Topic: My Prize Piece, unknown ID - engraved bowl with daylilies - help?

[krsilber]

Engraved glass is my thang.  This bowl is an outstanding example of intaglio engraving, among the best I've seen anywhere for realism and fine finishing technique.  Nowhere are individual cuts able to be discerned, except for the tiny bits of pollen on the anthers of the flowers - it is all seamlessly blended, and obviously a great deal of time and effort went into it.  On the other hand, it's not realistic at all:  the center flower has 14 anthers rather than 6, and in one area the intertwining of leaves and stem is almost physically impossible.  There are far more folded leaves than would seem normal.  This suggests to me that it is a one-off piece, perhaps partly done for practice.

Does anyone know who engraved in this style, or recognize the blank?  I know Moser and Harrach did some very realistic floral engravings, but I've never seen a Bohemian blank like this.  Some American companies also produced fine, realistic intaglio floral engravings, and a strong possibility is Tuthill, but the glass has a slight brownish/greyish tinge that you don't ordinarily see in fine American glass.  I have A LOT to learn about English engravers, so maybe someone here can help me out if it is English - or if it's something else.  Many thanks!

Oh, it's 10" diameter and fluoresces a dull greenish yellow.

Sorry the photos aren't better.  I took these a long time ago, and should really take better ones!

[Anne]

Crikey, it looks like a Chippendale bowl, Kristi. Chippendale was one of those patterns made by different companies at different times, e.g. McKee, National, US Glass, Davidson, and so on. 

Is it glass rather than crystal? It looks it, but I'm just checking.

[krsilber]

It does look a lot like Chippendale, but this is definitely cut, not pressed.  It's hard to tell whether it's crystal because it's so thick, but I imagine it is.  I've never actually measured a piece of glass for its relative density, but maybe this is a good time to try!

A lot of American companies made pressed glass in a paneled patterns like this (we call the style "colonial" for some reason), however Chippendale was a particular pattern made by Ohio Flint, Jefferson, and Central before it was sold to you Brits!  While in the US, it was made by all three using a particular glass formula, patented "Krys-tol."

[Anne]

Yup, I've been collecting Chippendale since I was knee-high to a grasshopper and have pieces made by various makers, along with some catalogue info. I have seen engraved/cut patterns on Chippendale before but not of this complexity. I'm just trying to remember where it was - if I can dig it out of my memory I'll add it it Kristi.

[Cathy B]

Silly question, but is the bevelling (for want of a better word) cut? It's possible to have a cut design on a pressed blank, but it almost looks like the rim is cut. Or is that just my aging eyes again?

[krsilber]

The rim is chamfered, but I wouldn't say it's beveled.  What you're probably seeing is actually the only uncut surface on the exterior of the bowl.  This was blown in a plain bowl shape, the panels were cut, and the rim cut and chamfered (lightly beveled on either side to take the edge off).  The polishing is outstanding, you can barely discern any wheel lines on the panels, but they're visible in a few spots.  Cut blanks like this (large paneled bowls), don't seem very common especially when compared to pressed ones.  I have seen a similar one by Sinclaire without any engraving, which is pretty intriguing.