Victorian bullet-shaped teapot with engraved body, Edinburgh, 1840, 24 oz 82 0
George III oval teapot stand, gadroon border on four panel
supports, but George Fenwick, Edinburgh, 1806, 5 oz 14 dwt 80 0
William IV small melon-shaped teapot, with slightly domed cover and ivory finial, scroll handle and curved spout, London, 1833, 13 oz 18 dwt 60 0
Tea and Coffee Services
Victorian tea and coffee service of compressed circular form, decorated with embossed flowers and foliate handles and on scrolled feet with shell motifs, by Rawlins and Sumner, London, 1838, 72 oz 600 0
George IV three-piece melon-shaped tea service with scroll handles and shell decorated panel supports, by E. E. J. and W. Barnard, London, 1829, 44 oz 7 dwt 500 0
George III circular three-piece tea service with curved lobes, gadroon rims and leaf decorated handles, on paw supports, the pot with rose finial, by John Angell, 1819, 41 oz 6 dwt 380 0
Victorian three-piece tea service of compressed circular form,
the plain ground richly chased, by I. J. Keith, London, 1840, 48 oz
Vinaigrettes—See Small Decorative Antiques Waiters
Pair of George III plain oval waiters each on four shell and beaded bracket feet, beaded rims, by John Scofield, London, 1777, 27 oz
George II plain shaped square waiter on four hoof feet, moulded border, by Thomas Farren, London, 1734, 6 oz 17 dwt
Early George II square waiter with raised border incurved at the angles, 1727, 3 oz 18 dwt
SHEFFIELD PLATE Candelabra and Candlesticks
Pair of candelabra, each for three lights, with reeded scrolling arms, gadroon bordered knops, detachable nozzles and circular bases, 17i in high to centres
Pair of three-light candelabra, the tapering vase stems, circular bases and campana-shaped sconces decorated with chased borders, each fitted with two detachable scrolling branches, one converting to form a

five-light and bearing flame finial, 20 in high
Pair of table candlesticks with V-shaped stems, gadroon shoulders, circular bases and detachable nozzles, llj in high
Pair of table candlesticks with circular bases, vase-shaped stems and gadroon borders, detachable nozzles, 11 in high
Coffee Pots
Vase-shaped coffee pot on pedestal foot with reeded borders, ball finial and wood handle, 13 in high
An oval coffee pot on pedestal base, with reeded shoulder, gadroon borders and angular wood handle, 9] in high
Urn-shaped coffee pot, body semi-lobed between ribbed panels, on pedestal base, ball finial and wood handle, 27 in high
Coasters—Wine
Four circular wine coasters with lobed sides below gadroon lips, the wood bases centred by crested bosses, 5J in diameter
Pair of circular coasters with beaded and ovolo rims, wood bases, 6 in diameter
Caddies—Tea
Two caddies of bombd form embossed with shell motifs Serpentined caddy with hinged lid and beaded borders
Dishes
Set of four entree dishes and covers on heater bases, oblong with scrolling foliate borders, 14 in wide over handles
Pair of entree dishes and covers with gadroon borders and
detachable foliate handles, 11 in wide 22 0
A rectangular entree dish and cover complete with liner, gadroon and leaf borders, wood end handles, on four supports, 141 in wide 20 0
Teapots
An oblong teapot, body semi-Iobed between gadrooned borders, short spout, ivory finial and angular wooden handles, 5J in high 25 0
A compressed circular teapot engraved with swirling leafage,
fruit finial and scroll handle, 5J in high 18 0
Tea and Coffee Services
Oval three-piece coffee service with vase-shaped pot, oval jug and basin decorated with bands of sprays and foliage, 10 in high the pot 160 0
Three-piece tea set with compressed circular bodies, fluted,
foliate collars, scroll handles and foliate panel supports 38 0
Tea Trays
Oblong two-handled tray, engraved with armorials within a chased surround of scrolls and floral sprays, gadroon border, 30 in wide 220 0
An oblong tray, gadroon bordered and reeded end handles
springing from chased foliage, 28 in wide 95 0
Tea Urns
An inverted compressed pear-shaped urn, the body engraved
with a crest, foliate handles and flower finial, 16 in high 75 0
An oviform urn with an applied plain shield, the cover with vase finial, reeded loop handles, on square base with ball feet, 221 in high 45 0
Tureens
Large shaped oval sauce tureen on four feet below heavily
chased floral motifs, detachable liner, 16J in wide 230 0
Pair of oval sauce tureens and domed covers with gadrooned rims, decorated with acorns and oak leaves at the handles, 8Ј in wide (end handles missing from one tureen) 120 0
Wine Coolers
Set of four coolers, the campana-shaped bodies engraved with contemporary armorials above lobing reeded handles and gadroon borders, on pedestal bases, 9i in high 520 0
Pair of coolers with campana-shaped bodies, reeded handles and
on pedestal bases, 9J in high 200 0
NON-PRECIOUS METALS
Brass
Pair of eighteenth-century andirons, with spherical finials, and
masks, 29 in high 100 0
SOME AUCTION ROOM PRICES ! 1968-69
A club fender
A Corinthian column floor standard
An embossed fire kerb
A two-handled log tub on paw feet
An alms dish with lobed centre and inscription border, the rim
with punched rosettes, 15} in diameter Pair of spirally-turned candlesticks on domed feet, 20J in high A hanging oil lamp Pair of chambersticks, with snuffers A heavy log tub with lion mask handles on paw feet Brass

and steel semi-circular fender
An oval fire insurance plate with a crest of a stag, dated 1774 Pair of carriage lamps A helmet coal-scuttle
A warming-pan with turned wood handle Pair of baluster candlesticks, 9 in high
Bronze
Figure of a racehorse and jockey after Isadore Bonhcur, I0j in
high
The Capture of Alexander by G. Halse. Two warriors hold a
struggling youth. Signed and dated 1860, 24 in high Eighteenth-century Italian figure The Dying Gladiator signed
Canova
Figure of a dancing fawn, holding up a bunch of grapes and
balanced on his left foot, 14 in high Figure of an infant satyr playing a set of pipes, 9j in high Pair of busts of Henry IV and Sully, three-quarter length, both
wearing ruffs and decorations, on rouge marble socles, 20} in
high
Pair of Art Nouveau winged figures stamped A. Moreau, 9J in
high
Pair of five-light candelabra on bulbous stems Italian figure of Venus, 7 in high
Copper
Early nineteenth-century tea urn on a square base
A street lamp
Three large saucepans (one with lid) Two coal scuttles A large kettle
Coal helmet with swing handle
Large two-handled urn and cover
A copper and brass tea urn with tap
A long turned wooden-handled warming-pan
Iron and Steel
Steel and brass basket grate with pierced frieze and baluster
uprights, 20 in wide Seventeenth-century Sussex wrought-iron fireback, 2 ft 10 in
by 1 ft 8 in and a log fork Wrought-iron shaped fire-back Regency iron and brass stick stand on paw feet
Victorian cast-iron corner stick stand 5 10
Victorian cast-iron oil heater 3 10
Pewter
A charger with secondary touch of Thomas Lanyon, circa 1730,
20 in diameter 36 0
Five quart tankards 35 0
A four-branch candelabrum, 24 in high 22 0
Eighteenth-century circular charger, 20 in diameter 22 0 Pair of altar candlesticks, baluster-shaped stems on triangular
bases, 20 in high 16 0
Pair of baluster and cup candlesticks, 18 in high 15 0
A hot-water meat dish with two handles and a grill, 22 in wide 15 0
A travelling chamber-pot, stamped Jas. Dixon 14 0
Two tankards and a mug 6 0

Auction Prices. CLOCKS, WATCHES AND BAROMETERS. SILVER

September 20th, 2009

CLOCKS, WATCHES AND BAROMETERS Bracket Clocks
Repeater clock by Edwardus East with signed and engraved
backplatc in cboniscd case 600 0
A three-train musical clock by Moore of Ipswich with eight tunes in ebony case with gilt metal mounts in mid-eightccnth-century style, 2 ft 2 in high 440 0
George III fruitwood clock by Recordon, late Emery, London, with painted dial and frets at side and front of case, 1 ft 2 in high 290 0
George III walnut clock, the dial signed Joseph Smith, Chester,
and of pronounced Continental character, 1 ft 6 in high 210 0
George III ebonised clock, the 7-in dial signed William Smith, with calendar and strike/silent dial. The movement is contained in an inverted bell-topped case, 1 ft 4 in high 190 0
Louis XV contra-boullc clock with enamel dial signed Darmezin, Paris, and movement signed Crepaux, Paris, in cartouche-shaped case, 3 ft 1 in high 190 0
Louis XV Boulle clock by Pcrrache, Paris, with an enamelled dial, the case surmounted by a youthful figure of Jove, richly mounted in ormolu, 2 ft 6 in high 170 0
George III mahogany clock by Massey, Bridge Road, Lambeth, the circular white-painted dial with a central calendar hand, 1 ft 4 in high 140 0
George III mahogany clock, the 7-in circular dial signed Lamb and Webb, London, with calendar and engraved backplate in bell-top case, 1 ft 4 in high 120 0
Mid-eighteenth-century veneered ebony clock signed John Small-wood, Lichfield, with pull quarter repeat, 1 ft 4 in high (later dial) 85 0
George III mahogany clock, the 8-in arched silvered dial signed Gravell and Tolkien, London, with engraved backplate and tic-tac escapement in broken arch-topped case, 1 ft 6 in high 60 0
Regency rosewood clock signed on dial John P. Smith, 1 ft 3 in
high 20 0
Carriage Clocks
Clock in gilt case by James McCabe, London 675 0
Repeating French brass clock with white dial signed Gibson
and Co Ltd, Belfast, 6J in high 68 0
French brass clock with white dial signed Rowel, Oxford, 4Ј in high
Repeating brass clock with white dial and glazed brass case, 5 in high
Gilt metal timepiece, the glazed case with pierced floral frets at the sides and front, 5 in high and with travelling case
Miniature silver-cased repeating clock with white dial. The case stamped J. Keller, 3J in high
Lantern Clocks
Brass clock with engraved copper dial and an alarm disk, 1 ft 1 in high
Late seventeenth-century brass clock, the dial engraved with flowers and with pierced dolphin cresting, 1 ft 3 in high
Longcase Clocks
Late seventeenth-century marquetry clock, the 11-in dial signed Robt. Williamson, London, with calendar aperture in a walnut case inlaid with shaped panels of birds and flowers, with a bullseye in the waist door and with spirally turned columns at the corners, 6 ft 7 in high (frieze of a later date)
Tall mahogany cased clock with chimes. The elaborately foliated brass dial with a silvered chaptered ring. The case inlaid with classic urns in coloured woods, the arched hood has brass spires and the waist has a bevelled glass door
A carved mahogany cased clock with a grotesque satyr mask to the hood over a brass floral scrolled dial. Westminster, Whittington and St Michael chimes, 7 ft 7 in
Mahogany clock made by Manley of Chatham
Eighteenth-century walnut clock with domed canopy and brass face, the movement by William Stapleton, London, 7 ft 4 in high
Walnut clock, the early eighteenth-century movement signed
Andr. Dunlop, London, the 12-in dial with chestnut and
flower spandrels, 7 ft 4 in high Georgian lacquer clock with brass face and striking movement.
The case, with ‘bullseye’ door, decorated with gilt chinoiseries
on a simulated tortoiseshell ground Eighteenth-century small clock by John Lee, Gookham; with
brass dial and foliated spandrels, in a black lacquer case
decorated with chinoiseries in red and gill
Mantel Clocks
An ormolu clock, the painted dial signed F. Linke, Paris, the movement in a glazed case in well chiselled ormolu with drapery, acanthus leaves and groups of fruit and ending in double cloven-hoof feet, 2 ft 11 in high
Bronze and ormolu mounted clock, the movement contained in a drum upon which is seated a Chinaman holding a parasol, the whole on the back of an elephant, 1 ft 4 in high
A French clock, inscribed Bonniere a Clermont, in a rococo porcelain case. The blue and gilt ground painted with musicians, lovers and flowers. On a similar stand
Louis XVI marble and ormolu clock, the striking movement with enamel dial signed Hessen. The arched architectural case with drapery festoon, pineapple finials, an urn and fluted columns, 1 ft 5 in high 110 0
Regency rosewood clock, the movement by Dwerrihouse &
Carter, Davies Street, 2 ft high 70 0
Philippe clock with glass panels in gilt metal case with corinthian columns and surmounted by an urn. Decorated with coloured enamels, 18 in 68 0
An Empire marble clock mounted in ormolu, the movement with outside count-wheel, the dial surmounted by a white marble urn and suspended between fluted columns capped by ormolu pineapples, 1 ft 4 in high 55 0
Watches
Gentleman’s 18-carat gold half-hunter watch 20 0
Early nineteenth-century verge watch by D. Nevern, in a tor-
toiseshell case, the dial enamelled with a wharf-side scene 13 0
Gentlemen’s 18-carat gold pocket watch by George Harvey,
Wellington 13 0
George III verge watch by William Fowler, London, in a silver
case, London 1783 9 0
Nineteenth-century verge watch by Nicoll, Great Portland
Street, in a tortoiscshcll case 7 10
Barometers
Early   Victorian   mahogany  stick   barometer  by  E. Davis,
Shrewsbury, 3 ft 3 in high 70 0
Regency rosewood inlaid with mother-o’-pearl banjo barometer
and thermometer 46 0
George III mahogany banjo barometer and thermometer with engraved scales by A. M. Ortelli, Godalming, the case outlined with fruitwood lines, 3 ft 2 in high 38 0
Georgian mahogany stick barometer and thermometer by Rout-ledge, Carlisle 38 0
Mahogany stick barometer and thermometer by Salmon, Bath 38 0
A Regency rosewood banjo barometer and thermometer by
Aprile Sudbury 34 0
Early nineteenth-century mahogany banjo barometer by Lione and Tarone, London, with a thermometer and the case inlaid with Prince of Wales plumes and a whorl pattern, 3 ft 2 in high 30 0
Early nineteenth-century mahogany banjo barometer by A.
Celti, Reading, the case inlaid with shells, 3 ft 2 in high 22 0
SILVER
(Troy weight: 20 pennyweights [dwt] = 1 ounce [oz])
Baskets for Bread, Cakes, Fruit, Sugar or Sweetmeats George II oval-shaped cake basket on four cherub mask and scroll feet. The sides pierced and engraved with flowers and
scrolls and the base engraved with a coat-of-arms, by Paul
Crespin, 1753, 62 oz 3,600 0
George III oval pedestal cake basket by John Ernes, London,
1804, 24 oz 10 dwt 400 0
George III boat-shaped pedestal sugar basket with engraved border, reeded edge and swivel handle by Peter, Ann and William Bateman, London, 1793, 5 oz 10 dwt 320 0
Victorian oval basket, the pierced panels embossed with beading
and garlands, London, 1895, 19 oz 62 0
Candelabra and Candlesticks
Pair of George I dwarf table candlesticks, the baluster shafts upon square terraced bases by William Darkeratt, 4J in high, London, 1726, 20 oz 1,500 0
Victorian tabic candelabra with two tiers of six scrolled branches issuing from a bold Corinthian column supported on a square terraced foot, with neo-classic rams’ mask and husk swags by R.H. over R.H., London, 1877, 30 in high 355 0
Pair of George III table candlesticks, the tapering baluster shafts upon half-fluted circular bases by John Green & Co, Sheffield, 1800 195 0
George III chamber candlestick and snuffer, the gadrooned edge
witli shell motif by William Cafe, London, 1761, 12 oz 130 0
Casters
Garniture of three George II vase-shaped sugar casters of plain
design by John Delmester, London, 1758, 15 oz 10 dwt 930 0
William IV Scottish baluster caster engraved with a crest above floral decoration on a granulated ground, by Elder & Co, Edinburgh, 1832, 4 oz 7 dwt 90 0
George III baluster caster with pierced cover and wrythen
finial, by Thomas Satchwell, 1780, 2 oz 4 dwt 85 0
George III vase-shaped caster the otherwise plain body engraved with contemporary crest. The mark of George Giles struck over another, 1783, 2 oz 8 dwt 65 0
Coasters—Wine
Set of four partly fluted circular coasters with gadrooned rims and engraved with crests by John & Thomas Settle, Sheffield, 1818 410 0
Pair of George III coasters with pierced waved galleries, London, 1794 270 0
Pair of William IV circular-shaped wine coasters with foliate borders and crested silver bosses to the wood base, by Henry Wilkinson & Co, Sheffield, 1831 150 0
Pair of George III coasters with beaded rims, the pierced sides stamped with arcading, urns and laurel festoons, maker’s mark missing, 1794 100 0
Coffee Pots
George I small plain cylindrical coffee pot with octagonal spout and low domed cover with baluster finial, by Paul De Lamcrie, London, 1725, 11 oz 3 dwt 1,900 0
George II baluster coffee pot, plain with foliate decorated spout, wood handle and hinged domed lid, probable maker Fuller White, London, 1759, 21 oz 1,350 0
Late George III tapering cylindrical coffee pot, the plain body engraved with contemporary armorials and a crest, by Peter, Ann and William Bateman, London, 1802, 35 ox 2 dwt 1,200 0
George IV coffee pot, vase-shaped, with moulded bands at the neck and waist, leaf-capped scroll handle and foliate finial on lid, by Pearce & Burrowes, London, 1826, 22 oz 5 dwt 210 0
Victorian vase-shaped coffee pot engraved with key pattern
decoration, London, 1872, 24 oz 135 0
Cruets
George II five-bottle cruet frame on four shell feet with detachable baluster handle. Five cut-glass silver-mounted bottles. By Jabez Daniel, 1750, 28 oz 7 dwt 105 0
George III cruet frame for six bottles with reeded loop end handles, ring holders, on four feet. Five glass bottles all chipped, one broken. By Henry Chawner, London, 1792 16 0
Cups and Goblets
Elizabeth I secular wine goblet, the bowl decorated with tulips and strapwork motifs, on a slender baluster stem and circular fluted foot, London, 1593, 5 oz 10 dwt 2,000 0
Pair of George III goblets of plain design, probably by William
Sumner, London, 1800, 20 oz 520 0
Pair of George III two-handled pedestal challenge cups and covers with reeded decoration and urn knops, by Samuel Hcnnell, London, 1806, 32 oz 5 dwt 400 0
George III tumbler cup engraved with armorials, gilt interior and the base with contemporary initials. Possibly by John Garter, London, 1766, 2 oz 1 dwt 150 0
Victorian wine cup, the beaker-shaped bowl and pedestal base cast and chased in low relief with grape-laden vine tendrils, by Hunt and Roskell, London, 1875, 10 oz 1 dwt 52 0
Cutlery—Canteens
George III fiddle thread pattern table silver: 24 tablespoons, 36 table forks, 12 dessert spoons, 12 dessert forks, 12 teaspoons, 6 sauce ladles, 2 soup ladles, 1 marrow scoop, majority by Richard Crossley, 1798/1800/1804, 146 oz 9 dwt 750 0
Victorian fiddle pattern table silver: 12 tablespoons, 12 table forks, 12 dessert spoons, 12 dessert forks, 6 teaspoons, 2 salt spoons, by George Angell, London, 1863, 116 oz 14 dwt 260 0
Cutlery—Forks Dessert
Twelve George I  three-pronged  forks with crest, different
makers, 1718, 14 oz 1 dwt 1,500 0
Twelve George IV fiddle pattern forks by James Scott, Dublin,
1822, 15 oz 75 0
Six George III fiddle pattern forks by G.D., London, 1794,
8 oz 14 dwt 65 0
SOME AUCTION ROOM PRICES ! 1968-69
Cutlery—Forks Table
Twelve Queen Anne three-pronged forks engraved with a crest,
by David King, Dublin, 1708/10, 28 oz Four George II three-pronged forks engraved with two crests,
1755, 7 oz 18 dwt Eleven Victorian fiddle shell pattern forks by George Angell,
1857/61, 36 oz 16 dwt
Cutlery—Forks Toasting
George III fork with knopped shaft and scrolled handle, probably by R. Preston, London, circa 1767, 7 oz 10 dwt. 17f in long
George III fork with knopped shaft and scrolled handle by John Deacon, London, circa 1775, 8 oz. 19i in long
Cutlery—Knives
Forty-eight Victorian table knives and twenty-four dessert knives, kings pattern, steel blades by J.A. or T.S., 1884
Twelve eighteenth-century dessert knives, the multi-faceted bloodstone handles with knopped urn finials and mounts engraved, the scimitar blades of steel. Circa 1700, (Some handles cracked)
Cutlery—Ladles
Four George III sauce ladles, crested Old English pattern by
Hester Bateman, 1783, 5 oz 19 dwt Pair of George III sauce ladles with ribbed and punched beaded
bowls, by Michael Keating, Dublin, circa 1780, 2 oz 16 dwt
Cutlery—Spoons Dessert
Nine engraved spoons, seven by William Soame, 1741, two 1748, 12 oz
Ten Hanoverian spoons engraved with crest, 1760, 11 oz 5 dwt Cutlery—Spoons Serving
Pair of George III Old English pattern spoons by Steven Adams,
London, 1772, 5 oz 15 dwt Pair of Victorian spoons by George Angell, 1854, 10 oz 14 dwt
Cutlery—Spoons Table
Six George I Hanoverian pattern spoons with rat-tail bowls
by Charles Jackson, 1723, 11 oz 2 dwt Six George III Old English pattern spoons with contemporary
initials J.G. by Hester Bateman, 1780, 11 oz 17 dwt
Cutlery—Spoons Tea and Coffee
Six William IV ‘bright-cut’ spoons, 1836, 3 oz 7 dwt Eight George IV fiddle shell pattern spoons by J. McKay, Edinburgh, 1827, 4 oz 8 dwt

