Many glass-works have sprung up, worked for a few years, and then fallen by the way-side. History has shown more often than not that glass blowing is an expensive and unprofitable business! These un-attributed but attractive items tell us much about the glass industry, and what was considered good design at the time they were made.
Dessert Glass, ca. 1740
This extremely rare glass with a rib-moulded narrow bell-shaped bowl has an applied B-shaped scroll handle over a flattened knop and panel-moulded...[read more]
Scandinavian Style Bud Vase, ca. 1960s
It is probable that this beautifully controlled vase is English rather than Scandinavian origin. Caithness, Whitefriars, or Dartington are all...[read more]
Art Deco Vase, ca. 1930, maker unknown
This high quality and absolutely typical piece of the period, in black (actually a very dark purple) glass with its gilt bands has yet to be...[read more]
Spiral Blown Sugar Castor, ca. 1910-1920
A beautifully blown and turned glass body with a silver mount and push-on top. [read more]
Olive Glass with silver-plate mount, ca. 1920s
Stamped with a registered design number for 1921, this object illustrates the complete disjunct caused by the First World War in the design and use...[read more]
Glug-Glug Decanter, 1912
Undoubtedly named for the sound they made when in use, these popular decanters using a now lost technique, showed the extreme skill of a master...[read more]
Geneva Exhibition Glass and Holder, 1897
Engraved with the initials G.F., this mould-blown promotional item would probably have been wheel-engraved at the exhibition itself with the...[read more]
Cranberry Vase, late 19th. cent
This stunning vase, with applied clear rim, handles, and rustic feet, has been skilfully wheel engraved with a butterfly amid foliage on one side,...[read more]
Cut Glass Jug, 1894
This jug is typical of many made at the end of the nineteenth century, heavily cut and with a star-cut base. The silver mount was applied by...[read more]
Sherry Glasses, ca. 1880
An imitation of eighteenth century ‘Queen Anne’ style which became fashionable in the 1880s, but the shape of the flared bowl and the amber stem...[read more]
Mercury Glass Salt, ca. 1850
‘Mercury’ or ‘silvered’ glass was only briefly fashionable, and difficult and dangerous to make. A solution of silver nitrate and glucose was...[read more]
Champagne Saucers, mid 19th. cent
The shape of the bowl and relatively short stems points to an early date for this set. The style of wheel engraving may point to a French rather than...[read more]
Inkwell, ca. 1830
It is possible that this inkwell, heavily cut with a stepped base, and therefore designed to stand alone, rather than in a pen-tray, is of Irish...[read more]
Custard Cup, early to mid 19th. cent
Often termed an ‘invalid’ cup, these were an eighteenth century pattern, which retained their popularity to the middle of the Victorian period,...[read more]
Small Caster, 1848
The body is cased blue over white over clear, cut with printies and diagonals. It may have been used for ‘pounce’, a fine powder including ground...[read more]
Nailsea Carafe, early 19th. cent
This typical carafe, with looped ‘Nailsea’ decoration on an applied foot, takes its name from the glass-works to the south of Bristol. The...[read more]
Finger Loop Decanter, ca. 1800
This typical piece of the very early nineteenth century is in compressed globe and shaft form with an applied metal collar and mounted cork stopper,...[read more]
Three Scent Bottles, ca 1800
Square moulded blown scent bottles with square cut ground stoppers, in a lined marquetry case. The glass is probably...[read more]
Two Hollands Decanters, late 18th. cent
The first of clear glass, inscribed ‘Hollands’ below a trailing band of fruiting vine, the second of ‘Bristol Blue’ glass, inscribed...[read more]
Pair of Water Bowls and Saucers, ca. 1770
This rare pair of gilt water bowls, decorated in the workshop of James Giles, with each straight-sided cylinder form cut around the lower part with a...[read more]
Blown Glass Jar and Cover, ca. 1760
This jar may possibly have been an Apothecary’s Jar. The size and shape and rough finish to the pontil, indicates a commercial rather than domestic...[read more]
