The following two decanters were found in southern New England in 1987-88. The quart decanter on the left is unusual in that its three neck rings are merely uncut areas between flute-cut bands (i.e., no applied rings). The target (or bull's eye) stopper, which appears to be original, was hand-pressed then trimmed at the wheel. Ground and polished pontil. H = 10.5" (26.7 cm), c1810. Sold for $125 in 1991.
The pint decanter, stopperless, has a crack at its neck but was well worth a $10 "investment". It has cut "comb flutes" around its base, where there is a ground and polished pontil. These flutes are balanced by a row of cut "finger flutes" at the decanter's shoulder. The three neck rings are applied and facet-cut. H = 7.5" (19.0 cm), c1800. Sold in a package with two other decanters for $100 in 1992.
The goblet below is part of a long line of commemorative glassware that is a British tradition. The glass is unusually well documented, as it contains the names of both its engraver (F. Lonie) and its designer (J. Murray), and it is also numbered. The old Forth Railway Bridge, less than a mile away to the east, is seen under the span of the new road bridge, which is the subject of this commemoration. Distance is conveyed by scale and also by polishing the more distant structure so that there is less contrast between it and the unengraved glass. The goblet was made and decorated at the Norton Park factory of Edinburgh Crystal, known as the Edinburgh and Leith Flint Glass Co. prior to 1955. A new factory was built at Penicuik, ten miles south of Edinburgh in 1969-1974 and Norton Park was demolished in the latter year.
Woodward (1984, p. 72) comments: "During the present century engravers such as Mr. Fred Lonie have upheld Edinburgh Crystal's reputation for fine quality engraved glassware."
Engraved commemorative rummer. Scottish, 1964. Colorless lead glass. Polished and unpolished engravings. Bucket bowl on double capstan stem. No pontil. Engraved label and caption: FORTH ROAD / BRIDGE / OPENED BY H. M. QUEEN ELIZABETH II / SEPTEMBER 4th 1964. Engraved (diamond point) under foot with the name of the designer (J. Murray) and the engraver (F. Lonie). Also: "No. 98 of a series of 100". Original paper label: Edinburgh Crystal / Made in Scotland (The image shown here has been taken from Woodward 1984, p. 57, pending the photographing of the described example which is in a private collection and is identical in all respects to this image.) H = 7.0" (17.8 cm), rim D = 3.75" (9.5 cm), wt = 1.25 lb (0.57 kg).
During his years of actively buying cut glass for resale, the writer experienced only one occasion that surpassed the excitement of his finding a set of four, red cut-to-clear wine glasses in the Parisian pattern cut on shape no. 80 by Dorflinger. That surpassing event occurred on the day he came across the covered urn shown below, on the left, at a general antiques show in 1984. He had just finished reading the second edition of IRISH GLASS by the late antiquarian Phelps Warren (1981), so it was easy to recognize the urn as a near-copy of one shown in Warren's book (fig. 61, p. 106). It was being displayed with a group of Heisey glass (!), yet the seller knew it was cut and proudly proclaimed it to be "Waterford". It was evident that she thought it was "modern, unsigned Waterford", considering that the price was $100. As he left her booth (with the urn) she remarked that she had another at home "just like it". She was easily persuaded to bring it to the show the following day. And, sure enough, it was an exact copy! These items were originally usually purchased in pairs. Their neo-classicism extended to their owners who displayed them in balanced arrangements on dining tables and sideboards. Phelps Warren was contacted, and he kindly responded with the following note (dated 26 Nov 1984):
Without seeing and handling the piece, my guess about the covered urn you have sent me a photo of is that it looks Irish, has strong Cork characteristics, but which Cork factory is a mystery. Good luck to you.Warren is referring to the following three Cork glasshouses: Cork Glass Company (1783-1818), Waterloo Glass House Company (1815-1835), and Terrace Glass Works (1818-1841). The near-copy that Warren shows in his book is dated c1795. This, alone, would indicate that the maker of the writer's pair of urns was the Cork Glass Company. That is, if the style did not "linger" until after the Battle of Waterloo (1815). But -- and there is always a "but" in these matters -- more recent research suggests that England's role in producing cut glass during the so-called Anglo-Irish period (1780-1825) has been somewhat underplayed by historians (note 1).
The goblet, below on the right, shows that strange mixture of cut-glass bowl and pressed-glass foot that was typical in Ireland. This, together with the motif of large, shallow diamonds on the bowl suggest a date prior to 1800.
LEFT: One of a pair of covered urns, c1795. H = 11.0" (27.9 cm), max D = 5" (12.7 cm), wt = 2.5 lb (1.1 kg). RIGHT: Cut-glass goblet with a pressed foot, c1790. H = 5.75" (14.6 cm), rim D = 3.62" (9.2 cm), foot side = 2.9" (7.4 cm), weight not available. Sold for $250 in 1990.
NOTE:
1. This is pointed out by Palmer (1993, p. 131) who illustrates a wine fountain at the Winterthur Museum ("Ireland or England") that has a shape and cutting characteristics similar to the writer's urns. A much larger wine fountain, now at the Corning Museum of Glass, is dated c1790-1800 and is also shown in Warren's book (fig. 63, p. 108). It too has a shape similar to the writer's urns as well as "Cork cutting characterists", according to Warren. For additional background see McConnell, Andy, 2004: Irish glass, The Magazine Antiques, Sep 2004, pp. 90-97.
Updated 1 Jun 2007