Auction Prices - Antique Furniture, Sideboards, Globes

September 19th, 2009

Globes
Pair of early nineteenth-century mahogany library globes by Newton, published in 1838 and 1836. The tripod frames with out-scrolled legs ending in brass castors, 3 ft 8 in high        780 0
Large pair of terrestrial and celestial globes by Newton; published 25 March 1875. Supported in mahogany frames on triple curving legs 205 0
Pair of terrestrial and celestial globes in turned stands by James
Wyld, Charing Cross East; published 1847 185 0
Knife Boxes
A pair of mahogany urn-shaped knife boxes, stamped W. Johnston, with domed lids and bodies inlaid with flowers and stripes, 2 ft 5 in high 115 0
Sheraton  inlaid  mahogany serpentine-fronted knife box in
original condition 32 0
Mirrors—Mantel
Empire-style giltwood overmantel with triple mirrored panels
and decorated with classical figures 105 0
Rectangular mantel mirror in a giltwood frame carved with
acanthus and shell motifs, 31 in by 25 in 60 0
Mirrors—Toilet or Dressing
Sheraton serpentine-fronted box-frame toilet mirror fitted with
two drawers, 17 in wide 36 0
Sheraton box-frame shield-shape toilet mirror with two drawers,
18 in wide 30 0
Mahogany box-frame toilet mirror with three drawers, 15 in
wide 15 0
Edwardian   mahogany   box-frame   toilet  mirror   with three
drawers to base, 22 in wide 9 0
Mirrors—Wall
Pair of Chinese-Chippendale giltwood girandoles of rococo outline mounted with phoenix-birds and clusters of flowers from which issue two scrolled candle branches. The base enriched with acorns and oak leaves, 38

in high 650 0
Mid-Georgian wall glass in a giltwood frame carved with scrolls
and foliage and pierced, 44 in high 200 0
Chippendale mahogany mirror with gilt gesso beading
George IV convex mirror in a gilt frame enriched with spherical ornament with two scrolled candle sconces. Crested with a gilt eagle with outspread wings 76 0
Regency giltwood convex mirror with ball encrusted moulded
frame and ebonised slip, 1 ft 11 in diameter 15 0
Settees, Couches and Chaise Longues
Small carved mahogany sofa, the arched back carved with
rococo motifs. Curved arms, carved seat rail and cabriole legs        135 0
some auction room prices ‘. 1968-69
Decorated satinwood cane-panelled settee with loose seat
cushion, 4 ft 4 in George III painted settee with flat rectangular back and arms,
on turned legs. The arms, seat rails and legs are painted
with husks and flowers on a cream ground, 6 ft wide Early George III mahogany settee with stuffed back and arms.
The seat rail and legs are carved with blind fret, 5 ft 8 in
wide, (some restoration) Victorian rosewood frame serpentine-fronted chaise longue on
short cabriole legs
Settles
Eighteenth-century oak settle, 5 ft 5 in wide Seventeenth-century panelled oak settle with box seat, 4 ft 6 in wide
Seventeenth-century carved and panelled tall-back hall settle, 5 ft 7 in wide
Sideboards
Small nineteenth-century sideboard inlaid with ebony lines. Raised back, the centre drawer flanked by a cupboard and deep drawer. Supported on six turned and tapering legs, 4 ft 8 in wide
Hepplewhite-style mahogany serpentine sideboard of rich mellow colour, cross-banded in kingwood and fitted with a napery drawer and cellaret cupboards with octagonal gilt metal handles and supported on chamfered

legs, 7 ft 2 in wide
Georgian mahogany half-moon sideboard with two cupboards to the sides and two drawers with lion ring handles in the centre. Four tapering legs, 4 ft wide
Large mahogany Sheraton-style sideboard fitted with two long drawers and flanked by two deep drawers, supported on tapering legs
Regency Empire mahogany sideboard of architectural form, with a reverse breakfront with two shallow drawers to the centre flanked by deep cupboards. Supported by two curved and four simulated bamboo legs

terminating in brass paw feet. The whole mounted with ormolu and brass griffins, lions’ masks and sphinx and with Adams-style garlands and patera, 7 ft 6 in long
Late Georgian mahogany sideboard with shaped front, the top back rail fitted with three tambour slides. Two cupboards and a centre drawer to the base over a waved apron. Supported on six slender tapering legs, 5 ft

7 in wide
Early nineteenth-century mahogany bow-front sideboard on spiral-turned legs, 6 ft 1 in wide
Tables—Break fast
Regency mahogany breakfast table with brass stringing on the banded top and a turned pillar ending in a reeded quadruped, 5 ft by 3 ft 5 in
Georgian mahogany oval breakfast table with reeded edge and
Tables—Card
Chippendale mahogany card table with shaped folding top on boldly carved cabriole legs ending in claw and ball feet, 2 ft 7 in wide 370 0
Late George II mahogany card table with border of carved flowerheads and legs and frieze carved with blind fret, 3 ft wide 250 0
Regency card table in figured rosewood inlaid with brass flowers and leaves, the D-top on a ringed stem and quadruple brass capped legs, 3 ft wide 190 0
Sheraton mahogany card table inlaid with satinwood lines and
on tapering legs, 3 ft 2 in wide 180 0
George II walnut card table with rectangular top on turned legs
with mantled knees and club feet, 3 ft wide 95 0
Regency mahogany card table with green baize interior on curving quadruple support, ending in brass claw feet. The top is cross-banded 65 0
Victorian mahogany card table with double Sap top supported
on four tapering shafts, terminating in curved legs 44 0
Tables—Centre
Regency painted centre tabic, the circular top simulating green marble, the border with brass mouldings hinged to a carved turned central support on a curved triangular base with lion’s paw feet, 4 ft diameter 120 0
Edwards and Roberts eboniscd centre table with ormolu beading on cluster column and quadruple base, 5 ft 6 in wide 38 0
Red Buhl shaped centre table with heavy ormolu mounts, two
drawers and on cabriole legs. (Poor condition) 11 0
Tables—Dining
Charles I oak dining table with a triple-plank top and the frieze carved with leaves and interlaced arcading, on column legs, 6 ft 5 in long by 2 ft 7 in wide 360 0
Large late George III mahogany dining table, the top richly carved with acanthus, ribbon motifs, satyr masks and a coat of arms. Supported on ten tapering spiral-twist legs with five loose leaves, 12 ft 4 in long 185 0
Georgian mahogany two pillar dining table with triple curving
legs ending in brass-capped feet 122 0
Georgian mahogany oval drop-leaf dining table on turned legs
and pad feet 75 0
Eighteenth-century mahogany oval drop-leaf cottage dining table
on taper legs with pad feet, 3 ft 6 in wide 44 0
Mahogany gadrooned oval dining table with cabriole legs and
claw and ball feet 40 0
Georgian mahogany drum library table with leather top and four real and four dummy drawers. On triple curving legs with brass-capped feet, 3 ft 3 in diameter 680 0
some auction room prices : 1968-69
George III mahogany library table fitted with seven drawers and dummy drawers with gilt metal lion ring handles, the top with gilt tooled green leather and the whole raised on a curved quadruple support with

brass-capped feet
Tables—Games and Sewing
Eighteenth-century mahogany, shaped folding top, games table on nutcracker frame with cabriole legs and claw and ball feet, 34 in wide
William IV games table with sliding and reversible top inlaid as a chess board opening to reveal a backgammon board with two drawers to the side. Central pillar supported on quadruple curving feet
Nineteenth-century mahogany sewing table with rising top and drawers below. The slender tapering legs ending in brass-capped feet
Tables—Gate-leg
George I elmwood gate-leg table, the oval top with flaps on
cabriole legs carved with scrolls and leaves and ending in
pointed pad feet, 3 ft 9 in wide Seventeenth-century oak oval gate-leg dining table with double
flaps supported on bobbin turned legs with plain cross
stretchers, 4 ft 9 in wide Late George II mahogany gate-leg table, the oval top with two
flaps, on unusual legs fluted and ending in paw feet, 3 ft 9 in
wide
Oak oval gate-leg table on turned underframe with drawer, 4 ft wide
Tables—Occasional
Late George II mahogany piecrust table with bird-cage support on fluted stem with carved legs and claw and ball feet, 2 ft 2 in diameter
Large mahogany piecrust tripod table with baluster stem and
pointed pad feet, 3 ft 5 in diameter Mahogany tripod table, the circular top with raised rim, on
cabriole feet, 1 ft 10 in diameter
Tables—Pembroke
Late Georgian mahogany oval Pembroke table with drawer, on
square tapering legs, 2 ft 7 in wide by 3 ft 6 in long Late Georgian mahogany Pembroke table painted with a floral
border and on turned and fluted legs Georgian mahogany Pembroke table with folding flaps and
single drawer, inlaid with satinwood lines and fan motifs, on
tapering legs, 3 ft 2 in wide
Tables—Refectory
Seventeenth-century oak refectory table of slender plain form, the base having square ends united by a single stretcher, 7 ft 3 in long
Oak refectory table on bulbous end supports with central
stretcher, 7 ft 7 in by 3 ft wide 130 0
An exceptionally long oak refectory table with triple curving
supports, 18 ft 6 in long, 3 ft 3 in wide 90 0
Tables—Side
Queen Anne banded walnut side table with two deep and two
shallow drawers on square legs, 3 ft 3 in wide 170 0
Chinese-Chippendale mahogany side table, the frieze carved with
blind fret. Moulded legs, 3 ft wide 88 0
Oak side table with drawer, on turned legs, 3 ft wide 64 0
Walnutwood side table with cabriole legs carved with acanthus
leaves 31 0
Tables—Sofa
George III satinwood sofa table cross-banded with acacia, fitted with two drawers and false drawers opposite on trestle supports with splayed curved feet and brass castors, 2 ft 10 in wide        750 0
Regency banded mahogany sofa table with tulipwood stringing with two drawers on end supports and central stretcher with brass claw feet, 5 ft 10 in extended 380 0
Late George III mahogany sofa table with two drawers in frieze and raised on flat trestle supports with out-curved legs, 3 ft 2 in wide 270 0
George III mahogany sofa table banded in rosewood and with two drawers. It has trestle supports with tripod splayed legs and brass feet, 3 ft wide 250 0
Tables—Sutherland
Mahogany Sutherland table on turned underframe, 2 ft 9 in
wide 42 0
Victorian walnut-veneered Sutherland table on turned supports,
2 ft 6 in wide 36 0
Tables—Tea
Regency mahogany tea table with folding top on a turned pillar and four curved legs, the whole inlaid with brass stringing, 3 ft wide 120 0
Late George II mahogany tea table, the top with a border of flowerheads and ribbon and the frieze and chamfered legs carved with Chinese blind fret, 3 ft wide 60 0
George III mahogany tea table with folding top, a drawer in
the frieze and square tapering legs, 3 ft 8 in wide 38 0
Tables—Wine
Hepplewhite mahogany wine table, the inlaid octagonal top
supported on triple concave curving legs 105 0
Victorian mahogany wine table on pillar and tripod base, 21 in
diameter 10 0
Tables—Writing
George III mahogany pedestal writing table, the gilt tooled leather top with three drawers at each side of the frieze and
the pedestals with cupboards and drawers at either end, 4 ft wide
Early eighteenth-century banded fruitwood writing table, fitted
with three drawers, a shaped apron and on cabriole legs with
pad feet, 2 ft 4 in wide Victorian lady’s mahogany writing table with two short drawers
on lyre end supports, 3 ft wide Carved mahogany writing table with fitted drawer, the top lined
with leather, on cabriole legs, 2 ft 5 in wide
Tallboys and Lowboys
George II walnut tallboy, the top with reeded and canted corners and three small and three long drawers. The base having three long drawers and bracket feet
Queen Anne small walnut tallboy of mellow colour, the upper chest fitted with two small and three long drawers over a brushing slide, and three long graduated drawers
William and Mary lowboy inlaid with scrolls and motifs. The top fitted with two small and two long drawers and two long drawers to the base, 4 ft 3 in high
Georgian mahogany tallboy with dentil cornice and two small and three long drawers to the top and tliree long drawers to the base which is supported on bracket feet
Georgian mahogany tallboy with dentil cornice, the top fitted with two small and three long drawers, the base with three long drawers and supported on bracket feet, 6 ft 1 in high
Waiters
Mid-Georgian mahogany dumb waiter with turned and carved columns supporting three trays. The whole on cabriole tripod feet, 4 ft high
George III mahogany dumb waiter with two revolving tiers and baluster centre on three curved and moulded legs and castor feet applied with roundels, 3 ft 2 in high
George II mahogany dumb waiter with three graduated revolving tiers and spiral fluting on turned central support. Plain cabriole legs, 3 ft 6 in high
Wardrobes
Mahogany breakfront wardrobe fitted with sliding trays, four
drawers and panelled cupboards Small Georgian mahogany wardrobe enclosed by two panelled
doors with three drawers in the base, 3 ft 9 in wide George III mahogany gents wardrobe with pierced swan-neck
cresting, a pair of doors banded in satinwood and two short
and two long drawers below, 7 ft high by 4 ft 4 in wide Regency mahogany wardrobe the upper part with sliding trays
with four drawers under on splay feet, 3 ft 11 in wide
Washstands
Late George III mahogany washstand, the top hinged and opening to form a back, the front with a pair of cupboard doors above one small drawer, on square splayed legs, 2 ft wide
Edwardian three-tier corner washstand with basin 18 0 George III mahogany corner washstand, the slender legs joined
by a stretcher with a drawer, 2 ft wide                                      14 0
Wine Coolers
Georgian inlaid mahogany sarcophagus wine cooler with lion
mask and ring handle on paw feet 65 0
Georgian mahogany octagonal wine cooler with lifting top and
short square moulded legs, 18 in wide 55 0

SOME AUCTION ROOM PRICES - ANTIQUE FURNITURE

September 19th, 2009

SOME AUCTION ROOM PRICES

FURNITURE
Bookcases, Bureau-Bookcases and Bookshelves
Sheraton mahogany bureau-bookcase, swan-neck pediment, 3 ft
3 in wide 1,650 0
George II walnut bureau-bookcase 650 0
Georgian mahogany breakfront bookcase, 7 ft  10 in wide,
7 ft 8 in high 450 0
Regency rosewood cylindrical swivel bookcase with shallow
pierced gilt metal gallery, 25 in diameter, 38 in high 284 0
Large Regency mahogany bookcase with dentil cornice, the upper part enclosed by four glazed astragal doors; the cupboards in the base enclosed by four doors with indented panels 160 0
Edwardian mahogany bureau-bookcase inlaid with ribbon, shell and urn motifs in satinwood. The top with swan-neck pediment with double-glazed astragal doors. The fall flap opening to reveal drawers and recesses.

Four long drawers below on bracket feet, 7 ft 5 in high 132 0
Georgian mahogany secretaire-bookcase, fitted adjustable shelving enclosed by glazed barred doors and cupboard below drawer, 2 ft 6 in wide 120 0
Georgian figured mahogany inlaid secretaire-bookcase, the upper part fitted with adjustable shelving, enclosed by glazed barred doors and fitted with two short drawers enclosed by panelled doors below, 4 ft wide 100
Small oak bureau-bookcase, the top with glazed astragal doors, the base fitted with a single drawer and double panelled doors, 5 ft 7 in high 95 0
A nineteenth-century mahogany bureau-bookcase with satin-wood lines. Top having glazed doors. Fall flap to base, which has four long drawers and is supported on bracket feet 56 0
Bureaux and Writing Cabinets
Early nineteenth-century marquetry inlaid cylinder-front bureau with pierced ormolu gallery, mounts and beading, having interior fittings, writing slide and three drawers, on taper legs, 3 ft 2 in wide 475 0
George III mahogany secretaire cabinet, the upper lancet panelled glazed doors above secretaire and panelled cupboard doors, 8 ft 4 in high, 4 ft 2 in wide 250 0
George II walnut bureau inlaid with boxwood lines. Interior having central well, drawers and recesses. Two small and two long drawers in base, on bracket feet 210 0
Eighteenth-century fruitwood bureau with three long graduated
drawers below the fall, on bracket feet, 3 ft wide 140 0
Georgian mahogany secretaire cabinet, the top drawer opening to reveal eight drawers and recesses inlaid with shell motif and a green baize writing panel. Three long graduated drawers to the base. The upper part

