Topic: Victorian Era Jam Jar

[Ohio]

I thought I'd post this even though any attribution is probably very remote. Its' a Jam Jar, 5 1/2" in height & 2 3/4" diameter...dark green cut to clear in seven panels, each panel having four windows, each cut window measures 1/2" X 3/4" & each window (all 28) has a hand painted miniture scene (birds, castles, jumping deer, etc. to name a few) hand painted in gold enamel. Star cut bottom with quite a bit of wear. I'm not certain it's American in origin...seems a bit ornate & thought maybe Bohemian. Any possibilities/opinions are appreciated.
Thanks, ken
http://www.glasstreasurechest.com/catalog/images/jamjar2.jpg

[KevinH]

Fascinating!

The images do appear to be in a Bohemian (Egermann) style, but they seem to be rather more stylised than I am used to seeing as cut into ruby flashed items.

Any chance of some closer views of the images? Even with a 400% enlargement I can't really be sure of any detail.

[Ohio]

This is the best I could do for any closeup.


http://www.glasstreasurechest.com/catalog/images/closeup.jpg

[Bernard C]

Ken — I have stopped being surprised at what was made from glass, but your jam / preserve is a completely unexpected delight.   Are you sure that the splendid mount was actually made for it?    Look for matching ornamentation on both the lid and mount.   If they don't match, then there is no loss — each are superb items in their own right.    I've bought many optimistic dealer mix-and-matches that have proved profitable when separated and properly researched.

Like KevH, I would like to see all of the 28 panels, together with some sort of plan or numbering that shows where each is located, so that we can look for sequences.   They may not be randomly placed, but tell a story, perhaps a traditional folk tale.   Is there any obvious start or finish panel?   Also the style of each panel may help with dating and attribution.   While this message board is not known for expertise in the field of folk tales, there are well-informed members who will know how to check this out.

Note that I wrote this before your previous reply.

Bernard C.  

[Ohio]

Bernard I am certain the holder does not belong to the jar, it's close, but not an exact fit by any stretch. I'll have to attempt to take a sequence of pics tomorrow. These are very, very small scenes, each painted in that 1/2" X 3/4" space. I have no idea who would ever have the patience to do that. I'm not certain there is a story line here though. The figures are somewhat repetetive maybe a slight difference here & there. There are deer jumping, hawks diving, castles? & what appears to be a primative fence. I can give you the order panel by panel. #1deer, castle, fence, castle, #2 castle, fence, deer, fence, #3 hawk, deer, castle, deer, #4 fence, castle, fence, castle, #5 deer, hawk, deer, hawk, #6 castle, fence, castle, fence & #7 fence, deer, hawk, deer. The entire deal is a bit insane with 28 miniture paintings. For its size its heavy & there are twp layers of glass, green & clear, its not flashed. I'll see what I can do tomorrow. Ken 

[KevinH]

I am fairly sure that the motifs on the jar are Bohemian and that the jar is quite likely 19th century. This would seem consistent with the look of the gilding, too. But these motifs have been used continouously to the present day, and it's not easy to know if some items are 19th or 20th century.

For info, I have provided below some images of typical Bohemian (Egermann style) motifs that adorn a pair of goblet vases that I have. It might be useful, as well as fun, to see these close up as most photos in books etc. show only the full items and not the detailed motifs.

The vases (By the way, I don't actually know if these are 19th or 20th century, but I suspect 19th)

Motifs ...
Building-01 ... Building-02 ... Building-03 ... Building-04

Scroll-01 ... Scroll-02 ... Scroll-03

Scrolls & Stag ... Scrolls & Hare

[Ohio]

KevH & Bernard G...well this is the best I could do for all seven panels. Its a bit difficult when each panel is spiraled plus the tiny scenes. Thanks, Ken

http://www.glasstreasurechest.com/catalog/images/closeup2.jpg