Sep
15
Antique Wine Glass
September 15, 2009 |
The early type was
four-sided, with a crown, sceptres or the
letters ‘GR’ moulded on the shoulders.
This was soon replaced by polygonal
styles, six-and eight-sided examples being
known, and later forms became twisted
and vertically ribbed. The Silesian stem
became less popular after George Ps death
in 1727, but it continued to be made,
mainly in combination with simple knop-
ping, to the mid-century, and after then
was occasionally used on glassware other
than wine-glasses.
WINE-GLASS WITH PATTERN-MOUI.DED BOWL
England, r.1730. Ht. 178 mm (7 in.)
Pattern-moulding was not confined to the
Silesian stem in English 18th-century
glass. The bowls of glasses were occasion-
ally pattern-moulded, as in the example
illistrated. Pattern-moulding had been
much used by English forest glass crafts-
men in the 16th and early 17th centuries.
Likewise in the luxury glass manufacture
established in England in Elizabeth I’s
reign the technique was doubtless used,
since the immigrant glass-makers ap-
pointed to produce these high-quality
wares had full knowledge of pattern-
moulding. The lion-mask stem, mould-
blown, is a common motif on English and
Continental 17th-century glass. Wine-
glasses with pattern-moulded bowls were
made in the later 17th century and became
more popular in the 18th century, with
moulded ribbing, diamonds, honeycombs
and leaves or petals on the bowls. The
wine-glass illustrated has a particularly
fine example of a diamond-moulded bowl.
BOTTI.E IN DARK CiREEN GLASS
II Rickclls, England, hrsl half’ol’lhe iQlh century
Hi. 235 mm (0-25 in.)
The most important development for the
bottle industry in England was the inven-
tion of the moulded type in the 19
century. For the first time bottles could be
made to hold an exact quantity; previousl f,
all bottles had been free-blown, with the
result that no two were alike. In 18: 1
Henry Ricketts was granted a patent
(No. 4623) for an improvement in manu-
facturing glass bottles. He and his fathtr
Jacob had perfected a mechanical method
of producing bottles in metal moulds that
shaped the whole vessel, including the
string rim, in a single operation. Under-
neath the bottle illustrated is the name of
the makers, ‘H. Ricketts & Co. Glass
Works Bristol’. Incidentally, the bottle his
a seal embossed with the words’T. Lemain
Chard. 1771which must have been in u$c
for a long time; Jacob Ricketts did not buy
what was called the Soap-boilers’ Glass-
house until 1811. Since Ricketts’ patent
the principle of making moulded bottles
has not changed, but the process is now
completely mechanised.
sugar bowl in blue gi-ass, mould-BLOWN
Henry W. Sliegel, U.S.a., 1.1769-1774
Hi. 155 mm (6-13 in.)
Henry William Stiegel—the self-styled
‘baron of Manheim, Pennsylvania’—in-
troduced a new tradition to American
glass-making; he sought to compete with
expensive European imports, and suc-
ceeded well enough for his products to be
indistinguishable from their Continental
counterparts. Between 1760 and 1774 this
German immigrant produced glass of
excellent design and finish. The glass he
used was either clear and colourless, or
artificially coloured, and products were
usually decorated by enamelling, engrav-
ing and notably pattern-moulding, as in
the sugar bowl illustrated. The society he
dealt with was dominated by English
taste, so much Stiegel-type glass was
elegantly made in the English style. He
also produced glass enamelled with peasant
motifs in the German tradition. As a result
of his own extravagances, rising costs and
the American Revolution, he finally had
to close the Manheim works.
flask, mould-blown with the american eagle
U.S.a., r.1820-40. Ht. 168 mm (fr63 in.)
Among the most popular of the American
mould-blown objects were historical or
pictorial flasks. These were given size,
shape and decoration by being blown into
a hinged mould, with the design incised on
its inner surface. Motifs included political
figures, popular slogans and national
heroes. The flasks contained liquor and
were made throughout most of the 19th
century, providing an interesting reflec-
tion of American history in the making.
The established glass-houses vied with
each other for this lucrative market, pro-
ducing many novel designs. The years
between 1815 and 1870 were a time of
strong national pride for the American
people, so it is not surprising that the
American eagle appears more frequently
than any other motif. This impassioned
nationalism resulted in portraits of national
heroes like George Washington, Benjamin
Franklin and the Marquis de Lafayette
appearing frequently on the flasks. Masonic
symbols, presidential candidates and visit-
ing dignitaries were also featured.