enclosed by panelled doors 95 0
Georgian  mahogany fall-front bureau having four drawers
under and on bracket feet, 3 ft 2 in high 70 0
Edwardian mahogany bureau-cabinet with pierced swan-neck pediment over glazed doors, sloping fall front over four drawers, bracket feet 66 0
George II oak bureau with fall flap and small drawers, two small and two long drawers below and supported on bracket feet, 2 ft 10 in high 60 0
Victorian mahogany bureau with sloping fall front over four
long graduated drawers, on bracket feet 58 0
Cabinets
Georgian mahogany bookcase cabinet with arched pediment surmounting astragal double doors. The base with double doors supported on bracket feet, 6 ft 6 in high 470 0
French display cabinet of Louis XVI design, mounted with ormolu female caryatids, the base with panels in the style of Vernis Martin, 3 ft 9 in wide 410 0
Regency mahogany display cabinet, the upper part enclosed by brass grilled and latticed doors, panelled cupboards to the base and supported on bold paw feet 290 0
Victorian walnut display cabinet in the Louis XVI manner, mounted with ormolu and inset with Sevres porcelain panels, two serpentine glass doors to the side and a door to the centre, 5 ft 1 in wide 126 0
Mahogany display cabinet of Chippendale-style with two glazed astragal doors below a swan-neck pediment and supported on cabriole legs and claw and ball feet, 5 ft 3 in wide 80 0
Canterburys
George III mahogany Canterbury with drawer in frieze on
tapering legs, 1 ft 7 in wide 130 0
George III mahogany Canterbury with turned legs 115 0
Georgian mahogany four-section music Canterbury with drawer
in base 85 0
George III mahogany Canterbury with slatted sides and ringed
legs, 1 ft 4 in wide 60 0
Chairs—Open Arm and Elbow
George II mahogany open arm chair in the French manner. Rectangular back and serpentine fronted seat. Arm supports and cabriole legs carved with rococo foliage and with scroll feet 150 0
George III mahogany open arm chair forming library steps,
the arm supports and curved stretchers with rope twist 150 0
Two early stick-back Windsor elbow chairs
Edwardian inlaid rosewood open arm chair with pierced splats
Chair—Dining Sets
Ten Sheraton-period mahogany dining chairs with cross rail backs and satinwood crestings on turned and reeded legs. Two carvers
Eleven Regency rosewood dining chairs with carved and reeded back rails, caned seats and on reeded sabre legs
Set of eight Regency mahogany dining chairs with padded backs, sabre legs. All are strung with brass, with brass carrying handles on the cresting rails
Set of two carving and six single Hepplewhite mahogany chairs with shield backs and pierced vase splats carved with wheat ears, on tapering legs
Set of six single and one carving Hepplewhite mahogany chairs with shield backs and pierced vase splats, supported on tapering legs
A composite set of eight eighteenth-century Dutch walnut dining chairs, inlaid with marquetry depicting floral bouquets, urns, scrolls and birds. Comprising one carving and seven single chairs
Set of six Sheraton inlaid mahogany single chairs with triple splat backs and stuff-over seats, on tapering legs
Set of nine mahogany dining chairs, one carver, in the Hepplewhite style with triple vase splats and drop-in seats
Set of two carving and six single Chippendale style mahogany ladder-back dining chairs with pierced serpentine splats and moulded legs
Set of six Regency mahogany reeded frame single chairs on sabre legs
Set of six William IV single dining chairs with leather seats and sabre legs
Set of two carving and four single Chippendale style mahogany chairs with carved and pierced splats and loose stuffed leather seats, supported on cabriole legs and claw and ball feet
Set of six Victorian walnut single chairs on slender curving legs
Set of six small Victorian walnutwood single chairs with oval backs and pierced scroll splats, on curved legs
Set of four Georgian reeded mahogany wooden seat hall chairs, crested
Set of six elm rush seat chairs with spindle backs Set of six Victorian single chairs with slender curving legs and damask seats
Set of four Edwardian mahogany shield-back single chairs inlaid
with satinwood lines and a fan Set of six Victorian mahogany balloon-back dining chairs on
turned legs
Chairs—Dining Single
Pair of George III mahogany dining chairs with moulded and rounded arched backs and pierced splats carved with foliage
and husk pendants. Upholstered curved seats on square legs
with block toes 50 0
Sheraton mahogany chair with stuff-over seat 17 0
Three early Victorian yew wood standard chairs 17 0
Pair of Victorian rosewood chairs on turned carved legs 5 0
Regency mahogany standard chair on reeded sabre legs 5 0
Chairs—Easy
George III mahogany wing armchair with an arched back,
shaped sides and chamfered legs 140 0
Early Victorian mahogany frame wing easy chair 50 0
Papier m&chi nursing chair with cane scat and inlaid with
mother-of-pearl 30 0
Victorian button-back nursing chair 29 0
Chests of Drawers and Commodes
Chippendale mahogany serpentine chest with reeded and canted corners and with four graduated drawers, on wide bracket feet, 3 ft wide 980 0
Chippendale mahogany serpentine chest, the canted corners pendant with clusters of fruit and flowers in bold relief, 3 ft 3 in wide, 2 ft 8 in high 620 0
Georgian walnut bachelor’s chest with folding top and four long drawers having brass handles and lockplates; supported on bracket feet, 29 in wide, 13 in deep, 32 in high 165 0
Eighteenth-century walnut chest of three short and three long drawers with tulip wood stringing on stand fitted with two short and one long drawer with cabriole legs and claw and ball feet, 3 ft wide 105 0
Small Georgian mahogany commode with fluted and canted
corners and fitted with two small and three long drawers 66 0
George III mahogany chest of two short and three long drawers,
3 ft 2 in wide 28 0
Chiffoniers
Regency mahogany chiffonier with three stepped shelves above with gilt metal sides pierced in the Chinese style, the fronts with rope twist mouldings. The lower section enclosed by two doors panelled with radiating

pink silk, 3 ft 10 in wide        150 0
Regency rosewood chiffonier, the single shelf at the top with acanthus supports. The single drawer to the front containing writing panel and fitted compartments. The whole with double brass rail and flanked by scrolled

acanthus supports        110 0
Coffers and Chests
Early Charles II oak chest of four panelled drawers with
panelled sides and bun feet, 3 ft 1 in wide 65 0
Late seventeenth-century carved oak coffer with a domed lid. The front carved with four arches and surrounded by stylised carving of leaves, strapwork and birds’ heads, 3 ft high, 5 ft 3 in wide 60 0
Early seventeenth-century carved oak dower chest, 3 ft 6 in wide
Seventeenth-century oak coffer with lifting top, the front panelled and carved in low relief with strapwork and foliage and the initials ‘HP,’ 4 ft 2 in wide
Cu pboards—Corner
Hepplewhite free-standing, serpentine-fronted mahogany corner cupboaid. Double glazed doors at the top enclose three display shelves. Base on square feet with double doors
Mahogany bow-fronted corner cupboard with glazed door enclosing shelves
Georgian standing corner cupboard with four panel doors enclosing shelves
George I blue japanned hanging corner cupboard with small open shelves above a pair of bowed doors. Decorated with chinoiseries, 3 ft 9 in high by 1 ft 11 in wide
Lacquer bow-fronted corner cupboard decorated in gilt with Chinese figures and buildings on a scarlet ground. The whole on cabriole-legged stand {not matching), 1 ft 10 in wide
Bow-fronted hanging corner cupboard with the door painted with King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, 1 ft 11 in wide
Black lacquer bow-fronted corner cupboard with doors decorated with gilt Chinese landscapes, 1 ft 10 in wide
Davenports and Desks
Eighteenth-century partner’s desk in sabicu with tooled green leather top and fitted with eighteen drawers to the kneehole frieze, with rococo gilt metal handles; circa 1780
Queen Anne walnut kneehole desk crossbanded with fruitwood, with one long drawer and two tiers of three small drawers, 2 ft 5 in wide
George III mahogany tambour desk, the shutter enclosing fitted interior with leather-lined slope, pigeon-holes and drawers with two drawers below on square tapering legs with brass castors, 3 ft 1 in wide
Mahogany pedestal desk with leather-lined top and nine drawers around kneehole, 4 ft 8 in wide
Georgian mahogany Davenport with drawers and slide and with leather-lined fall and brass gallery, 1 ft 8 in
Victorian figured walnut Davenport with carved front supports
Dressers
Eighteenth-century oak dresser with three small drawers with brass handles and lockplates and cabriole legs ending in pad feet, 6 ft 2 in wide
Eighteenth-century oak dresser with three small drawers with brass handles over a waved apron, with cabriole legs on pad feet, 6 ft 2 in wide
Stuart-design oak dresser, the cupboards and drawers with geometrical raised panels with gilt metal drop handles
Oak dresser, the top with a shaped frieze, two cupboard doors
and three ihelvet over three moulded drawers to the base,
with cabriole legs, 5 ft 6 in wide, 6 ft 8 in high 105 0

PITCHER IN ‘AGATA’ GLASS, VASE IN “SECOND GRIND’ POMONA GLASS WITH BLUEBERRY DECORATION, VASE IN IRIDESCENT GLASS

September 16th, 2009

PITCHER IN ‘AGATA’ GLASS
New England Glass Company, U.S.A., after 1885.
Ht. 101 mm (7-5 in.)
‘Agata’: Joseph Locke secured the patent
for the making of ‘Agata’ glass shortly
after 1885. According to his patent, it was
made in the following way. The object to
DC decorated was first partially or wholly
coated with a metallic stain of the desired
colour. The part that was stained was
spattered, or had applied to it a volatile
liquid such as benzene, alcohol or naphtha.
When the volatile liquid evaporated, it
left a mottled surface on the glass, which
was fixed to it by firing in a muffle kiln.
The result was an all-over pattern sug-
gestive of a fanciful golden spider-web on
the glass. Sometimes so-called ‘oil spots’
of a blackish-blue colour appear within
the pattern. This type of decoration is
more usually found on glossy pieces than
on matt-finished ones. The New England
(ilass Company, Mass., produced Agata
glass, mostly confined to decorating their
Wild Rose Peach Blow ware.
VASE IN “SECOND GRIND’ POMONA GLASS WITH
BLUEBERRY DECORATION
New England Glass Company, U.S.A., 1886 r .
III. 121 mm (475 in.)
‘Pomona’ glass was yet another invention
of Joseph Locke’s for the New England
Glass Company. His first patent, issued
in 1885, referred to what is now called
‘first grind’ Pomona, and involved cover-
ing the glass with an acid-resistant coating
carved with thousands of minutely en-
graved lines in the parts where a frosted
appearance was required. When the piece-
was plunged into acid, this cut into the
lines, producing the frosted effect once
the acid-resist was removed. Locke-
achieved a cheaper alternative in his
second patent of 1886, now called ’second
grind’ Pomona. To produce a stippled or
frosted ground, the area required was
covered with a thin layer of some finely
pulverised acid-resisting powder; this
adhered to a thin layer of oil or varnish.
All parts of the vessel protected by these
fine particles were not affected by the acid
bath, which produced a fine stippling
over the body of the article. Pomona
glassware was decorated with amber, blue
and rose-coloured stains.
‘Royal Flemish’: The patent for ‘Royal
Flemish’ glassware was issued to Albert
Stcftin in 1894. Raised gold-enamelled
lines divided the glass article into sections,
which were later coloured to give an
appearance rather like a stained glass
window. The different segments were
painted in transparent enamels in con-
trasting colours, usually brown, beige and
gold. The background of this glass is acid-
finished to give a matt appearance. Royal
Flemish glassware was manufactured by
the Mt. Washington Glass Company,
New Bedford, Mass., about 1890, several
years before the patent was registered. It
is noted for its painted enamels with the
designs in high relief, the old Roman
motif medallions often being used, as in
the jar illustrated. Designs include winged
creatures, cherubs and ‘guba-ducks’.
Sometimes Royal Flemish is marked with
‘RF’, the initial ‘R’ being reversed to the
initial ‘F’, and enclosed in a four-sided
diamond, orange-red in colour.
‘Feloton’ glass was patented in 1880 by
Wilhelm Kralik of Newclt, in Bohemia.
According to his specifications a gather of
glass would be dipped or immersed —
cither before or after it was worked into
shape— into a container that held filaments
or threads of coloured glass, this being
continued until sufficiently adhered to the
metal. He stated that these filaments could
be thrown on to the hot paraison, or the
paraison could be rolled on a surface where
the filaments lay, in order to catch them
up. The article would be reheated at the
glory-hole until the filaments became
homogeneous with the original body of the
glass, and it would then be pressed or hand-
tooled to the desired shape. Clear, coloured
and opaque white backgrounds were used.
Sometimes the finished article would be
given an acid bath for a satin finish.
Occasionally, heavy enamelled surface
decoration was added to give a more ‘busy’
effect.
‘Onyx’ glass was produced by the Dalzcll,
Gilmore, Leighton Company, Findlay,
Ohio, from about 1880; it was in this year
that George W. Leighton of Findlay
secured the patent for the firm. Prom the
Specifications il is apparent that “onyx’
glass was made from a sensitive mix con-
taining metallic constituents capable of
producing silver, ruby and other lustres.
The colours were made In subjecting the
glass to heat and gaseous fumes. Lustre
colours applied to the patterns are usually
in contrast to the main bod) ol the piece.
A moulding process was used that involved
two moulds, one lor pattern, one for
ultimate size and shape. Owing to the
difficulty of the technique, il is rare for any
two similar-shaped pieces to be of ihe
same shade. Rough rims arc quite com-
monplace in onyx glassware, since fire-
polishing these extremities could have
caused the sensitive material to change
colour; the rims were therefore cut and
ground to a tolerable smoothness.
K. Varnish, London. England, about 1850
I II 134 mm (o in.)
Silvered Glass: li was not until F. Hale
Thomson’s patent for silvered glass that a
satisfactory and reasonably economic
method of producing it was successfully
introduced. The British patent for the
production of this glass in quantity was
taken out in December, 1841) by Hale
Thomson and Edward Varnish, the piece
illustrated being made by E. Varnish of
I .ondon in about 1850. The goblet consists
of two layers ol glass, with silver mercury
applied to the back of the glass. The silver
has not discoloured, since goblets made b)
Varnish were permanently sealed. In
addition to a clear outer layer of glass, a
coloured transparent outer casing was also
used; this was carved through, to reveal
the silver-reflecting inner layer. Silvered
glass was made in various parts of Europe,
but Varnish was undoubtedly the best
exponent of the technique. Varnish, Hale
Thomson and others used a stamped
metallic disc J-inch in diameter, embedded
underfoot to mark the factory name on the
piece.
Glass with silver decoration was popular
from the last quarter of the 19th century
to just after the First World War. Several
means of depositing silver and other metals
on glass were patented in the last half of
the 19th century, the most notable being
those of Oscar Pierre Krard, a Frenchman
residing in England, and John H. Scharl-
ing of the U.S.A. Erard produced such
exceptional items as the jug illustrated lor
Stevens & Williams of Brierley Hill,
England. In 1889 he and John Benjamin
Round patented their method for electro-
depositing gold, silver, copper and other
metallic designs on glass, porcelain and
earthenware. They prepared a special flux
containing silver, which was formed into
a wash by being mixed with turpentine.
The design was painted on the glass in this
wash and was then fired in a kiln. The
article was placed in a solution of the
particular metal required, and an electric
current caused this to be deposited on the
glass.
Iridescent Glass: From 1863, when Ludwig
Lobmeyer exhibited the first iridescent
glass to be commercially produced in the
19th century, numerous patents were filed
for methods of making this attractive
glassware. The object was to imitate the
iridescence found on ancient pieces of
glass as a result of burial. In 1877 Thomas
Wilkes Webb of Stourbridge, England
was issued with a patent. The secret of his
method lay in the use of a closed muffle
furnace, where the fumes from the evapor-
ation of tin and other metallic salts were
allowed to come into contact with the
surface of the glass vessel. The hot surface
of the glass has an affinity to the acids being
used, thus causing them to remain perm-
anently attached to the glass. The result is
a rainbow-hued, mirror-like appearance.
In 1878 the patent was amplified to include
a fine crackled effect, in conjunction with
iridescence on the surface of the glass.
Patents for iridescent glassware continued
to be registered until the 1800’s, then for
a short time this ware was made only
sporadically. After 1000 the technique
took on a new lease of life both in the
U.S.A. and on the Continent. The best-
known makers of iridescent glassware in
the U.S.A. in the early 20th century were
Tiffany Furnaces, the Quezal Art Glass &
Decorating Company, the Durand Art
Glass Company, the Union Glass Works,
and the Steuben Glass Works. The last-
named produced iridescent glassware
under the trade name ‘Aurene’, which was
granted to Frederick Carder, Samuel
llawkes and W. II. Hawkes of the firm in
Corning, New York, in 1004. Fred Car-
der’s ‘Aurene’ and ‘Verre de Soie’ glass
ranks very highly. He introduced the
technique of spraying the heated glass in
a muffle kiln with a solution of tin crystals
dissolved in distilled water, which attacked
the surface, causing a shining, iridescent
effect.
‘Verre de Soie’, which translated means
literally ‘glass of silk’, shows the iridescent
finish just described. As in the case of the
example illustrated, practically all the
ware is of a soft grey-white appearance.
Occasionally, a very pale green colour is
added in the manufacture. Frederick
