Old Glass and How to Collect it

s difficult to fix. Hence it is well-nigh impossible to place before the reader any reliable data in th

well as fruit dishes, epergnes, sweetmeat glasses, decanters, and salt-cellars, which ar

enamelling, and even mosaic work and cameos, were carried on

iest period are to be found in

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NAILSEA J

ly introduced by the Ph?nicians who, in turn, had acquired the art from Ancient Egypt. In support of this belief is the fact that a large piece of red enamelled glass was found in the Rath of Caílchon on Tara Hill; but it is equally clear that the art of glass-making, if introduced at the time mentioned, s

little was done.{130} Still, we have it on record that permission was given to import glass in 1675, and it is suggested that craftsmen in Ireland attempted to imitate the work of Continental glass-workers, and various sums of money were granted by the Univ

larity of the Irish glass was its perfection of colour. A fine specimen which recently came under my notice is a preserve jar with cover (Fig. 30), about 18 inches in height, hand

peculiar bluish tint in its body-due, it is ge

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ASS WATER JUGS.

G.

ther hand, is distinguishable by a pale yellow or amber tint-in all probability the result of the presence of iron. These tones are characteristic, for though the colouring of gl

first glass factory was established there. Then Atwell Hayes, Thomas Burnett and Francis Richard Rowe demanded assistance from Parliament in carrying on the industry. They proposed to erect two houses, one for bottles and one for wi

inking glasses was sent to America, Portugal, and various other places abroad, while in the next year there is rec

ustry, once started, took firm root, and the advertisements appearing in the Press-in particular, The Hibernian Chronicle (May 1784) and The Cork New Evening Post (1792), copies of w

wing is a

st glass fro

ummers, Draw

bs, Crofts, an

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BOWLS. 18th-

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AND IRISH

G.

, Goblets, Ca

Liqueurs, a

ds, Salads, B

's sold by o

r cut in n

hichever p

ired or Poli

lasses match

of every siz

hung and mou

sh of the Georgian period. If anything, however, the cutting was deeper, the angles

nd salad bowls, had square feet or bases which, while possibly adding to their stability, certainly enhanced the beauty of their appearance. The salad bowl shown on the left of Fig. 31 is an excellent example: the{134} collar or turn-over at the rim is remarkable for its depth and also for its superb cut

s, worthy of note as an example of hobnail cutting, as well

"strawberry" cut. The centre one is an example of fine fluted and diamond cutting, with a square ba

high in the centre, then sloping downwards, to rise again to an equal height at the ends. Old

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PIECE, WITH A DOUBLE

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FORD PRESERVE JARS,

G.

exquisite in design and shape, some being miniature models of the large punch bowls or sw

nd cuttings and flat fluting at the base. So eager, indeed, were certain of the designers to ensure that no part of the jug should be without its ornamentation, that they went so far as to adorn the handles with deep cutting inside, and placed a huge

base is flat fluted. The centre piece is a jug of the earliest shape, and is curiously cut. A band of strawberry cutting round the widest part of the body is flanked top and bottom by bands of leaf cutting; the lip seems so disproportionately large as to give the piece an almost top-heavy appearance. The handle, too, is abnorm

ers to protect the upper rim. These are very attractive pieces, and are found in all shapes and sizes

an excellent idea of what to ex

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H BO

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ESERVE JARS AND COVER

G.

e interesting for the reader to compare them a

English decanters of the same date. Three of them are shown in Fig. 34, and it may be of service to compare them with the four shown

vish use of step cutting round the neck and shoulders, and another the strawberry empanelmen

el or bowl shaped after the fashion of our English rummers, the other straight-sided glasses on stems. The speci

o acquire specimens of Waterford glass, some of the many differences wh

modern reproduction. The twist also is not so regular and even, and the feet are larger and apparently slightly clumsier in the authentic specimens. Numerous connoisseurs attach importance to the centre of the foot, which is usually rough and uneven in the old glass. Ano

. It has, as I have already noted, a dull bluish

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DECANTERS (EARL

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DECANTERS (18t

G.

ds, too, have almost invariably a la

e first glance, less attractive; but its great beauty is a charming delicacy both of colour and form which grows upon one's taste. The wine glasses in particular would at once appeal to a connoisseur from this point of view alone. The three decanters shown

crutiny will show pits and roughnesses, indicating where the decoration formerly stood. Sometimes the places can even be discerned by the touch. Dutch, German, and Austrian reproductions have from time to time flooded the market to be sold to the unwary collector as veritable specimens of Irish

sparse engraving. The moulded glass is, of course, easily detected since the edges of the fluting are rounded and blunt. The pieces the

ollector of Irish glass. It is wonderfully fine

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UT GLASS WATER

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TURY FIN

G.