Carder, who had been co-founder of the
Steuben works in 1903, looked after most
aspects of the firm’s glass-making until
igi8, when the plant was sold to the
Corning Glass Works. 1 le continued as art
director until 1034, producing a massive
range of new art glassware. Besides the
glasses mentioned, he was responsible for
such specialities as Jade glass, Cluthra
glass, Cintra glass, Acid Cutback, lvrene,
Calcite glass, Intarsia glass, Bubbly glass,
Paperweight glass. Moss Agate glass,
Millcfiori glass, Rouge Flambe glass, and
others.
Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1934) de-
veloped many unique forms of art glass,
including iridescent ware. With Arthur J.
Nash and his sons A. Douglas and Leslie
Nash, he set up a factory at Corona, Long
Island, New York. Between the years 1894
and 1920 Tiffany’s registered several trade
marks. Leslie Nash, an accomplished glass
technologist, was granted a partnership in
the Tiffany In maces for his creation of the
‘Peacock’ Iridescent Glassware, which
made Tiffany’s world-famous. It should
be noted that it was also he who developed
‘Cypriote’ glassware for Mr. Tiffany. This
glass, an example of which is shown here,
was an imitation of the pearly and pimpled
effect one sometimes finds on the surface
of ancient pieces of glass that have been
buried for a long period. Tans and blues
are used most frequently as colours for
‘Cypriote’, and the surface looks as if it
were constructed of groups of minute
burst bubbles, the size of pinheads.
Tiffany Furnaces made single-colour iri-
descent glassware in which the surface is
broken up into thousands of fractures that
split ordinary daylight into rainbow col-
ours. They also decorated their iridescent
glass with trails from marvered-in coloured
fibres of glass. The quality of the wares
was enhanced by shapes to complement
the decoration; these include flower forms
such as bulbous tulips, or lily tops on long
stems and wide bases. ‘Lava’ glass is
usually found in deep blue and iridescent
gold glass, as in the example shown. A
splotchy iridescent gold is also found
amongst the deep blue. Tiffany became
famous for many other forms of art glass,
particularly for his Paperweight glass,
Agate, Marbleised ware, Cameo Glass,
Intaglio, Millefiori and Diatreta ware.
Other Tiffany products, apart from vessel
glass, were stained glass windows, mosaics,
enamels, jewellery with iridescent glass
and lamps with shades of floral or insect
design.
VASE IN IRIDESCENT GLASS
J. Ltttz Witwe, Austria, aboui iuoo
in pair de verre
Henri Cros, France, late ii|ih centur) ‘early aoth
». en tun
Some excellent iridescent glassware was
made, during its revived popularity, by the
Austrian firm of Ldtz (Loetz of Austria),
also known as L6tZ Witwe of Klastcrsky
\ll\n. The shapes and surface iridescence
show great similarity to some of the best
American iridescent glass products, not-
ably those of Tiffany furnaces. A com-
bination of iridescent and glossy finishing,
however, is usually restricted to Lbtz, and
is not seen on any Tiffany pieces. Other
makers of fine iridescent glassware were
the Quczal Art Glass & Decorating Com-
pany already mentioned, founded b>
Martin Bach (formerly an employee of
Tiffany Furnaces), in Brooklyn, New
York. The Durand Art Glass Company
produced beautiful iridescent glass at its
factory in Vineland, New Jersey. Late-
pressed iridescent glassware was produced
notably by the Northwood Company of
Wheeling, West Virginia, and Indiana,
Pennsylvania, the Fcnton Art Glass Works
of Williamstown. West Virginia, and the
Imperial Glass Company ol Belaire, Ohio.
Pale de verre, which was known in
antiquity, was revived in modern times by
the Frenchman Henri Cms (1840-1907).
The making of pate de verre is a technique
which lies somewhere between pottery and
glass-making whereby a plastic material of
powdered glass can be made into sculp-
tural forms or vessels by a process of
moulding. Henri Cros started his career as
a sculptor and painter, but was continually
fascinated by ancient techniques, so he
combined both arts in producing models
in coloured wax as craftsmen did in the
16th century. He evidently wished to
discover a plastic substance which could
be used for polychrome sculpture, so he
set to work to discover the lost secret of
plastic glass or pate de verre. It was only
after many years that he found a com-
position of powdered glass that could be
coloured and moulded. At home, and later
at the Sevres factory, he conducted
numerous experiments, and finally suc-
cessfully produced his own pale de verre.
Between 1893 and 1903 Henri Cros
produced a famous series of reliefs in
several colours in pate de verre. To produce
them, he placed in a hollow mould of
refractory clay a mixture of powdered
glass and other constituents in a soft pasty
condition, which was allowed to dry for a
time. It was then fused in a muffle furnace,
the mould breaking away, and the baked
shape was then ready to be polished or
wiped clean. The exact constituents or
how they were worked were never dis-
cussed by Henri Cros; the only informa-
tion he disclosed was that he used ‘un-
coloured powders made from blocks of
glass produced in crucibles’ which was
something of an over-simplification. His
son Jean was the only person to directly
follow in his footsteps, producing works in
pale de verre in his style. Dammouse,
Dccorchcmont and the rest found their
own individual interpretations of pate de
verre.
Albert Dammouse (1848 1926) was a
potter at the Sevres factory and began
experimenting with small vessels in pale
de verre in 1898. The material he used was
a soft enamel paste somewhere between
soft porcelain and glass, basically different
from that used by Henri Cros. The
products had a slight translucency. He
moulded this material into fragile vessels
with delicate flowers in pastel shades. It
could be said of his work that he showed
off the technique of pate de verre to the
best advantage and achieved the finest
harmony between form and material in the
vases he produced. Another worker in
pate de verre who deserves a mention is
Georges Despret (1862-1952); in the
Exhibition in Paris in 1900, he showed
some small bowls in ‘natural’ shapes, of a
heavier pate de verre in dark shades.
Despret’s pate de verre was a dense, almost
opaque, yet richly coloured paste, remin-
iscent of precious stones, which was some-
times engraved. Emile Galle also occasion-
ally made objects in pate de verre.
By Francois Decorchemont, France, i.iuio
Hi. 178 mm (7 in.)
From 1904, Francois Decorchemont dedi-
cated himself completely to the making of
vessels in pale de verre. He had been
originally a painter and potter, but found
the medium of pale de verre more satisfy-
ing. In his early work he used to put his
paste in the mould until it dried sufficiently
to be removed, then he proceeded to shape-
it as a potter did, and bred it in a muffle
furnace. In his later work he never re-
moved the paste from the mould, with
much better results. His first works were
made in a fine but opaque substance which
was rather grey and dull. It was only after
he returned from the First World War,
towards 1920, that he discovered the
formula for a hard, translucent material,
made up of silica and oxide colouring
agents in entirely new proportions. This
material was placed in a mould based on a
plaster model, the thickness being regu-
lated throughout.
vase in green pale de verre
By Francois Decorchemont. France, 1930
Hi. 162 mm (6-38 in.)
Decorchemont’s paste was baked for a
matter of 20 hours in an oil furnace he had
designed on the same lines as an oil lamp.
It was allowed to cool slowly, before being
removed from the mould, and then the
parts that were to look bright against a dull
background were polished. Until 1914 he
had made small vessels decorated with
animal or plant motifs in Art Nouveau
style. Between the wars he continued his
work in pate de verre, which differed from
that of other makers in that he worked with
a fairly heavy material, reminiscent of
natural stone in consistency and colouring.
He moulded this into plain shapes, at
times somewhat hard and angular in
outlines. The vase illustrated, in green
pate de verre, is an excellent example.
When his glasses were exhibited in 1925,
the Recorder of the Glass Section, Antonin
Daum, commented on their ’style, their
form and their sober magnificence’. In
later years Decorchemont did some ex-
quisite sculptural work, which in both
material and shape is reminiscent of jade.
plaque in white vitreous paste depicting
oliver cromw ell
Tassic. England, r.1700. Ht. 152-5 mm (6 in.)
James Tassie (1735-99), his nephew
William (1777-1860), and their successor
(from 1840) John Wilson, made original
portraits and copies of engraved gems in a
white vitreous paste related to pate de verre.
James Tassie was born at Pollokshaws,
near Glasgow, and began his career as a
stonemason. He learnt how to make casts
of engraved gems in glass paste from Dr.
Henry Quin of Dublin and in 1767
established himself in London, where he,
and later William and John Wilson, pro-
duced their medallions, casts and reliefs in
white and coloured paste. Tassie’s medium
was a finely powdered potash-lead glass or
pate de verre, which was first softened by
heating. When fully plastic, the glass was
pressed into a plaster of Paris mould,
which had the impression of the subject
being reproduced on its inner surface.
When an original portrait relief was being
made, a wax impression was first modelled,
from which a plaster mould was then made.
finger bowl and plate in ‘tortoise-shell’ glass
About 1880. Ht. 102 mm (4 in.)
‘Tortoise-SkeW Class was made in both
the U.S.A. and Europe. The ware has a
glossy finish, and the brown mottling is
enclosed between two layers of glass. An
interesting description of the process is
given by a German chemist, Francis Pohl
of Silesia, who received provisional pro-
tection only on a patent registered on
October 25, 1880. Several bubbles of
different shades of brown glass were
blown and then broken into small pieces.
Next, a bubble of plain glass was blown
and cut round the middle, leaving the
lower portion adhering to the blow-pipe.
While this was being done another bubble
of plain glass was being blown and rolled
in the fragments of brown glass, which
were carefully marvered in. This bubble
was inserted in the cut-off upper portion of
the first bulb, and the two were blown
together. The bulb was then reheated and
blown into the required article.
Steuben Glass Works. U.S.A., early 20th century
Ht 254 mm (10 in.)
Cluthra Class: Fred ( .arder of the Steuben
Glass Works of New York was responsible
for many developments in the coloured
glass field. Steuben depended wholly on
its sales of coloured glass to stay in busi-
ness, so vast ranges of colours and a great
variety of shapes were available. One ol
Fred Carder’s developments was the so-
called Cluthra glass, which is a partially
transparent, two-layered glass. The exam-
ple shown is the most common shape in
the Cluthra line. Between the two layers of
glass small air pockets in the centre of
white splotches have been introduced by
the use of chemicals; the air pockets are
slightly off-centre of the white marks.
Cluthra comes in single colours as well as
in shaded pieces; sometimes the pieces arc-
signed. The Kimball Glass Company,
Vineland, New Jersey, also produced a
cluthra-type glass. Knglish Gray Stan
glass, produced in the 1920’s, likewise-
made use of Cluthra decoration.
VASE IN ‘INTARSIA’ GIASS
Hy Frederick (larder. Steuben Cilass Works.
U.S.A., late 1920s early 1930*5
Ht. 15a mm (6 in.)
‘Intarsiu’ glass, made at the Steuben Glass
Works, Corning, New York, in the late
1920’s and early 1930’s, was considered by
Frederick Carder to be his greatest achieve-
ment in artistic glass-making. The name-
was probably derived from mlarsiatura, a
type of 15th-century Italian marquetry.
1 n tarsia pieces are made up of three livers
two clear, colourless layers encasing a layer
of coloured glass which forms the design.
To make a piece such as the one illustrated.
Carder would blow a bubble of clear
colourless glass and case this with a thin
layer of coloured glass. This was allowed
to cool, and a design was etched through
the outer coloured casing. A further gather
of clear, colourless glass was then taken up,
which sealed in the coloured design. The
bubble was then blown to the required
shape—usually a vase or a bowl, though a
few wine-glasses were made.
Powdered Glass Decoration: In 1806, John
Davenport of” the Davenport firm at
Longport, Stoke-on-Trent, England, pa-
tented ‘A New Method of Ornamenting
of all Kinds of Glass in Imitation of
Engraving or Etching, by Means of which
Borders, Cyphers, Coats of Arms, Draw-
ings, and the Most Elaborate Designs may
be Executed in a Stile of Elegance’. A thin
coating of a powdered glass paste was laid
upon the surface of the glass, and a pointed
tool was used to scrape off the coating into
the desired pattern. The glass was then
light!) fired, so that the decoration fused
with the surfaceof the glass. The ornamen-
tation does not really resemble engraving
or etching, but is entirely pleasing. It is
presumed that this patent refers to a group
<il glasses, with the word ‘Patent’ inscribed
on their bases, which arc decorated with a
\anety of patterns, including heraldic-
insignia, and elaborate sporting scenes
with costumed figures dating to the
beginning of the century.
Decorative Inclusions: Apsley Pellatt
(1791-186?) established a glass-house in
Kalcon Street, Southwark, in London. He
was interested in the French process <il
‘cameo incrustations’, or objects contain-
ing ’sulphides’. In 1819 he patented
several methods of embedding small white-
paste figures in clear glass. The process,
which he first called ‘crystallo ceramic-’,
then ‘cameo incrustations’, involved the
enclosing of medallions and ornaments ol
pottery ware, metal or refractory material
in glass. The ornament was pre-heated
then covered with the hot glass; some
difficulties were encountered, due to the
differing rates of contraction and acci-
dental air bubbles. He decorated many
objects in this technique, including paper-
weights, decanters, smelling bottles, wine
glasses, girandoles and plaques. As in the
cup illustrated, the glass vessels were often
finished by fine cutting. The process was
apparently first used in Bohemia in the
mid-18th century, and was later developed
by the French factories such as Baccarat
and Clichy.
The making of objects in crystallo ceramie
has been previously attributed to Bohemia
from the 13th, 16th and late 18th cen-
turies. However, most Bohemian examples
of the technique seem to date to the first
half of the iqth century. Dionysus Lardner
in his treatise on glass-making dated 1832
said that cameo incrustation was first
attempted about 50 years before (that is,
about 1780) by a Bohemian glass manufac-
turer. His success was indifferent, for
‘the material of which he made choice for
his figures, expanded and contracted very
unequally with the surrounding glass, and
their adhesion to it was consequently
imperfect’. Lardner later spoke of the
success of the Frenchmen Saint Amans
and Desprez and of the Englishman
Apsley Pellatt in cameo incrustation. The
most successful of Apsley Pellatt’s methods
involved the use of a mixture of china clay
and supersilicate of potash for his cameos.
These were slightly baked, and then
heated to redness in a muffle furnace,
ready for use with the glass.
Thomas  Sons. Knyiland. 1SX7
Diam. 152 mm (h in.)
A cylindrical flint glass pocket attached to
the end of a hollow iron rod was prepared.
The hot cameo was inserted into this and
the end of the cylinder was closed. Air was
then sucked out of the hollow iron rod,
causing the collapse of the glass on to the
cameo, so that glass and composition figure
became one homogeneous mass. Numer-
ous examples of cameo incrustation can be
found in tqth century glass from French,
Bohemian and English glass factories.
Objects made include plaques, pendants,
scent bottles, covered boxes, tumblers,
goblets, \ ases, and of course paperweights.
Both clear and colourless glass and col-
oured glasses were used in their manufac-
ture. The bowl illustrated is a rarity, since
the cameo incrustation is used in conjunc-
tion with Satinglass, though of course the
cameos are enclosed in clear glass and
applied to the sides of the bowl. Two
cameos of Queen Victoria of England are
attached to the front and back of the bowl,
which was made by Thomas Webb & Sons
in 1887, to commemorate Victoria’s Dia-
mond Jubilee.
doorstop (paperweight in green bottle glass
with ei.ower decoration enclosed
Norlh of Kngland, late igih century
Ml 127 mm (5 in.)
Towards the later part of the 19th century
popular glassware items were the heavy,
clear green glass doorstops or rough
paperweights produced in some factories
in England. These made decorative but
useful glass objects available to working
people. They were made of green bottle
glass, and were of a tall beehive shape, very
often containing the airy pattern of a
flower, as in the example illustrated, or
else enclosing an arrangement of spaced
bubbles. It has been discovered that a few
of these glass doorstops bear the same
stamp that can be found on the base of
bottles made at the Kilner factory in
Wakefield. It is also known that a specially
designed doorstop of this type, enclosing
a ceramic bust—presumably of Queen
Victoria—was made for the 1887 Jubilee
in a glass-works at Knottingley in the
West Riding of Yorkshire.
‘graal’ glass
Simon Gate, Orrefors, Sweden, 1917
When the factory of Orrefors, Sweden,
engaged the two artists, Simon Gate and
Edward Hald to design glass, one of the
major objects of the director and manager
of the factory was that they might be able
to improve on the factory’s production of
cascd-glass vases done in the manner of
Galle since 1914. In 1916 Albert Ahlin, the
manager, Knut Bergqvist, master glass-
blower at the factory from 1914, and Simon
Gate worked out their improvements.
They called their new technique ‘Graal
glass’. In Galle’s cased-glass the process of
cutting and etching the ornamental pattern
from two or three or more layers of glass
was all-important. In ‘Graal glass’ this was
just an intermediate stage, after which the
vessel was subjected to working in the
furnace, where the ornaments acquired
that fluidity which is their greatest fascin-
ation. Gate liked designs in many colours,
with figures in vivid movement.

WINE-GLASS, BLUE GLASS CASED OVER GLASS, ENGRAVED AND SAND-BLASTED VASE, PLATE WITH SAND-BLASTED ENGRAVING, VASE WITH ACID-ETCHED DECORATION,

September 16th, 2009

WINE-GLASS, BLUE GLASS CASED OVER
GLASS, with ACID-ETCHED DECORATION
Benjamin Richardson, England, 1857
I It. 143 mm (563 in.)
Acid Etching: Although acid-etched glasses
arc known to exist from the 17th century,
the process was not generally used in glass-
making until the 19th century, with the
discovery of hydrofluoric acid. Heinrich
Schwanhardt (d.1693), son of the Nurem-
berg engraver Georg Schwanhardt, is
recorded to have engraved glasses with
acid, one example attributed to him being
dated 1686. The technique can be used
either to cut through one layer of glass to
another, as in the glass illustrated, or to
provide a single-layered glass with a matt
finish. An acid-resist such as wax paraffin
covers the parts that are not to be affected,
the pattern having been cut through the
resist. The surface of the glass is then
treated in an acid bath (such as a mixture
of 100 parts of water, 10 of potassium
fluoride and t part hydrochloric acid).
Benjamin Richardson of the Richardson
firm of Stourbridge took out a patent to
etch glasses in 1857.
VASE WITH ACID-ETCHED DECORATION
J. & J. Northwood, England, r.1878.
Ht. 216 mm (85 in.)
It was only in the 19th and 20th centuries
that acid-etching became at all an accepted
mode of decoration. In England it is
known that the Dudley firm of Thomas
Hawkes used the technique in the 1830’s.
Besides flat glass objects, wine-glasses,
bottles and vases were being acid-etched
by the 1840’s. John Northwood and T.
Guest were involved in the Richardson
experiments with acid-etching, and in the
186o’s established themselves as individual
firms specialising in etching. They were
known as J. 8c J. Northwood, and Guest
Brothers respectively, and produced a
quantity of etched work in the later 1860’s
and 1870V The skill and delicacy of the
etching they achieved can be seen on the
vase illustrated, made at the J. 8c J.
Northwood works and shown at the Paris
Exhibition of 1878. Acid-etching was by
no means a technique confined to England,
however.
The Techniques of’Taking Away
As Maurice Marinoi of Trance grew to
understand the nature and working of
glass, he experimented with its ornamen-
tation. In 1922 he began using the
technique of acid-etching in a manner
distinctly his own. The process had been
used by French glass-makers since the
mid-19th century. F.mile Galle, comment-
ing on the technique, had said that it would
not do for delicate work, but ‘it cuts into
certain glasses in a manner of its own’. He
used it in his factory from 1890 onwards,
and the Daum factory had also used it to
some extent. Marinot took up acid-etching
because it suited his purpose better than
any other decorative technique. When he
employed acid-etching he used the massi v e
forms he had always favoured, in trans-
parent, occasionally tinted, glass. The
etched designs cut deeply into the surface,
giving an almost sculptural look to the
glass. The whole surface of the glass was
subjected to the treatment, with the most
varied results.
Acid-etching has been used to give a matt
surface to the colourless glass vase illus-
trated. This slender vase has a round foot,
w ith a long stem widening slightly towards
the bowl, which is of an exaggerated tulip
shape. It is just one example of the beaut]
of modern Swedish glass. Even such an
aesthetically difficult technique as etching
has been triumphantly used to give .1
beautiful all-over textural and eye-catch-
ing finish. It has been said that ‘Sweden’s
great contribution to modern design was
to transform Functionalism from an in-
tellectual theory into a practical instru-
ment for better living’ (Polak, 1962). This
was eminently shown in her glass-making;
but besides qualities like fitness for prac-
tical purpose, toughness in wear and
cheapness of production, the general aim
from the beginning was to create objects
of beauty. The Swedes succeeded in their
glassware perhaps more than in any other
branch of modern design.
ENGRAVED AND SAND-BLASTED VASE
Hy Sverre FtTterscn, Hadeland, Norway, 1038
Sand-blasling: In the process of sand-
blasting a stream of sand, crushed flint or
powdered iron is directed on to the surface
of the glass in a jet of air. The parts of the
glass to be left plain are covered with a
stencil plate of steel, or an elastic varnish
or rubber solution painted on to form a
protective shield. The type of finish is
varied by altering the size of the nozzle, or
the abrasive, or the air pressure. The
technique has been in use since 1870,
though it has rarely been applied to vessel
glass, except for lettering on mass-pro-
duced items, and is mainly used on glass
panels for decorative architectural use.
One of the more successful uses of sand-
blasting on vessel glass was by Sverre
Pettersen of Norway (1884-1959), who
was engaged as designer to Hadelands
Cilasswerk in 1928—at that time the only
factory for table glass and decorative glass
in Norway. During the ‘thirties he pro-
duced some very interesting pieces with
sand-blasted decoration.
PLATE WITH SAND-BLASTED ENGRAVING
By I adislav Oliva, Czechoslovakia, 1959
Diam. 362 mm (1425 in,)
Such are the difficulties attached to using
sand-blasting for anything but the heaviest
surface decoration that only very occasion-
ally are satisfying examples of the tech-
nique to be found. One of the exceptions is
this plate, designed and executed by
Ladislav Oliva (b. 1933) in Czechoslovakia.
The plate, in clear colourless lead crystal
glass, has a slightly raised rim, and the
grille-like decoration is in the form of cuts
about to mm (4/ioths in.) deep. Oliva
manages through this technique to give
the glass a new and exciting appearance.
His decorative themes always seem to
result from the natural lights of the heavy
glass mass. The matt finish that sand-
blasting imports to the glass can be very
pleasant to the touch, although sometimes
it can give a fairly rough effect.
The  century has been called the ‘golden
age of glass”, for it added many new tech-
niques to the glass-maker’s repertoire. This
sudden burst of activity can be put down to
many factors, including ‘the industrial revo-
lution, the relaxation of government controls
on the industry (specifically in England) and
a pride of craftsmanship born of freedom’
I Revi, i<)5g). Not since the Italian Renais-
sance had there been such an interest in new
glass-making ideas. In America the larger
firms hired scientists to discover new methods
of colouring glass, one of the best-known
being the Englishman Joseph I^ocke. In
Britain and on the Continent there was keen
rivalry in producing new types of art glass
for a highly competitive market. Demand
rem lied its zenith towards the end of the
I ii torian era. Since then, though new
techniques have still greatly interested glass-
makers, the art glass produced has reflected
the inherent qualities of the material, rather
than added decorative effects.
Pearl Satinglass, also known as Pearl Ware,
Mother-of-Pearl Satinglass and Verre de
Soie, can be found in a variety of patterns
and colours, but basically it shows the
technique of keeping a symmetrical or
controlled pattern of air traps within the
body of a vessel. The vase illustrated shows
a typical example in the so-called hobnail
pattern. Benjamin Richardson of England
filed the first patent for this technique in
1857. His method was quite simple. A
gather of glass was blown into a mould
which carried the pattern in projected
form. The piece, thus indented, was
covered by a further gather of glass, which
caused air traps to form over the pattern.
Another method current in England and
America in the late 19th century was to line
a heated mould with glass tubes, either
clear and colourless or coloured, and to
blow a bubble of glass into this mould.
BOWL OPAQUE IVORI
COLOURED GLASS CASED WITH A P.AIJi RUBY OUTER
LAYER
Stevens & Williams, England, about 1885
lit. 140 mm (55 in.)
The tubes would thus be caught up and
marvered into the body of the glass. By
twisting the paraison the worker produced
articles of glass with pearly swirled stripes
on the outer surface. This method was
probably used to produce the body of the
bowl illustrated, which has been further
worked to form a frilly rim, and has the
heavy applied decoration current around
1885, Patents to produce Pearl Satinglass
were filed by firms in New York in 1881
and France in 1885. The Mt. Washington
Glass Company of the U.S.A. filed patents
in 1886, which also suggested using heat-
sensitive metal to colour the glass, and
giving the article a lustreless finish by
using an acid bath, or by sand-blasting.
The Phoenix Glass Company of Pennsyl-
vania filed patents in 1886, 1887 and 1888;
the final patent described the use of two
moulds, one to pattern the inner wall of
the article, the other to be used after the
outer casing of glass had been applied.
FAIRY LAMP IN PEARL SATINGLASS, RAINBOW STRIPED
IN BLUE, ROSE, YELLOW AND APRICOT
About 1885. lit. 152 mm (6 in.)
The finished product made by the tech-
nique last described displayed a criss-
crossed network of pearly-indented lines
contained in the body of the article.
William Webb Boulton, who had the
Audnam Bank glass-house in England,
filed a patent for Pearl Satin Glass in 1885.
Other English glass-houses manufactured
this type of glass, notably Stevens &
Williams of Brierley Hill, who called it
‘Verre de Soie\ Much of the Pearl Satin-
glass produced in the late 19th century
came from Bohemian and French factories.
These cheaper wares, supplied by factories
at Steinschonau and Altrohlau, Bohemia,
effectively ruined the market for the finer
wares of England and America. Many
different means were used to colour Pearl
Satinglass. The rainbow striping suggested
in this fairy lamp was produced by laying
coloured rods of glass on the body of the
article before it was fully formed.
VASE IN PEARL SATINGLASS
Thomas Webb & Sons, England, probably early
iSoo’s. Hi. 260 mm (1025 in.)
The technical development of trapping air
in moulded recesses between an opaque-
glass body and a tinted layer was further
refined by Thomas Webb & Sons of
England. In the magnificent example
illustrated the vase has a diamond air-lock
pattern between opaque and translucent
layers of glass, but has been covered by an
outer layer etched away to form a floral
pattern in relief; the whole article has a
satin finish. In 1889 Thomas Webb
patented this process for manufacturing
cameo relief designs on articles of Pearl
Satin Ware. After the diamond air lock
pattern had been produced in the usual
way, an extra coating of opaque white or
coloured glass was applied. The design
was painted on to this coating with acid-
resisting inks; when the article was plunged
into an acid bath, the acid dissolved away
all glass not protected by the resist. The
glass-maker had to be extremely careful
not ti) leave the object in the acid too long,
lest the acid reached the air traps.
FOOTED VASE, WITH CORAIE1NE DECOR AI ION
Last quarter of iqih century. 111. 127 mm (j in.)
Corulene: ‘The vase illustrated displays a
type of decoration that became popular
from its introduction in the last quarter of
the 19th century and is known as
‘Coralcne’. A design was painted in enamel
on the surface of a glass. Tiny glass beads,
which could be clear, coloured or opales-
cent, were then applied and stuck to the
enamel paint of the design. The object was
next put into a muffle-kiln, where the
enamel and beads were fired firmly into
place. Decoration could be in the shape of
coral, but is also seen in fleur-de-lis,
herringbone, sheaf of wheat and many-
other patterns. This type of decoration is
found in all colours and on all types of
glassware. Coralenc was so named by the
Mt. Washington Glass Company in the
U.S.A., and by several Continental and
English glass manufacturers. Its use was
not restricted to any one factory.
Amberina is generally recognised as a
clear amber glass shading to red at the top.
The patent for it, dated July 24, 1883, was
granted to Joseph Locke of the Libbey
Glass Company. This remarkable man was
born in Worcester, Kngland, in 1846 and
worked first as a potter. Guest Brothers of
Stourbridge, etchers and decorators of
glass, engaged him, but later he was
persuaded to join the firm of Hodgetts,
Richardson & Company, where he pro-
duced his copy of the Portland vase. After
various employments, Locke finally went
to America in 1882, where he was signed
on by the New Kngland Glass Company
of Cambridge, Mass., later to become the
Libbey Glass Company of Toledo, Ohio.
‘Amberina’, ‘Pomona’, and ‘Agata’ glass
are only a few of his achievements while in
their employment. Amberina was the first
patented method for producing shaded
and parti-coloured glassware from a sen-
sitive homogeneous metal.
To produce Amberina a very small amount
of gold in solution was colloidally dis-
persed in a transparent amber glass metal.
When an object had been made from this
mix, it was allowed to cool below a glowing
red heat and then certain parts were re-
heated at the ‘glory hole’ (a small opening
in the furnace). This caused a red colour to
strike in the reheated portions—but over-
firing caused a fuchsia or purple shading.
Further patents were issued either to
Locke or to Kdward D. Libbey. An
interesting development was the produc-
tion of blanks composed of sensitive
Amberina glass which, after moulding,
were reheated to produce a deep ruby
colour on the outer surface only. A design
would be cut through to the undeveloped
amber colour below, giving a rich effect.
Amberina was made in Cambridge, Mass.,
between 1883 and 1888 by the New
Kngland Glass Company. A fine though
short-lived revival was made between 1917
and 1920, when the firm had moved to
Toledo, Ohio; one of its products is
shown above.
New England Glass Company, U.S.A., 1886
Ht. 178 mm (7 in.)
Almost every glass company in Europe and
America probably made Amberina at some
time during this period. A new technique
was patented for the New England Glass
Company in 1883 and was called ‘Plated
Amberina’; this was unique to that firm.
A piece of opal or opalescent glass plated
with a gold-ruby mixture was reheated at
the ‘glory hole’, so that it would develop
deeper and lighter shadings on its outer
surface. When Amberina metal was used,
the shading would of course be amber-to-
red. However, other colours could be
made: a sensitive cobalt and ruby glass
mixture would produce a plated ware
shading from blue to ruby. Canary, blue
and green colours were also mentioned in
the patent. Plated Amberina invariably has
moulded ribbed decoration, as in the
example shown, though this had no par-
ticular bearing on the specifications men-
tioned in the patent. It was manufactured
only from 1883 to 1886.
PARFA1T oi.ass in rose amber glass
Ml Washington Glass Company, U.S.A., 1886
Ht. 127 mm (5 in.)
The Mt. Washington Glass Company,
New Bedford, Mass., attempted more or
less successfully to produce its own
Amberina glass under the name ‘Rose
Amber’. This was in every way similar to
Locke’s Amberina. Needless to say, the
New England Glass Company had an
injunction granted in 1886 in their suit
against the Mt. Washington Glass Com-
pany for infringement of their patent.
The Circuit Court of the United States
forbade the New Bedford firm to produce
its Rose Amber wares. However, it did not
seem that this injunction had any effect.
The New Bedford Board of Trade Report
of 1889 describes the making of Amberina,
Rose Amber, by ‘two companies, of which
the Mt. Washington was one’, and de-
scribes how ‘it caught the popular fancy
and was all the rage for about two years’.
According to this report it was the success
of the Amberina glass that caused Mt.
Washington to go in for an opaque shaded
ware—Burmese glass.
AMBERINA GLASS
New England Glass Company, U.S.A., iS
iii. 121 mm (475 in.)
WINE-GLASS IN ALEXANDRITE GLASS
English, beginning of 2olh century
Ht. 114 mm (45 in.)
Quite a number of Amberina pieces were
pressed or press-moulded. This piece can
definitely be attributed to the New Eng-
land Glass Company, since it follows a
design sketch made by Joseph Locke in
1884 when he was head designer for the
Cambridge winks. I lobbs Brockunier &
Company of Wheeling, West Virginia,
were licensed to manufacture pressed
Amberina by the New England Glass
Company in 1886. Sowerby’s Ellison Glass
Works Ltd., Gateshead-on-Tyne, Eng-
land, were also licensed to produce pressed
Amberina in 1883. A transparent, homo-
geneous glass shading from pale amber to
a delicate rose tint was press-moulded by
the firm of CristalletICS de Baccarat of
France from 1916. Known as ‘Rose Teinte’,
or to collectors as ‘Baccarat’s Amberina’,
it was reintroduced in 1940 as a popular
item. Its delicate colours were a result of
using less gold salts in the glass, but its
similarity to the American Amberina and
Rose Amber is undisputed.
‘Alexandrite’ glass, a single-layer glass of
three blended colours, first appeared about
1900, and is reputed to have been made by
the two English firms of Thomas Webb &
Sons and Stevens & Williams. 11 started off
as an amber glass; a portion would be re-
heated to rose, and reheated again to blue
on the outer rim, producing an exception-
ally beautiful effect. It is found in plain as
well as patterned surfaces. Stevens &
Williams used a differing technique to
produce the same effect. They cased a body
glass of transparent amber with rose and
blue glass. The outer casings of blue and
rose were then cut away, to reveal the
yellow glass beneath. Kolo Moser, a glass
designer of Bohemia of the early 1900’s,
produced an amethyst transparent glass
which carries the mark ‘Alexandria, but
this one-colour ware should not be con-
fused with the work attributed earlier to
Webb and Stevens & Williams.
PITCHER IN RUBY GLASS WITH DEVELOPED
OPALESCENT DESIGN
I hi i ijih century. I It. 279 mm (11 in.)
Opalescent Glass: In the late 19th century
glasses with raised opalescent white de-
signs became very popular. A coloured
gather of glass was heavily coated with a
sensitive, clear colourless glass containing
bone ash and arsenic. This was blown into
a patterned mould to give it the raised
design. It was then cooled slightly and
reheated, the raised parts striking an
opalescent white, while the background
retained the original colour. Inexpensive
glassware in this technique was produced
by Hobbs Brockunier & Company of
Wheeling, West Virginia; Alexander J.
Beatty & Sons of Steubenville, Ohio;
Phillip Arbogast of Pittsburgh, Pennsyl-
vania ; John Bryce & Company of Pitts-
burgh ; King & Company of Pittsburgh;
and Doyle & Company of Pittsburgh, and
others. Thomas Davidson of George
Davidson & Company Ltd. the Teams
Glass Works, Gateshead-on-Tyne, Eng-
land, patented in 1889 a process for making
a pressed, shaded version, in which the
opalescence was either white or of the
same shade as the body metal.
VASE IN BURMESE GLASS
Ml. Washington Glass Company, U.S.A., 1885
Ht. 305 mm (12 in.)
‘Burmese’ glass is a single-layered glass
shading from opaque greenish-yellow to
deep pink at the top. It was developed by
the Mt. Washington Glass Company,
New Bedford, Mass. Frederick S. Shirley
patented his formula for Burmese in 1885
for the firm. He produced the glass by
adding small amounts of fluorspar, feldspar
and oxide of uranium to essentially the
same ingredients as used by Joseph Locke
to make his Amberina glass. The fluorspar
and feldspar gave the glass its translucency,
and the uranium oxide made the ordin-
arily translucent white glass melt a pale-
yellow in colour; the gold made the glass
sensitive to thermal changes so that when
reheated at the ‘glory hole’ it struck a
salmon pink colour, which shaded down
to the original yellow. A second reheating
caused the pink glass to revert back to its
yellow colour, a feature quite often seen
on the rim of a piece of Burmese glass.
Frederick Shirley’s formula for Burmese-
glass was patented in England in 1886.
Thomas Webb 8i Sons of Stourbridge,
England, purchased a licence to copy-
Burmese products as well as to produce
their own shapes and designs. Most ol t he-
English Burmese ware is acid-finished,
though Mt. Washington produced both
glossy and acid-finished Burmese ware.
Thomas Webb & Sons called their glass
‘Queen’s Burmese Ware’. The glass was
much used for the patent ‘fairy lights’ or
small individual candle shades so popular
in England and America in the late
‘eighties. Queen Victoria ordered a tea-set
in Burmese glass from the Mt. Washington
Glass Company, enamelled with what was
to become known as the ‘Queen’s’ design.
The ornamentation of Burmese ware was
often of a highly decorative order. Verses
by well-known poets, Egyptian scenes, and
bird and animal portrayals were included
in enamelled motifs. Occasionally, finely
wrought applied decoration w ould be used.
Peach Blow: When a ‘Peach Bloom’
coloured Chinese porcelain vase was sold
for $18,000 in 1886, this caused such a
sensation that products labelled ‘Peach
Bloom’ or —slightly changed ‘Peach
Blow’ attracted many sales. ‘The glaze on
the vase was described as being the colour
of ‘crushed strawberries’. The magic of
the name attracted the attention of manu-
facturers of coloured art glasses, who tried
to devise new types suitable for this name.
Hobbs Brockunicr & Company of Wheel-
ing, West Virginia, produced such a glass
and called it ‘Wheeling Peach Blow’.
Replicas of the ‘Morgan’ vase were made,
like the example illustrated, in both glossy
and acid finishes. The moulded Stand with
its five-headed griffin is in an unimportant-
quality amber glass, hut the vase itself is
made of white opal glass plated with 1
transparent amber glass, made heat-sensi-
tive with gold salts. Reheating caused the
glass to strike a ruby colour, shading to
yellow or amber.
The Mt. Washington Glass Company
filed trade-name papers on the terms
‘Peach Blow’ and ‘Peach Skin’ through
Frederick S. Shirley in 1886. As a
colourant for their new products Shirley
substituted a small amount of cobalt or
copper oxide, instead of oxide of uranium
as in making Burmese. This produced a
homogeneous glass shaded pale grey-blue
to a delicate rose tint in the reheated
portions. When plunged in acid the surface
acquired an all-over slightly grey cast. As
it is a single-layered glass, the shading is
the same on the inside as on the exterior.
The Mt. Washington Peach Blow wares
were manufactured in similar shapes to
their Burmese ware. Moulded and applied
decoration were used, as well as gilding
and enamelling. The example illustrated
shows the ‘Queen’s’ design, as ordered by
Queen Victoria from the firm. The pattern
is of conventionalised flowers in raised
enamel, much of the decoration done in
pure gold reduced with acids.
The success of its Amberina glasses caused
the New England Glass Company to
experiment further with heat-sensitive
glasses. One of the resulting products was
patented by Edward D. Libbey in 1886
and called at first ‘Wild Rose’, later ‘Peach
Blow’. It is a single-layered glass shading
down from red to white in the lower part
of the piece. To produce it, an opal glass
was combined with a gold-ruby glass in
one pot. When a vessel had been formed,
reheating produced the rose colouring in
the required parts. Glasses made from this
metal were moulded, decorated with gild-
ing and enamelling and also acidized to a
satin finish. Occasionally, they would be
left in the original glossy state. The vase
illustrated was decorated by Joseph Locke
for his daughter Nora. The etched reliel
designs covering the surface of the glass
have been outlined and highlighted with
gold traceries and a dark brown mineral
stain.
At about the same time that the U.S.A.
glass-making firms were experimenting
with heat-sensitive glasses, both Thomas
Webb & Sons and Stevens & Williams of
England manufactured shaded wares
which they termed ‘Peach Glass’ or ‘Peach
Bloom’. Webb’s Peach Glass was cased,
the inner layer being creamy coloured with
a slight ly greenish cast in the upper portion.
It is similar in appearance to Hobbs
Brockunier & Company’s ‘Wheeling Peach
Blow’. Stevens & Williams of Stourbridge
produced a glass called ‘Peach Bloom’
which was also very much the same in
appearance. The English Peach glasses
were produced in both glossy and acid
finishes, and arc frequently found with
elaborate gold decoration on both finishes.
Occasionally, Webb’s Peach Glass will
have the Webb incised mark on the base;
Stevens & Williams ware also sometimes
bears a mark under the foot.
The Boston & Sandwich Glass Company,
Sandwich, Mass., manufactured a glass
known as ‘Sandwich Peach Blow’. This
was a single-layered glass, strawberry ice
cream pink in shading, often found in
moulded and twisted swirl decoration; see
the example above, which also has the
characteristic thorn handle of the period.
Overlay decorations in a camphor or
greyish colour are quite usual, the com-
plete piece having an acid finish. Many-
other types of glass are loosely termed
‘Peach Blow’, but basically, apart from a
slight variation in colour shading, the
products can be summarised as follows:
Webb and Wheeling Peach Blow are
always lined, but Mt. Washington, New-
England and Sandwich Peach Blow are
never lined. The Bohemian manufacturers
soon cashed in on the vogue of Peach Blow
wares, producing far cheaper glasses,
which forced the better products off the
markets, though their wares in no way-
resembled those made in America and in
England.

CUT-GLASS DECANTER, CUT-GLASS BASKET, DECANTER IN CLEAR COLOURLESS GLASS WITH CUT DECORATION, COVERED VASE IN CLEAR COLOURLESS GLASS WITH RED FLASHING AND CUT DECORATION