far more sought after than any other. After exhaustive inquiries I am satisfied that in Ireland, England, France, and the United States specimens of genuine Irish gla

d them carefully and satisfied myself that they were genuine-they were about 10 in. high with a very thin herring-bone cutting upon their flat-cut sides-I asked the price, which was absurdly high; then, disclosing my identity, I asked what he would say if I told him they were not genuine but only reproductions. To my utter astonishment,{142} he exclaim

uarantee of the genuineness of their "finds." Speaking generally, the ordinary shopkeeper's knowledge is of the mo

l 1825. Then a prohibitive duty stopped it. It is possible that only the black ale bottles were manufactured there. As for the glass exported from Londonderry to{143} America, it is difficult to determine whether it was manufactured in that city or merely exported thence. The latter is the more probable, since

tyle is identified with any one factory or another. Both the Waterford and Cork glass firms came from England, and brought with them English workmen. Hence it is pretty certain tha

osure" of which he and a certain John Hand were rewarded by the Dublin Society. The finest diamond cutting, strawberry cutting, and flat fluting were done at Waterford; but pieces were not always cut at their place

le. The writer was offered recently, on the Continent, some "Old Irish glass" of perfect colouring-deep blue, red, and

John Maria{145} dell' Aqua of Venice was appointed Master of the Glass-Works in Scotland. The famous liqueur glass shaped like the flower of the thistle was probably from a Bohemian original. It is heavily cut, with an acorn bottom upon a round stem, and reproductions can be seen in almost every shop window that displa

bled me to add another, and, from a collector's point of vie

uced in the illustrations to this chapter. These illustrations are of pieces as nearly perfect as it is possible to o

ars an inscription, "Success to Cork Yeomen," which seems to indicate that it was made about the time the Irish Brigad

; they are of totally different types, each being perfect in its own style. That on the left has the hobnail cutting common in England about the time when the Irish factories were first

ce of origin. I have occasionally seen similar specimens in London, and they have always appealed to me as the most perfect examples of{147} the Irish drinking glass of the eighteenth centu

e is expert enough and careful enough to avoid the many imitations that exist. High prices are demanded for genuine pieces in

it to be more easily grasped and held when full; but the design is undoubtedly graceful, and this is one point which the amateur coll

The cutting, it will be seen, is entirely different from that of the piece on the right; for whereas the latter is entirely flat cut, with the exception of its finely

, the competition for them is very keen, and the private buyer, unless his purse is of the "bottomless" kind, is hardly likely to obtain them. Occasionally one may, by happy accident, come across a really fine piece in some unexpected quarter, but such chances are few and far between. Moreover, there is always between the finder and his find the spectre of the fake merchant, whose wont it is t

similar in shape to a large fruit dish, but with the cipher C.R. cut upon each (Fig. 36). These were actually made and presented to Queen Charlotte on a visit which Her Majesty paid to some glass-works during a tour in Ireland. Their authenticity was guaranteed by a letter from an old tutor of the Queen relating the circumstances and handing down the pieces as a relic. Th

some exquisite cutting both on the upper part and the base. These, again, are uncommon pieces, not to be met with every day nor easily procured when met. Still, they make a more frequent appearanc

ns of the art of glass-cutting both as regards design and finish, and they are somewhat

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CIMENS OF I

y a supreme specimen of the decorative cutter's art. The price, however, will give some i

the pattern most often seen and most generally copied; in fact, during the Early Victo

upon the centre one gives it a most clumsy appearance, while, in regard to the one on the right, one cannot help feeling there is something wantin

ils. Traces of it appear upon almost every article, so that it was evidently a favourite form{152} of d

onsequently highly prized among collectors. They are usually of stout, heavy glass, the cutting being very deep and the edges of the "flats" sharp. These traits will, of course, not help the collector to discriminate

rare as other specimens figured in this chapter. Indeed, pieces of this character and design

rincipal cuttings then in vogue. The end{153} one on the right is the only exception, having an en

in great number in Holland, often in small sizes and with flat cutting, so that care must be taken in choosing. Unfortunately the distinctive features-design, colour, and shape