September 16th, 2009

The Regency style of cutting can be
regarded as the classical standard of
British cut glass. It was not long to survive,
however, for in the new designs of 1825-30
there was a change from mitre-cutting to
flat-cutting or surface slicing in a vertical
pattern, as opposed to the horizontal
patterns of previous years. Horizontal
bands of diamonds were replaced as
decoration by a vertical arrangement of
broad hollow flutes, ‘pillared’ flutes, or flat
vertical facets. The essentials of this new
style can be seen in the pattern drawings
of about 1830 of Samuel Miller, foreman
cutter at the Watcrford glass-works in
Ireland. The style may have started in the
cutting shops of Birmingham. Apsley
Pellatt at the Falcon Glasshouse in South-
wark, London, was producing vessels with
vertical arrangements of fine diamond
panels about 1820. The decanter illus-
trated shows pillar-cutting of about the
toco’s.
The broad-fluted style of cutting was
international, with overtones of the early
18th century, and was especially associated
with the Budermeter glass of Central
Europe. About the same time as this style
of cutting appeared in England, the shape
of glass became more angular and straight-
sided, which was suitable for the new form
of decoration. Decanters, particularly,
changed from the barrel shape to a
cylindrical shape with vertical sides. This
remained the characteristic style of the
1830’s and the early 1840’s. Some elabora-
tion on the style took place on the better
pieces so that flutes would have multiple
profiles and would alternate with panels of
mitre-cutting. Arched patterns became
fashionable around 1840; often complex
in detail, they still retained the strongly
vertical tendency of style. The decanter
illustrated is a good example of the arched
decoration of the 1840’s, with mitre-
cutting enclosed by the arches.
CUT-GLASS DECANTER
By Apsley Pellatl, England, 1851
Ht. 311 mm (12-25 11,1
During the 1830’sand 1840’s glass-makers
in England began to appreciate once more
the curves and rounded shapes one could
attain with glass. Water carafes and
decanters began to have spherical bodies,
and champagne glasses with the new-
hemispherical bowl were introduced.
Wine-glasses now had ogee-shaped and
bill-shaped bowls, and cutting consisted
of plain facets running through from the
bowl to the stem. The spherical carafes and
decanters were often cut with ‘printies’ or
rows of large shallow facets. The decanter
illustrated, made by Apsley Pellatt in
London in 1851, has these rounded
hollows on the body of the vessel. Occas-
ionally heavy mitrc-cutting was used, but
the tendency was to decorate these boldly
curving shapes with engraving as opposed
to cutting. The period of common use for
these shapes in England coincided with the
eclipse of the technique of cutting in the
1860’s and 1870’s.
CUT-GLASS DECANTER
England, about 1850. lit. 381 mm (15 in.)
The Glass Excise in England was removed,
after much agitation, in 1845. Glass could
now be made to any thickness without fear
of taxation. One result was a revival in
interest in deep mitre-cutting, where the
glass was thicker and the cutting deeper
than ever before. The decanter illustrated
is a good example of this. Large-scale
mitre-cutting was to be a feature of this
mid-ioth century work. Intricate curvi-
linear designs became more common, and
the actual shapes of the vessels were freer
and had more variety. Contemporary
engravings illustrated much of the intri-
cately cut glass on display at the Great
Exhibition of 1851. Objects that have
survived to the present day show that the
glasses were not quite the ‘prickly mon-
strosities’ they appeared to be in 19th-
century engravings. Mention should be
made of the firm of F. & C. Osier of
Birmingham, who produced enormous
cut-glass centrepieces for this and other
exhibitions, and for eastern potentates
CUT-GLASS BOWL.
Decorated by E. Hammond, Stevens & Williams,
England, about 1895. Diam. 419 mm (16-5 in.)
After the 1851 Exhibition, cut glass was
largely disregarded for many years in
England. During the later 1850’s, 1860’s
and 1870’s, spherical vessels with en-
graved decoration were the fashion. Some
cut glass was always made in this period,
but without any great originality of
thought so far as the design was concerned.
Pressed glass imitations of cut glass also
spurred the reaction against real cut glass.
The intellectual set were against it on
aesthetic grounds from the middle of the
century. In John Ruskin’s words ‘all cut
glass is barbaric’ (Stones of Venice Vol. II
(1853)). Glass fashions at this period were
more or less international, so the eclipse of
cut glass also took place in Central Europe,
France and the U.S.A. at the same time.
However, it came internationally to the
fore again in the 1880’s and 1890’s. In the
pattern books of British manufacturers for
that period the new designs show cutting
as elaborate as was technically possible.
CUT-GLASS BASKET
Stevens & Williams, England, about 1880
Ht. 175 mm (688 in.)
Glass-cutters in England in the 1880’s and
1890’s aimed at a mathematical precision
in their work. Technical improvements
helped them to achieve this, so that even
shapes that were difficult to decorate with
cutting, such as the cut-glass basket
illustrated, became a commercial proposi-
tion. Cut-glass objects that aspired to lesser
heights were square-section toilet bottles
and whisky decanters with ball stoppers,
which were decorated all over with dia-
mond mitre-cutting. Cut glass was looked
upon as the ‘old legitimate trade’ by glass-
makers, and tended to a conservatism in
design, yet the variety of new shapes in
these years was in line with the freedom
of the fancy-coloured glassware that was
being produced, This decoration became
once more the symbol of social and
material success, and was much patronised
by the middle and upper classes. Pressed
glass imitations were no longer the threat
they had been.
DECANTER IN CLEAR COLOURLESS GLASS WITH CUT
DECORATION
Bakewell, Page & Bakewell, Piltsburgh, U.S.A., 1825
The earliest known specimens of American
cut glass date from 1824, although evi-
dence does exist to indicate that cutting
may have been practised even earlier than
this date. Motifs that were used exten-
sively were flutes, panels, stars and plain
geometric bands. The cut decoration was
hand-polished on wooden wheels, which
gave it a softer lustre than that given by the
later high-speed wheel polishing or acid
bath. North American glass factories that
produced cut glass in the early 19th
century were the Bakewell (Company of
Pittsburgh, the New England Glass Com-
pany, and the Boston and Sandwich Glass
Company. By 1830, the American glass
factories were producing enough glass to
encourage the government to stop foreign
imports, and in that year a high Federal
tariff was levied against imports from
Europe. The Baldwin Bill severely limited
imports, resulting in a boom in the
American glass industry.
COVERED VASE IN CLEAR COLOURLESS GLASS WITH RED
FLASHING AND CUT DECORATION
Probably the New England Glass Company, U.S.A.,
about 1845. Ht. 756 mm (2975 in.)
The new tariff laws of 1830 made the
manufacture of fine tableware in America
especially profitable, and by 1840 at least
81 glass-houses were in operation. In West
Virginia, in 1864, a new glass metal was
developed. Instead of the expensive and
brilliant lead glass, a less costly soda-lime
glass was developed, which although it did
not have the ring or rich appearance of lead
glass, was admirably suited to the great
variety demanded by the American public.
With the introduction of this new metal,
American cut glass was even more threat-
ened by cheaper pressed glass imitations.
Cut glass manufacturers were driven to
using the pressed techniques, or else to
producing cut-glass items that could not
be duplicated on the pressing machine. In
this middle period of American glass-
making (1830-80) cutting continued the
use of the flute, cross-hatching, fan, and
diamond motifs, though with a greater
profusion than in the earlier period. All the
glass, however, subordinated decoration
to the shape of the glass.
SEGMENT OE PI-ATE IN CLEAR COLOURLESS GLASS
WITH CUT DECORATION
T. G. Hawkes& Co., U.S.A.
The ‘brilliant’ period of American glass-
making (c. 1880-1915) was so called be-
cause of the fashion for brilliant cut glass,
which became a symbol of social prestige,
its opulence admirably suited to the
formality of the age. The deep-cut patterns
favoured motifs such as the mitre, the fan,
the notched prism, the single star and the
‘hob-star’. A very brilliant lead glass was
used which, in conjunction with the deep
cutting, produced an effect of extreme
richness and crackling brightness which
has to be seen to be fully appreciated. From
the beginning the glass-cutters tended to
cover most of the’surface of the piece with
their decoration. After the turn of the
century the embellishment became even
more elaborate, and the many firms vied
with each other in creating complicated
patterns, completely subjugating form to
ornament. Social and economic factors led
to the manufacturers pricing themselves
out of existence after World War I.
VASE WITH CUT DECORATION IN BLUE-GREEN GLASS
CASED WITH COLOURLESS GLASS
Use Schargc-Ncbel, Germany, 1064
Ht. 208 mm (82 in.)
The heavy, clear colourless glass that was
created in the Bohemian-Silesian area in
the late 17th century provided the stimulus
for a spectacular development in the art of
cutting as well as engraving. Glass so
decorated was soon being produced in all
the German-speaking countries, and by
the 18th century was being exported all
over the world. In the 19th century the
Bohemian factories adopted the English
style of heavy cutting with great success,
and even today cut wares form a large part
of their export wares. Bohemia has pro-
vided the finest cutters and engravers for
countries which have a less firm tradition
in glass-making. Modern German glass
shows the same quest for simplicity which
is noticeable in Finland, Sweden and
Denmark, and the glass-makers have
returned to the basic qualities of glass and
glass-blowing. This is reflected in the
simple lines and sensitive cutting of the
vase illustrated. It is in bluish-green glass
with a clear, colourless casing, the cut
decoration forming a window-like pattern.
VASE WITH  DECORATION
By Pavel lllava, Czechoslovakia, 1959
A fresh stylistic impulse reached the glass
factories of Bohemia in the first decade of
the twentieth century, which was to change
their traditional attitudes to decoration.
The impulse came from Vienna, where the
architect and designer Josef Hoffmann
(born 1870) had become a powerful influ-
ence. He was an early pioneer of a Func-
tionalist style in decoration and advocated
the use of basic geometric figures like the
square and circle for designs. Through his
work at the Wiener Kunstgewerbeschule
(Viennese School for Applied Arts) where
he taught, he popularised heavy, angular
forms. His style of purely geometric
ornament was transmitted to the Bohemian
glass industry by way of the schools for
glass-making and decoration in Haida and
Steinschonau. After the political revolu-
tion in 1948 the tradition for Bohemian cut
crystal continued, though softer patterns
were favoured over the old rigid cut-glass
designs. Pavel Hlava (born 1924) is best
known for his cut and engraved glass.
The Techniques of Taking Away
DISH WITH FACET-CUTTING AND ‘DIAMOND-POINT-
ENGRAVING
Germany (exported from Egypt ?), 2nd century A.D.
Ht. 6t mm (25 in.)
Dxamnnd-Potnl Engraving: Kngraving
glass with a diamond point was a technique
practised in Italy from before the middle
of the 16th century. Centuries earlier than
this, during the period of the Roman
Empire, engraving in the same style was
being produced. Some sharp instrument
not unlike a diamond point must have been
used; the results arc rather rougher, but
the similarities in technique cannot be
denied. ‘The first instance of this type of
engraved bowl was found in a grave of the
late 1st century A.D. on Siphnos in the
Aegean. However, it is not until the later
2nd century A.D. that a school of such
work can be recognised. The pieces are
colourless, clear glass bowls bearing myth-
ological and genre scenes in facet-cutting
with ‘diamond-point’ engraving for the
details. Many of the bowls have Greek
inscriptions giving the names of the
persons depicted, and all have a curvilinear
engraved band, usually just below the rim.
SEGMENT OE PLATE ENGRAVED IN DIAMOND-POINT
Willi GILDED AND FILIGREE DECORATION
Venice, mid-ihthcentury, Diam. 275 mm(10s in.)
Venetian cristallo glass, with its brittle
soda-lime constitution, was particularly
suited to the technique of diamond-point
engraving. When the diamond point was
pressed against the glass, this took the
impress with precision, yet still allowed
much treedom of movement to the en-
graver. However, although the technique
was practised in Italy, it was never as
popular there as on the glass of Venetian
type (Jacon de Vemse) found in other
European countries, notably in Holland
and also Hall-in-the-Tyrol. The diamond-
point engraving was usually used in con-
junction with gilded decoration. Dishes
with fantastic birds and long-tailed mon-
sters, as in the dish illustrated, were
produced, as well as those with coiled
foliage and coats of arms. The dish shown
is in clear, colourless glass with granular
gilding and a filigree network, as well as
diamond-point engraving. Dragons, birds
confronting a mask and crossed Papal
Keys form part of the engraved decoration.
GOBI II WITH DIAMOND-POINT INGKWING
Attributed to Jacopo Verzelini, Km/land, 1581
iii 210 mm (8-ag in.)
A group ol diamond-point-engraved glas-
ses has commonly been attributed to
Jacopo Verzelini (1522-1606), a Venetian
who came to England from Antwerp in
1571. In 1575 he obtained a privilege from
Queen Elizabeth I for a period of twenty-
one years which gave him the sole right to
make glasses after the Venetian style in
England, and forbade the importation of
foreign glass. In 1592, when he was
seventy, he gave up glass-making and
retired to Downe in Kent, where he died
at the age of 84. All the glasses ascribed to
him are large goblets of various proportions
with hollow moulded or gadrooned knops
on the stems. The goblet illustrated is in
clear, colourless glass with a slight greenish
tinge and diamond-point engraving on the
straight-sided bowl. The engraving on
Verzelini glasses has been attributed to
Anthony de Lysle, an engraver of pewter
and glass who is thought to have come
from France.
BOUQUET  IN DARK BLUE GLASS ENGRAVED WITH
11II DIAMOND POINT AND GILDED
Hall-in-the-Tyrol,
Ht. 202 mm (7-95 in.)
Diamond-point engraving was a charac-
teristic form of decoration at an important
glass-house at Hall-in-the-Tyrol. This
was started in 1534 and flourished in the
third quarter of the 16th century. It was
under the direction of Sebastian Hoch-
stetter, an Augsburg merchant, and event-
ually came under the patronage of the
Archduke Ferdinand. The articles pro-
duced by this works were in blue, green,
and clear and colourless glass, with dia-
mond-point engraving and (often dam-
aged) lacquer painting and lacquer gilding.
In the last third of the 16th century most
European glass-making countries were
producing glasses similarly decorated and
diamond-point engraved. Scrolled arab-
esque foliage, borders of chain or guilloche
pattern, hatched ‘ladder-borders’, and
borders of single formal leaves or of crest-
ing are usually found on all these glasses.
Obviously, these could not all be the work
of the same hand, but more probably the
work of a craftsman from Hall and his
pupils.
‘ROYAL OAK GOBLET’, ENGRAVED IN DIAMOND POINT
England, 1663. Ht. 143 mm (5-63 in.)
Few glasses survive from the period when
the Duke of Buckingham (1628-87) to°k
over from Sir Robert Mansell the making
of fine glass in the Venetian style in
England. The most important glass to
survive is this goblet, engraved in diamond
point with a portrait of Charles II
surrounded by engraved oak branches
with the inscription ‘Royal Oak’. There
are also portraits of Charles and his wife,
Catherine of Braganza and the Royal Coat
of Arms on the reverse, with the date 1663.
The metal is greenish-brown and the style
is facon de Venise. The glass was probably
made to commemorate the marriage of
Charles and Catherine in 1663. Another
famous glass of the same period is the
‘Exeter Flute’, probably made for the
coronation of Charles II. It stands 17
inches high, with a portrait of Charles II,
a sprouting oak stump and the inscription
‘God Bless King Charles the Second’ in
diamond point on the fluted bowl.
HOWL, DIAMOND-POINT-ENGRAED
Probably Savoy Glass-house, England, c. 1676
Hi. 98 mm (1-85 in.)
GOBI.r.T ENGRAVED IN DIAMOND POINT, SIGNED
‘WM. VAN HEEMSKERK’
Netherlands, 1686. Ht. 200 mm (788 in.)
(See alio colour photograph 22)
The bowl illustrated is one of a pair found
in 1037 aI Tring. They are known as the
‘Buggins’ Bowls’, since they depict the
arms of Butler Buggin of North Cray,
Kent, and his wife Winifred Burnett of
Leys, Aberdeen. They were married in
1676, the year that George Ravenscroft of
the Savoy Glass-house in London estab-
lished his glass-of-lead. However, it was
not until the following year that the Glass
Sellers’ Company allowed him to seal his
glasses with a raven’s head seal, so the
Buggins’ Bowls must have been made
prior to this. These heavy lead-glass bowls
have an almost modern look to them, due
to the absence of the intricate cutting that
was to become so characteristic of later
English lead glass. The diamond engrav-
ing on the bowls belongs to the tradition of
the past, since the technique is more
suited to the earlier thin-walled vessels of
the soda-lime type of glass.
In 17th-century Holland diamond-point
engraving was especially fashionable as a
pastime amongst amateurs, many of whom
became very skilled. Two famous names
are Anna Roemcrs Visschcr (1583-1651)
who decorated green glass Romers with
(lowers, fruit and insects, calligraphy and
inscriptions in Roman capital and Greek
letters, and Willcm Jacobsz van Hecms-
kerk (1613-92), a cloth merchant, poet and
dramatist of Leiden, who practised calli-
graphy on glass, mainly bottles, usuall\
adding his signature and the date. Exam-
ples of his work date from between 1648
and 1690. It is thought that much of the
diamond-point engraving found on Eng-
lish glasses of this period is probably
Dutch work. Up to this time Holland had
been producing Venetian-type cristallo
glass, but towards the end of the 17th
century she began to make ‘flint glass
ranglaise’. Possibly as a result, by the
1690’s wheel-engraving replaced diamond-
point engraving as the popular form of
decoration.
WINE-GLASS, ENGRAVED IN DIAMOND
POINT
England, mid-i8ih century
The group of vessels engraved in diamond
point known as ‘Amen’ glasses forms a
sub-division of the type called Jacobite
glasses. These were used to toast ‘The
Cause’ by the clubs and societies which
fostered Jacobite sentiments in England in
the 18th century. ‘Amen’ glasses arc
engraved in diamond point with a royal
crown, the cipher IR and RI entwined, and
the figure 8, together with either two or
four verses of the Jacobite anthem, ending
with the word ‘Amen’. They are essentially
private glasses, used for expressions of
loyalty to James and Prince Charles
Edward, and occasionally Prince Henry.
Some arc dated, like the Dunvegan Castle
glass, 1747, and the Mesham and the
Drummond Castle glasses, 1749. In the
1930’s some good forgeries of ‘Amen’
glasses were put on the market. Jacobite
glasses have been in such demand that all
the various types have been reproduced by
forgers.
GOBLET, STIPPLE-ENGRAVED BY FRAN.N GREENWOOD
Glass, English; engraving, Dutch, dated 1728
Ht. 210 mm (8-25 in.)
Stipple Engraving: For the technique of
stippling, grouped and graded dots were
engraved with a diamond point on the
surface of a glass object, the dots repre-
senting the highlights of the design. The
diamond point was set in a handle which
may have been gently struck with a small
hammer to produce a single dot on the
glass. In the better examples of stippling
the decoration can be compared to a deli-
cate film breathed upon the glass. Frans
Greenwood, a native of Rotterdam,
brought the art of stippling to its greatest
heights in the first half of the 18th century.
Born in 1680, he died in 1762, and was
apparently of English descent. He was
actually an amateur glass-engraver, who
from 1726 held an official post in Dor-
drecht. Nevertheless, he produced a quan-
tity of stippled glasses, often signed and
dated, and usually copying prints after
contemporary paintings. A typical example
is the light baluster glass illustrated, which
depicts a man holding a Rotner signed
‘F. Greenwood 1728′.
Glass, Knglish; engraving, Dutch, about 1790
Laurence Whistler, England, H15-;
Olhcr artists contemporary with Green-
wood also practised the art of stippling.
The best-known names are Aert Schou-
man, G. H. Hoolart and J. van den Blijk.
In the last forty years of the 18th century
stipple-engraving was done by numerous
artists, the most famous of them being
David Wolff in Holland, whose name has
become synonymous with the technique.
He was born in 1732 at ’s-Hcrtogcnbosch
and married in 1762 at The Hague, living
there until his death in 1708. The glass
illustrated shows the portraits of William
V of Orange and his wife, Fredcrica
Wilhelmina Sophia of Prussia. In the 19th
century Andries Melort of Holland (1779-
1849) copied in stipple on to Hat sheets of
glass the work of Dutch painters. D. H. de
Castro (d.1863), a chemist of Amsterdam,
revived the technique of stippling in the
Wolff manner in the mid-19th century,
and more recently E. Voet and others in
I lolland have used the technique.
Since the last World War Laurence Whist-
ler (b.1912) of England has concentrated
upon the art of stippling glass. His designs
are highly personal and imaginative. I le
started his engraving in an unusual way,
for during the 1930’s he used to amuse his
friends and himself by scratching lines of
poetry on windows in the Elizabethan
manner. Later he developed his skill to
engrave wine-glasses, each design being
specially made for a rich and aristocratic
person. At this stage he was employing
diamond-point engraving, frequently us-
ing genuine eighteenth-century wine-
glasses on which to practise his art. His
designs were of the Baroque tradition,
with emblems and allegorical allusions as
favourite themes. In his later work Whis-
tler has also designed the glasses them-
selves, which he decorates so that form and
decor become as one. Most of these glasses
are made for him at Whitefriars.

WINE GLASS IN THE CAMEO TECHNIQUE, PORTLAND VASE IN DARK AND OPAQUE GLASS, CAMEO-CUT, CAMEO GLASS VASE, RUBY BODY, CAMEO GLASS VASE IMITATING CARVED IVORY WITH APPLIED GLASS WINDOW’S

September 16th, 2009

TRANSLUCENT WINE GLASS IN THE
CAMEO TECHNIQUE
Rinnan Empire, possibly isi century A.I).
Hi. 62 mm (2-44 in.)
PORTLAND VASE IN DARK AND OPAQUE
GLASS, CAMEO-CUT
Roman Empire, late isl century B.C. or early isi
century A.I). III. 245 248 mm (0-65 075 in.)
Cameo Class: This technique is a mixture
of both wheel-cutting and engraving, and
in the later period, of acid etching. This
art, certainly practised by the Romans, in
their glass-houses at Alexandria, was
brought to such perfection between the 1st
century B.C. and 1st century A.D. that
glasses like the Portland Vase could be
produced. It is possibly the most dramatic
form of abraded decoration on a vessel. At
least two layers of differently coloured
glasses were needed for vessels of cameo
glass. These would be carved through to
the under-layers by the lapidary’s wheel.
Roman cameo glass (also called verre
double) was usually made up of translucent
white glass cased on to a darker ground of
blue glass, which was then carved with
ornamental designs or mythological or
genre scenes. The scene depicted on the
blue and white glass cup illustrated is a
mythological scene devoted to the worship
of Priapus, a fertility god.
Roman cameos form only a small group of
Roman glass products, bui they rank high
amongst the achievements of the great
glass-makers of this period. Possibly the
most famous of all Roman cameos is the
Portland vase, said to have been found in
1582 in a sarcophagus on the Appian Way
near Rome. It was bought by the British
Museum from the Duke of Portland in
1045. To make it, two gathers of glass, one
cobalt blue, one opaque white, were fused
together and probably blown and shaped
as one. This would have to have been very
carefully annealed (cooled under con-
trolled conditions), for if the rate of
cooling on cither face was even slightly
different, the glass would shatter. When
annealed, the glass would have been
marked with the desired decoration, and
the larger unwanted areas of white glass
ground away with heavy wheel abrasion to
the blue underneath.
OVAIL CAMEO (WITH A DEMONSTRATION OF HOW IT
WAS MADE)
Roman Empire, 41b century A.D.
Ht. 41 mm (163 in.)
The delicate work necessary to finish off
the figures on a cameo would probably
have been accomplished with fine wheel
abrasion, since even at this early period it
was possible for wheels the size of a
pinhead to be made for fine work. The
manner of carving was very much akin to
the carving of a layered gem-stone such as
onyx or banded agate. The changes in
thickness of the opaque or translucent
white glass layer brought about by the
differences in the depth of the carving
produced subtle tonal variations. The
illustration shows the various stages a
Roman glass-maker would go through to
produce the cameo of a youth’s head and
shoulders. First the two layers of glass
were fused together, then the oval shape
cut out; the main areas of white which
were not needed were then removed, then
the finer details were filled in.
FI.ASK WITH CAMEO CUT DECORATION
Persia, oth-iolh century A.D. Ht. 150 mm (59 in.)
Between the period of Roman cameo-
working to the great revival of the tech-
nique in the 19th century, it is often
assumed that no such work was carried
out. This is not quite the case, for cameo
glass was certainly made in Egypt and
Persia in the 9th and 10th cerituries A.D.
Complete pieces have been found from
those countries, and fragments of cameo
glass of the same period have been found
in Samarra. The overlay glass is either
coloured green or blue. The flask illus-
trated is an outstanding example of Persian
camco-cut work. It is in colourless glass,
cased with green depicting the form of a
hare, the articulation of the joints being
cut away to the colourless glass beneath.
This cameo glass formed part of the school
of relief-cutting which flourished in Persia
and probably Mesopotamia in the 9th and
10th centuries. Cameo glass was also
produced in China well before the 19th
century.
John Northwood, born in Stourbridge,
England, in 1837, was the first, and lead-
ing, exponent in England of the art of
cameo glass. After completing his famous
relief-carved ‘Elgin’ vase, he was commis-
sioned by Phillip Pargeter of the Red
House Glassworks near Stourbridge to
produce a copy of the Portland vase. He
did this successfully, and followed it up by
producing his ‘Milton’ vase and later his
famous ‘Pegasus’ or ‘Dennis’ vase, com-
missioned by Thomas Wilkes Webb,
which is illustrated here. Members of the
Northwood School included his own son
John II, who produced works in the
cameo technique. During the early years
of English cameo glass, (.1870 to 1880,
pieces were carved mainly with hand
tools, and each was normally the work of
an individual artist. To supply public
demand a quicker method for production
had to be found and thus the engraving
wheel came to be used, and the production
became a co-operation between designer,
etcher and engraver.
This new ‘commercial’ production of
English cameo glass lasted roughly from
1880 to 1890, and on the whole the results
tended to be good. Stevens 8c Williams of
Brierley Hill and Thomas Webb & Sons
of Stourbridge produced the greatest
amount of cameo work in this period.
Besides the John Northwood school there
existed a second school of cameo glass
artists at the firm of Hodgetts, Richardson
& Company of Wordsley. The two most
important artists there were Alphonse
Lechevrel and Joseph Locke. Alphonse
Lechevrel, a Frenchman, was taken on by
the firm to instruct a small group of men
in the art of carving glass cameos and was
one of the first to follow John Northwood
in this difficult technique. Lechevrel had
already made his name as a medalist, and
had a good grounding in figure, floral and
geometric designs. A few of his pieces of
cameo glass survive, including the vase
illustrated.
CAMEO GLASS VASE, RUBY BODY
Ctrved by Joseph Locke, New England Glass
Company, U.S.A., c. iMg
Alphonse Lechevrel’s most promising
pupil was Joseph Locke, a perfectionist in
whatever medium he attempted, an accom-
plished glass technologist, a finished pain-
ter, engraver, etcher, sculptor and inven-
tor. When eventually he came to be
employed by Hodgetts, Richardson &
Company he produced his masterpiece,
the second copy of the Portland vase in
cameo glass, exhibited at the Paris Exhibi-
tion in 1878, where it won the Gold Medal
Award. Locke left Hodgetts, Richardson
& Company to work for Phillip Pargcter of
the Red House Glassworks, who had the
Northwood version of the Portland vase.
He went on to Webb & Corbetts, and then
left lor America in 1882 where he joined
the New England Glass Company of
Cambridge, Mass. Hecontinued his cameo
work in America, the vase illustrated being
an example of his work there. Occasionally
he used enamelling to embellish his cameo
work still further.
Carved by George Woodall, late 19th century
Ht. 220 mm (9 in.)
The brothers George and Thomas Woodall
had the good fortune to receive their early
training in cameo work from John North-
wood. Both were engaged by the firm of
Thomas Webb & Sons of Stourbridge to
work exclusively on cameo glass. The
Woodall school is noted for being by far
the most productive of the three schools
of English cameo glass. George had a
natural talent for figure composition, as
did his brother, though Tom seemed to
prefer decorative and floral patterns and
often executed the borders on their joint
works, usually signed ‘T & G Woodall’.
The early works of George Woodall were
mainly hand-carved, and his later pieces
mostly worked on the engraver’s wheel.
Much cameo glass was produced under
his direction by a large group of workers.
Tom and George Woodall and James
O’Fallon were the designers, though some
of their workers were quite capable of
producing and executing their own de-
signs.
‘lace-de-boheme’ cameo glass vase
Bohemia, (.1885. lit. 229 mm (9in.)
Most of the English cameo glass produced
between 1880 and 1890 was destined for
the American market. After 1890 demand
for this tine work dropped, because of the
influx of cheap imitation cameo work on
to the market. These cheaper pieces were
made by giving the glass a thin opal casing
and then applying the pattern to this
casing with acid-resisting ink; the article
was then plunged into a hydrofluoric acid
bath, which dissolved away all parts of the
casing not protected by the acid-resisting
ink. Thus an article was easily made with
a flat opal glass design in very shallow-
relief on a coloured background. Still
cheaper imitations came with ‘Florentine
Art Cameo’, and i.ace-dc-Boheme Cam-
eo’ made in Bohemia, which was simply
heavy white enamelling, often copying
English cameo designs, on a coloured or
satin glass body. ‘Mary Gregory’ glass,
described in the enamelling section, was
also a cheaper imitation of cameo work.
CAMEO GLASS VASE IMITATING  CARVED IVORY
WITH APPLIED GLASS WINDOW’S
Designed by Kretschman and decorated in gold and
enamel by Jules Barbc, Thomas Webb & Sons,
Kngland, 1-.1887
Thomas Webb & Sons of Stourbridge,
England, were the sole producers of a
novelty-type cameo glass which was made
in imitation of old carved ivory. Thomas
Wilkes Webb patented the process in 1887
and in the U.S.A. in 1889. An article made
of ivory coloured or opaque white glass
was etched with a shallow relief design,
which was deepened with an engraving
wheel. The design produced was wiped
clean and then rubbed with a brown or
other coloured stain; the stain made a dark
tint in the recesses of the design, and was
also apparent on the high points of the
design. The result made a piece of’cameo’
glass which looked like old carved ivory.
‘Tom and George Woodall used Oriental
and East Indian objets d’art as models for
this technique, and other members of the
Woodall team, Jules Barbc, Jacob Facer
and Nash, produced designs for this ware.
Both Stevens & Williams of Brierley Hill
and Thomas Webb & Sons of Stourbridge,
England, produced a glassware which was
known as ‘Dolce Relievo’ or ’soft relief. A
gather of clear coloured glass was picked
up on a first gathering of opaque white or
ivory-coloured glass, and the article was
fashioned in the normal way. When the
object had cooled, a design was painted on
the outer coloured glass, which was care-
fully etched away. This left various shad-
ings in shallow relief on the white or ivory
background. Any merit that the piece may
have depends entirely on the original
beauty of the design and on the skill of the
etcher. The vase illustrated, made at
Stevens & Williams, is one of the better
examples of the technique. Thomas Webb
& Sons were also responsible for cameo
glass pieces made to imitate 18th-century
Apart from beads, decorative plaques and
models of animals, very little glass was
made in China before the 5th century A.D.
As already mentioned, it is thought that
the secrets of glass-making were brought
to (ihina from the West in A.D. 435. Little
is known of Chinese glass-making during
the Sung and Ming periods. During the
Ch’ing period a glass workshop was
established in Peking in 1680 under the
patronage of the Kmperor K’afig Hsi, and
cameo-cut glass was featured amongst its
products. The most prolific period of
Chinese glass-making, however, comes in
the reign of the Kmperor Ch’ien Lung
(1735-95). The bottle illustrated is thought
to have come from this period, being in
opaque white glass with an overlay of red
glass depicting mounted warriors, build-
ings and nobles in a stage-like setting. The
effect of layered onyx or other semi-
precious stone was thus simulated, for the
Chinese seemed to be only interested in
glass in so far as it imitated more precious
materials.
CAMEO GLASS VASE IN PINK AND WHITE OPAQUE GLASS
Ml. Washington Glass Company, U.S.A., late
iQth century. Ht. 121 mm (475 in.)
Production of cameo glass in the U.S.A. in
this period was limited, not for lack of
expertise, but because of the high cost of
production. A great deal of English cameo
glass was of course being imported to the
States. However, some was made there,
the example shown being a pink and white
cameo of the Mt. Washington Glass
Company, New Bedford, Mass. The firm
also made blue and white cameo glass,
using the same relatively few patterns for
both. The outline of the ‘cameo’ decora-
tion is finely etched, but there any
resemblance to English cameo work ends,
for the decoration is produced solely by
the use of acid, and the effect of the design
is rather flat. On the other hand, some very
notable cameo work was produced in
America by the firm of Louis Comfort
Tiffany with Arthur J. Nash. Frederick
Carder certainly made traditional cameo
glass objects in England, and later, when
he worked in the U.S.A. he invented
Steuben ‘Acid Cutback’ glass, which is
allied to the cameo technique.
CAMEO GLASS VASE
Venice, Italy, last quarter of 10th century
Cameo glass was produced in Venice in the
late 19th century. It is not known who
produced these pieces, but their chief
characteristic is that they are made of
Venetian soda-lime metal, as opposed to
the heavy lead glass of English cameo
glass. This lighter glass, when used for
both the inner and outer layers of the
objects, gives the carving of the cameo a
more delicate but less distinct appearance.
Small details such as the carving of faces
were not easily achieved with the more
brittle metal. These pieces, all apparently
carved by the same artist, are in deep blue
glass cased by white opal glass. They
attempt to copy some of the ancient
Roman cameos, including the Portland
vase. Small alabastrons, vases, large and
small cups and saucers are copied from
ancient examples. The owners of the
cameos, Pauly & Cie of Venice, produced
a few pieces of cameo engraving on leftover
blanks from the late 19th century.
VASE IN CAMEO GLASS
Kmilc Galle, Nancy, France, end of ihe iqth century
I It 44S mm (17-63 in.)
French cameo glass has en entirely different
artistic feel from that of the meticulously
engraved English type. The French glass-
makers used acid etching to engrave their
designs on to blanks of cased coloured
glass, in a style originally intended to copy
oriental models. Emile Galle (1846 1004)
was the most prominent figure in the
production of French cameo glass. He
learned his trade at Mcisenthal, and then
had a more formal art education in Weimar,
followed by studies in the major museums
of London and Paris. He established his
own workshop for glass decoration in 1867.
With his father he began the regular
production of art glass in Nancy in 1874,
and continued until his death in 1004.
Strongly influenced by the art of Japan, he
took as his favourite subjects flowers,
insects and landscape designs, in contrast
to the figure subjects favoured by English
artists for cameo glass.
CASED-GLASS CAMEO VASE IN AUBERGINE,
WHITE
By Emile Galle, Nancy, France, iSgo 1000
The smaller details on Gallc’s cameo glass
were finished off on the engraving wheel.
The majority of his cased glass vases, with
a decoration of flowers and leaves, date
from after 1890. So-called ’standard Galle’
vases with conventional Art Nouveau
flower patterns in one colour against an
opaque white background as illustrated arc-
probably factory products, rather than
Galle’s personal handiwork. It is very rare
to find two identical pieces among the
massive output of his factory. Like most
French glass-makers of this period, he
usually signed his work. Even after his
death, when the factory continued under
the direction of Victor Prouve, the pro-
ducts were still signed ‘Galle’, hut a star
preceded the name, and production in
Gallc’s style certainly continued until
1913. Closest to Galle’s work came the
products of the firm of Daum in Nancy;
this concern was established by Jean
Daum Urol hers, Nancy, Franee, c. 1895
Jean Daum’s two sons, Auguste and
Antonin, were personally influenced in
glass-making by Emile Galle. They soon
(V.i890) began to produce articles decor-
ated with flowers and leaves in cased glass,
using on their works a monogram incor-
porating the Cross of Lorraine. Their
early productions of Art Nouveau glass
were very fine, and they continued to make
art glass until the First World War, but
their later work is of much poorer quality.
Once Galle died, his inspiration seemed to
die with him. Other makers of cameo glass
in Galle’s style were the factory of Lunc-
ville, near Nancy, and also Sevres, which
produced the designs of the firm of
Landier et Fils. Other lesser-known
workers in French cameo glass were De
Vez, Le Gras, Andre De Lattc, Edward
Michel, M. Walter, Alphonse G. Reyen,
Tessire du Motay, Kessler and Mareschal.
The technique of French cameo glass was
copied by many countries in Europe.
i \MH) glass vasi in KM) imhiiihu 111 ysn
By Tiffany, U.S.A., late i<)th century/early 20th
century. Hi. 146 mm (575 in.)
Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) joined
forces on a shareholding basis with Arthur
J. Nash, an English glass-maker, and other
investors. Nash later brought in his sons
A. Douglas and Leslie Nash. They oper-
ated the factory at Corona, Long Island,
New York, known as Tiffany Furnaces,
and later as Louis C. Tiffany Furnaces
Inc. When Tiffany left in 1924, it became
the A. Douglas Nash Co. Tiffany products
owed much to L. C. Tiffany from 1 he-
design point of view, but it was the Nashs’
practical knowledge of glass-making that
made them technically outstanding. One
of the products that must be mentioned
here is their cameo glass, which generally
consisted of two or more layers of glass.
The designs were painted on in acid-
resistant materials, then the object was
plunged into an acid bath, which revealed
the under layer or layers. The design was
finished off with engraving and polishing
tools.
VASE IN ‘ACID CUTBACK’
By Frederick Carder, Steuben Glass Works,
U.S.A., early 20th century. III. 305 mm (12 in.)
Frederick Clarder of the Steuben Glass
Works, Corning, New York, established
an etching room for glass at the works in
about 1006. He was familiar with the
etching process in connection with cameo
glass from his Stevens & Williams days in
Kngland, and he carved his cameo plaque
‘The Immortality of the Arts’ while
working under the tutelage of John North-
wood. Until about 1932 Carder produced
at Steuben a cameo-type glass which is
called ‘Acid Cutback’ by collectors. The
design was transferred to the glass by
means of a print made on paper in a ‘wax
ink’. The area of the glass not covered with
the pattern was painted with wax, to
protect it from the etching acid. The glass
was left in the acid bath for the time
required to etch the designs to the desired
depth. Two layers of glass were normally
used, the darker colour most frequently
being the outer layer, though occasionally
single-layer pieces were made.
COLOURLESS GLASS WITH CUT
DECORATION
Ireland, late iSth century. Ht. 13(1 mm (538 in.)
(See also colour photograph 21)
Cut Glass: To most people the term means
the type of deep wheel-cutting used on
Irish glass from the late 18th century
onwards, and also on modern cut wine-
glasses and containers. The popularity of
today’s cut-glass products is a legacy of the
great popularity this type of glassware
enjoyed in Kngland and America during
the 19th century. In this style of decoration
angular cuts are made into the vessel
which, when polished, act as prisms with
adjacent cuts, giving a very brilliant effect.
The glass blank would first be marked
with the pattern, a mixture such as white-
lead and gum water being used. Following
the design, deep cuts would be roughed in
against an iron wheel fed with abrasive
such as sand. Water-cooled stone wheels
which need no abrasive might be used to
add fine lines. The cuts could then be
polished by lead or wooden wheels, or,
after the second half of the 19th century,
by plunging the vessel into a mixture of
hydrofluoric acid and sulphuric acid.
waisted bowl in clear, colouri j.s.s glass, stained decanter in cut glass with mushroom stopper
yellow, vviiti cut decoration England, about 1820. Ht. 241 mm (0-5 in.)
Ireland, 1.1820-30. Diam. 143 mm (563 in.)
The years 1780 to about 1835 can be
described as the period of freedom for
Irish glass-making, when the trade was
unfettered by any serious restraints. It was
during this period that some of the most
notable work in cut glass was produced in
Ireland. The principal glass-house cities
were Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Belfast.
The common belief that Waterford glass
has a blue tint is entirely wrong; some
glasses made on the Continent in imitation
of the Waterford style are markedly blue
in colour, but the original Waterford glass
is clear and colourless. Objects made
included barrel-shaped and straight-sided
decanters, bowls and vases, often with a
turned-over rim and a domed foot, covered
bowls and jars with button finials, urns,
kettle-drum bowls, plates, bowls and
stands, ewers with swan neck handles, jugs
with rounded bodies, and serving dishes.
The cut decoration was mostly done by
English craftsmen, who emigrated to
Ireland after Free Trade had been de-
clared in 1780.
The historical impact of early 19th century
English cut glass can be compared to the
influence on glass-making that Venice had
in the 16th century or to that of the
engraved glass of Central Europe in the
17th and 18th centuries. The inability of
the Venetians, with their lighter soda-lime
metal, to copy cut glass led to their eclipse
as the main glass-making centre at this
period. The success of the French and
Belgian factories in copying English cut
glass was a main cause for their develop-
ment in the first half of the 19th century.
The United States of America quickly
took to cut glass, and even in Central
Europe the style could only be partially
resisted. Mitre-cutting, or the cutting of
V-section grooves into glass, was the
characteristic Regency style. The decan-
ters, like the illustrated one, were mostly
barrel-shaped, with rings applied to their
necks, and usually with ‘mushroom’-
shaped stoppers.
Kngland. probably the 1820’s. lit. 89 mm (3-5 in.)
in m dish i\ tit GLASS
Kngland. about 1820. Length 219 mm (8-6? in.)
The V-section grooves of the mitre-cutting
were usually in straight lines. The main
decoration on the glass was caused by the
intersection of these grooves at ninety or
forty-five degrees. The simplest decora-
tion, when the grooves met at ninety
degrees, was the production of a field ol
plain ‘diamonds’ or small pyramids of
glass. There were many variants of this
sort of decoration, but one of the most
popular was the field of intricate ’straw-
berry diamonds’ found on so many pieces.
The bowl illustrated is a typical example.
Since the middle of the iSth century the
geometrical cutting of the soft English
lead glass had absorbed many glass decora-
tors, but it was the styles of the early 19th
century that were to establish its lasting
popularity. Regency cut glass was in fact a
logical technical development from the
shallow facetted glass of the mid-i8th
century.
Regency cut glass subordinated the shape
of the vessel to the decoration. Its solidity
and sparkling appearance reflected the
ostentation that was prevalent in all the art
forms of the British Regency and Con-
tinental Empire styles. In addition to the
square-cut patterns, other designs on
vessels involved the use of radiating cuts.
Usually the base would be ’star-cut’, and
the edge of the vessel might have ‘fan-
cutting’ on each of a scries of semi-circular
projections. This can be seen in the oval
cut-glass dish illustrated. It is strange that
this style of decoration, which needed such
thick glass for its execution, should coin-
cide with the period of the Glass Excise.
Between 1745 and 1845 the various
governments sought to gain revenue by
taxing the glass output in England.
Strangely enough, the effect of the Excise
seemed to be the concentration of all the
glass-makers upon one current style of
clear glass with cut decoration.
The Techniques of Taking Away
Early 19th-century glass shapes can norm-
ally be distinguished from their late 18th-
century forerunners by their heaviness and
formality. The cut decoration was more
often arranged horizontally than vertically.
This is apparent on the cut-glass dish with
cover that is illustrated. It has generally-
been assumed that most cut glass was
made in Ireland, where until the mid-
1820’s there was no Glass Excise tax. This
cannot in fact be true, since there were
never more than ten factories in Ireland
producing decorative glass, whereas in
England they numbered about fifty. Apart
from a few special cases, it is virtually
impossible to distinguish between English
and Irish glass on the grounds of style or
of the glass used. When the Excise was
introduced into Ireland in 1825, that
country was producing Ј20,000 worth a
year of flint glass, compared with over
Ј20,000 worth in Scotland and Ј170,000
worth in England.
The tendency to call all cut glass ‘Irish’ or
‘Waterford’ probably reflects the way
research has been made into the subject.
Much has been written on the history of
the Irish factories in the early 19th
century, but very little has been done on
the much wider field of English cut glass
in this period. Wine-glasses or ‘rummers’
of the early 19th century in England
usually had convex or straight-sided bowls.
Short bucket shapes were common, as
well as the taller flute shape illustrated.
Stems were short, often with disc-shaped
knops. The intersecting mitre cutting used
so much on other vessels was considered
unsuitable for drinking glasses, so their
decoration usually consisted of flat vertical
facets towards the lower part of the bowl.
Jugs had become a popular form of glass-
ware but in Regency times they tended to
copy pottery shapes and did not have the
fluidity of form of true glass art.

WINE-GLASS ENGRAVED, DRINKING GLASS IN COLOURLESS GLASS WITH ENGRAVED DECORATION

September 16th, 2009

covered goblet with engraved portrait ok carl
Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, by Franz Gondelaeh,
Germany, c. 1700.
Spillcr’s contemporary and pupil was
Jager, an outstanding glass-
engraver. He was born at Reichenberg in
Bohemia, appeared in Berlin in 1606 and
was made a member of the Berlin glass-
cutters’ guild in 1606. Both Spiller’s and
Jager’s glasses often show crisselling (a
network of tiny cracks in the glass), a
defect found in the Potsdam glass used at
the Berlin workshop. The third engraving
workshop to be set up for a German court
was that of Franz Gondelaeh (or Gunde-
lach) for the Court of the Landgrave Carl
of Hesse Cassel. Gondelaeh, sometimes
called the greatest German master of the
art, was born at Gross-Almerode in Hesse
in 1663 and becameJiirstlicheGIasschneider
to Carl in 1695. It is not known when he
died, but he was still described as Hof-
glasschneider at Cassel in 1716. He some-
times used Potsdam glass for his work,
occasionally marking his pieces with an
eight-rayed star.
It is only towards the end of the 17th
century that a genuine distinction between
glass-cutting and glass-engraving can be
made. For the first time it is obvious that
different types of equipment were being
developed for cutting and for engraving.
The glass-engraver’s equipment was light
enough at this period to be carried, where-
as the glass-cutter’s equipment, used for
facetting, intaglio (deep cutting) or rough-
ing out for finer engraving, was hardly
portable. The large interchangeable
wheels for cutting were rotated on a heavy
hand-turned cutting machine, a form of
equipment which survived until the
modern period. By the end of the 17th
century, water power was in use for turn-
ing the wheels, and was probably used to
do the all-over facetting as an obligatory
prelude to the engraving on glasses of
Bohemia and Silesia in the 18th century.
Intaglio or Hochschnitt cutting would not
have been possible without this extra
power.
The Bohcmian-Silcsiart glass-engraving
industry produced glasses that were event-
ually exported as far as Persia and the East,
as well as all over Europe. The Bohemian
workshops were predominant in the late
17th and early 18th centuries, but after
1725 Silesia overtook them in importance.
There were workshops in Schreiberhau,
Hermsdorf, Kynast, Warmbrunn, Peters-
dorf and Breslau, as well as other places in
the Hirschberger Tal. The finest Silesian
work occurs partly in the Rococo period,
when characteristic forms appear, such as
shell-shaped, lobed and scrolled cups,
which were frequently gilded as well. Most
of the work remains anonymous, but some
of the finest work is known to have been
done by an artist of Warmbrunn, Christian
Gottfried Schneider (1710-73). All other
German centres remained subordinate to
the Bohemian-Silesian workshops, but the
name of Anton Wilhelm Mauerl (1672-
¦737) of Nuremberg should be mentioned
for his work with its accent on Chinoiserie.
By the beginning of the 18th centur;
wheel-engraving as a decoration on glass
(often of English manufacture) was be-
coming established in popularity in Hol-
land. The chief exponent of the art there
was Jacob Sang, a Saxon who worked in
Amsterdam. Dutch wheel-engraving was
very German in style, and certainly at first
was the work of German craftsmen resi-
dent in Holland. Jacob Sang engraved and
signed a number of glasses with dates
between 1752 and 1769 during his stay at
Amsterdam. He was probably related to
Andreas Friedrich Sang, the Thuringian
glass-engraver. In 1738 A. F. Sang was
recorded at Weimar, as Hoch/iirstlich
sdchsiscke Glasschneider. His son was the
Brunswick Court glass-engraver, Johann
Heinrich Balthasar Sang. Wheel-engrav-
ing had already been practised in Holland
in the first half of the 18th century,
possibly by another member of the Sang
family.
WINE-GLASS ENGRAVED 165 mm (6-5 in.)
DRINKING GLASS IN COLOURLESS GlASS WITH
ENGRAVED DECORATION
John Frederick AmelungGlassworks, L.S.A. 1703
III. 220 mm (805 in)
A group of engraved glasses thai enjoys
great popularity with collectors comprises
the so-called Jacobite glasses, all engraved
with symbols of the Jacobite cause in
England. The various emblems include the
star, oak-leaf, butterfly, caterpillar, grub,
carnation, forget-me-not, lily-ot-the-val-
ley, daffodil, honeysuckle and sunflower.
The most important symbol, however, is
undoubtedly the Jacobite Heraldic Rose,
which may have six, seven or eight petals,
representing, it is thought, the Crown of
England. Other glasses have actual por-
traits of Prince Charles Edward, the Young
Pretender, engraved (not very skilfully) on
their bowls. The words FIAT, AUDEN-
TIOR UK) and REDEAT are often found
on these glasses. The exact significance of
each symbol, including buds in relation to
the roses, is the subject of much discussion,
bin no one yet knows all the answers. The
majority of the glasses have air-twist
stems, but baluster stems and opaque
twists are also lound.
Some of the most noteworthy engraved
glass of North America was produced at
John Frederick Amelung’s glass-works
which was established at New Bremen
near Frederick, Maryland, in 1784. Efforts
to establish a glass industry had been made
during the 17th century, notably at James-
town in Virginia, where the first attempt
was made around 1608. However, the first
successes in the business were scored
mainly by Germans and Englishmen in the
18th century, when several important
glass manufactories were started, the
Amelung glass-house being the most
successful. It operated for only one decade,
but its clear glass decanters, glasses and
goblets set a high standard. The glass
illustrated is European in style, showing a
sturdy form and restrained engraving,
with foliage and a finely drawn inscription
‘George Trisler’ and the date 170.!, en-
closed in the foliage. The shallow wheel-
engraving found on these glasses often
features commemorative inscriptions and
dales
The period of prosperity after the Napo-
leonic wars known in Germany as the
Biedermeierzeil brought about the revival
of the art of glass-engraving, particularly
in Bohemia. Massive feet and bold poly-
gonal facetting are characteristic of these
heavy engraved pieces. The commoner
examples arc somewhat clumsily engraved,
but the finer pieces are equal to anything
from the previous periods. Glass-engravers
tended to work independently and to move
about; thus Dominik Bimann (1800-57)
worked at Prague, but went to Franzens-
bad during the season, and August Bohm
(1812-90) visited England and America.
Romantic landscapes and hunting scenes
showing faithful perspective were popular.
The Pelikan family of Meistersdorf near
Kamnitz and the Simms of Jablonec were
also notable engravers in this style.
Engraving through a silver stained surface
to clear colourless glass was popular, as in
the goblet illustrated, which has engraved
panels flashed with clear yellow glass.
It is worth while taking a close look at 19th
century English wheel-engraving, since so
much of it is still to be seen. As Hugh
Wakefield points out, the early years of the
century could truthfully be called the
heyday of cut glass, and engraving was
only used where cutting could not reason-
ably be used on a glass vessel. Simple
wheel-engraved motifs appeared often
enough on wine-glasses, and larger vessels
might have lettering in the form of mottoes
and inscriptions. Floral and other plant
motifs were used effectively as in the loving
cup illustrated. On the other hand, repre-
sentatives of figures were unusual, and
appeared only on the more special pieces.
Difficult subject matters were avoided, and
it could be said that engraving in the early
years of the 19th century was considered
suitable only for commemorative pieces
and for the bowls of wine-glasses, where
cutting could not be used.
Kngraved by a member of the Wood family of
Brettell I ..me, Kngland, 1840-50
Hi. 209 mm (117; in.)
JUG WITH  DECORATION
Shown ai the 1851 exhibition by J. Ci. Green,
Kngland. Ht. 337 mm (13*25 in.)
In the early 1840’s surface stains were
being used in the Stourbridge area on
glassware, broad flute cutting being added.
The stain was normally ruby-red, derived
from copper rather than the yellowish-
brown given by silver. The bottle illus-
trated is ruby-red stained and was en-
graved by a member of the Wood family of
Brcttell Lane, near Stourbridge. The
bottle forms part of the movement in the
1830*1 and 1840’s, when the scope of
engraved work seems to have widened in
England. The Wood family had an im-
portant engraving shop in Stourbridge
around the 1840’s, and Thomas Wood was
established enough to produce an inde-
pendent display for the 1851 exhibition.
\i the firm of Thomas I lawkes in Dudley,
near Stourbridge, William Herbert and
the rest of his family were becoming noted
during the 1830’s for the engravings they
produced for the firm. It was soon to
become apparent that wheel-engraving
was a technique well suited to Victorian
taste.
Shapes popular for wheel-engraving in
Victorian times included globular decan-
ters and water carafes. These forms were
developed in the early years of Victoria’s
reign, and proved so suitable to the
technique of wheel-engraving that they
probably helped to popularise it. The
hemispherical champagne glass introduced
about this time could only be whccl-
engraved and not deep-cut. At the 1851
Exhibition the most significant engraved
glass was that exhibited by the London
dealers, particularly by the firm of J. G.
Green. Their ‘Neptune’ jug, a large Greek
oinochoe shape elaborately engraved, was
much illustrated at the time and is
illustrated here. The oinochoe shape be-
came very popular in the later part of tlu-
cent ury, but the most usual shapes for
engraving for the late 1850’s, 1860’s and
1870’s were footed ovoid shapes used lor
decanters, claret jugs and vases. These
were blown thinly, and offered a large ana
By Frederick E. Kny, Thomas Webb & Sons,
England, probably later 1870’s
Ht. 308 mm (12-13 in.)
The decanter illustrated was engraved by
the Bohemian Frederick E. Kny, one of
the most distinguished engravers in Eng-
land in the 1860’s, who remained prom-
inent for the rest of the century. He had a
separate workshop on the premises of
Thomas Webb & Sons at Stourbridge.
He, like other artists, favoured the well-
known three-lipped decanter shape for
engraving. This shape, as seen in the
illustration, with its high shoulder and
spherical stopper, often with a tiny ball
finial, was a result of the current admira-
tion for Greek pottery forms. It looked
best when blown thin, and called for the
lighter work of wheel-engraving for decor-
ation. The shape came into its fullest
popularity in the early 1870’s, appearing
in the Stevens & Williams pattern books in
January, 1871, and in the Thomas Webb
and Richardson firms at roughly the same
time. By the last decade of the century it
was one of the best-known international
shapes.
The Techniques of Taking Away
JIG WITH ENGRAVED FERN PATTERN
John Eord, Scotland, about the i88o’s
Hi. 247 mm (075 in.)
Another shape that was most popular for
wheel-engraving in England in the 1860’s
was the tankard-shaped water jug, with
straight, slightly tapering sides. This style
of jug was used for fine engraving until
near the end of the 19th century, but since
then the shape has become too common-
place for such elaborate treatment. Motifs
for engraving in the 1860’s were Renais-
sance arabesques and Greek-inspired de-
signs, while in the later 1860’s and 1870’s
naturalistic designs of flowers, birds and
hunting scenes became more common.
The fern patterns on the jug illustrated
originated with the Scottish firm of John
Ford of the Holyrood glass-works. To-
wards the end of the 1850’s an emigrant
Bohemian, J. H. B. Millar, set up a work-
shop for engraving glass in Edinburgh,
closely connected with the firm of John
Ford. He introduced the fern patterns at
the London exhibition of 1862 and they
remained very popular for a long period.
VASE WITH ‘ROCK CRYSTAL.’ ENGRAVING
by Frederick K. Kny, Thomas Webb & Sons,
Kngland, abou” 1880. Hi. 235 mm (0/25 in.)
WINE-GLASS WITH INTAGLIO FLORAL ENGRAVING
Slcvcns & Williams, Kngland, about 1000
Hi. 159 mm (625 in.)
A new style of decoration appeared in
England towards the beginning of the
1880’s, which was called ‘rock crystal’
engraving. What differentiated the new
technique from normal wheel-engraving
was that all parts of the work were
polished, instead of the engraving being
kept unpolished to contrast with the
surrounding surface. This uniformly
bright appearance led to a new approach
in the design of the engraving. Instead of
the engraving being a pattern on the glass,
it took over the whole surface of the vessel
and became deeper cut, and more in the
character of carving. The effect was an
even more sumptuous method of decorat-
ing English lead glass, in line with the
international trend for brilliant cut glass,
and it was also in keeping with the
simultaneous development of carved cam-
eo glass. The workshops of F. E. Kny
(see illustration) and of William Fritsche,
which were attached to Thomas Webb &
Sons, produced ‘rock crystal’ glass
throughout the 1880’s and 1890’s.
‘Rock crystal’ glass was produced in
France in this period, and possibly Thomas
Webb’s work was inspired by the work of
the French glass-makers. Stevens & Wil-
liams at Brierley Hill near Stourbridge
also produced ‘rock crystal’. In the early
1880’s there was a phase when ‘rock
crystal’ pieces were made to imitate
Chinese jades. The final fling for Victorian
engraving came with Stevens & Williams
intaglio work of the 1890’s, as in the wine-
glass illustrated. Intaglio is deep engraving
carried out on wheels that would normally
be used for cutting, a technique some-
where between cutting and engraving. The
names of John Northwood and Joshua
Hodgetts are particularly associated with
the development of this method. The
technique was worked out at the beginning
of the 1890’s, and was an established part
of the Stevens & Williams output by the
later 1890’s. It was also being used by
American firms, such as T. G. Hawkes of
Corning, New York.
Intaglio work was produced notably by the
firm of L. C. Tiffany at the factory at
Corona, Long Island, in the U.S.A.
towards the end of the ioth century and
the beginning of the present century.
Their ‘intaglio’ glass differed from English
intaglio, since besides referring to the
cutting and engraving of glass, the term
also referred to the practice of applying
contrasting coloured glass in the engraved
parts and re-cutting so that engraved work
appears on decorative inlays. The flower
and leaves on the vase illustrated have been
treated in this manner, being in contrast-
ing colours to the base glass. Glass that
had been cut or engraved either in intaglio
or in cameo relief by the Tiffany factory
was always referred to as ‘Carved’ in their
brochures and catalogues. The glass fac-
tory also produced simpler relief-cut
objects without colour contrasts and used
coppcr-wheel-cngraving on many of their
vases, bowls, lampshades and tablewares.
The finest achievement of Wilhelm v. Eiff
(1890-1943) was his work in high relief
(Hochschnitt) on glass. He raised it from a
miniature art, giving the technique the
dignity of sculpture. Von Eiff was the son
of a craftsman at the Goppingen branch
of the Wiirttembergische Metallwaren-
fabrik, and at a very early age mastered the
techniques of engraving both metal and
glass. He worked for a time in Lalique’s
jeweller’s studio, and also with the famous
glass-engraver Charles Michel in Paris. In
1913 he paid a short visit to the Art School
in Stuttgart, and in 1921 he worked for a
while with the glass designer Stephan
Rath. In 1922 he was appointed professor
in cutting and engraving on glass and
precious stones at the school in Stuttgart.
He had a great influence on his pupils, who
now can be found from Scotland to Japan,
doing work in many different ways, from
each other’s products as well as from v.
‘GIRLS PLAYING BALI-’
engraving by Edward Hald, Orrefors, Sweden, 1019
BOWL IN PALE BILE GLASS ENGRAVED WITH ANGEL
AND DANCING MAIDENS
By Simon Gale, Orrefors, Sweden. 1927
Hi. 160 mm (63 in.)
Of great importance to the history of art
glass were the appointments in 1916 and
1917 respectively of Simon Gate and
Edward Hald as designers to the glass-
works at Orrefors. Edward Hald (b. 1883)
was a painter who had studied with
Matisse in Paris, and had already designed
pottery for the factory at Rorstrand.
Orrefors, founded in 1898, is situated in
Smaland, the main glass-producing dis-
trict in Sweden. Here, Hald had to learn
the very basics of glass-making from K nut
Bergqvist, master glass-blower at the
factory from 1914. It was the engraved
glass produced at Orrefors which won the
factory its first international fame. There
was already an engravers’ shop at Orre-
fors, with Gustaf Abels at its head, before
Gate and Hald were appointed. As soon
as they settled in, they began to experi-
ment with this technique. Hald preferred
a more delicate approach to engraving
than Gate’s style, producing exquisite
objects like the vessel illustrated, directly
inspired by the art of Matisse.
Simon Gate (1883-1945) the first glass-
designer employed by the Orrefors glass-
works, was the son of a prosperous farmer
and trained as an artist in the grand
classical manner at the Academy in Stock-
holm. Like his contemporary Hald, he had
to learn glass-making from the beginning
when he joined Orrefors, and he concen-
trated first on the art of engraving. The
style of the early engraved work of the
Orrefors glass-works reflects the taste for
luxury products in prosperous post-war
Stockholm —an elegant nec—classicism.
Within this tradition both Gate and Hald
developed their own styles. Gate’s work is
noted for the heaviness and large dimen-
sions of the vessels, decorated in deep
carving with figure subjects from the
Bible, classical mythology and like sources.
It is claimed of Orrefors that no other
glass-works has had such an international
influence over glass-production. For the
first three decades of this century the
attention of the glass-works was directed
to the art of engraving glass.
Jarosla Horejc (b. 1886) is a glass designer
of Hungarian origin. One of Drahoftov-
sky’s pupils, he produced for the Paris
Exhibition in 1925 four vases with en-
graved decoration, one illustrated here,
decorated in magnificent classical style
with figures cut in very high relief
(Hochschnitt). The well-known Viennese
glass firm, J. & L, I.obmeyr was estab-
lished in 1823; since that date three
generations of Lobmcyrs had worked as
dealers in and refiners of glass in Vienna.
In 1918 Stephen Rath, a nephew of
Ludwig Lobmcyr, established a branch
cil the firm called ‘J. & L. Lobmeyrs Neffc
Stephan Rath’ in the North Bohemian
town of Steinschonau (or Kamcnicky
Seno). Here glass was made to Rath’s
specifications and decorated to the design
of artists by the finest engravers of the
district. Horejc’s work is a direct result of
this; in 1962 he was still continuing his
classical tradition of engraving with richly
varied figure subjects from the Lobmeyr
Studio.
John 1 lutton was born in New Zealand in
1906. He is probably best known for his
work in England, at Guildford, and for the
engraved panels he produced for Coventry
Cathedral. The freencss of his style of
engraving owes much to his equipment, a
movable wheel driven through a sheathed
flexible shaft by an electric motor. Water
is fed to the wheel by a wet piece of cloth
held in a bracket attached to the hand grip.
Instead of applying the glass to a stationary
wheel in the conventional manner of
engraving, Hutton is able to move his
wheel at will over the whole surface of the
glass. The result is a fine, shallow, light
engraving with rather a rough finish.
Hutton has translated some of the Coven-
try figures on to large vessels produced by
Whitefriars, one of which is illustrated.
His art is forceful and dramatic, and
reveals a new facet to the technique of
engraving glass.
Steuben Glass Works, U.S.A., 1045-50
Hi. 1525 mm (6 in.)
Frederick Carder (1863-1963) of the
Steuben Glass Works at Corning, New
York, developed the ancient cire perdue
(lost wax) process for the production of
Diatreta. In this process a wax model of
the object was made from a gelatin mould
taken from a plaster of Paris replica of the
object. The wax model was covered with a
ceramic mould. After a drying period of
twenty-four hours the mould was placed
over boiling water which melted the wax,
leaving the moulded impression in reverse
of the original model. Cold glass in the
form of rods or lumps was placed in the
mould, which was then fired in a kiln until
the glass had run into every part of the
mould. The mould and glass were next
slowly annealed, and finally the mould was
broken away, leaving a glass casting of the
original model. The Diatretum pieces
made between 1945 and 1959 show how
Carder had perfected this method of
glass-casting.
ENGRAVED BY Ј. JANE WEBSTER
England, 1963
One of the more successful modern free-
lance wheel-engravers of Britain is Jane
Webster, a former student of Stourbridge
College and Royal College, where she
gained the Princess of Wales scholarship.
Her chief concern, as it also is with her
contemporaries Laurence Whistler and
David Peace, is the satisfactory relation-
ship between the design on one side of the
glass and the part that shows through from
the other. Her husband, Cyril P. Aron,
designed her copper wheel-engraving
lathe. She specialises in commemorative
presentation pieces such as the one pre-
sented to Princess Anne on the occasion of
her visit to Pilkington Brothers’ St. Asaph
factory in Wales in 1972. She has also
engraved a set of twelve windows in a
synagogue at Stanmore, and an overdoor
panel for the Edinburgh Weavers’ show-
room in London. The chalice and paten
illustrated were commissioned by the
architect, Harry M. Fairhurst to be pre-
sented by the academic staff for the chapel
of the St. Anselm University Hall of
Residence at Manchester.