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Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: SimonD on October 11, 2012, 01:39:47 PM

Title: Opaque Twist Glasses engraved with Stag's Head and Peacock
Post by: SimonD on October 11, 2012, 01:39:47 PM

I own this little 'firing' glass. It has a funnel-shaped bowl engraved on one side with a Stag's Head and on the other with a Peacock. The short stem has a (somewhat crowded) double series opaque twist. The foot is terraced but pretty flat with a polished pontil. The foot has some wear, but surprisingly little.

I've always taken it to English, dating from around 1760.
 
But I've seen a lot of them about recently. There is an identical one in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. One sold at Bonhams in Sep this year, and another pair in an auction in the North of England recently.

So, I'm wondering if they are as old as 18th Centrury. Does anyone know more about their age or origin? Or what the deer and peacock symbolise?

Simon

Title: Re: Opaque Twist Glasses engraved with Stag's Head and Peacock
Post by: oldglassman on October 11, 2012, 02:43:47 PM

Hi ,
          I am familiar with these and yes they are 18thc , though I would date them nearer 1780 simply because of the polished pontils , I have seen them with snapped pontils too ,the 1 sold by Bonhams was from the Hubbard Collection ,a collection I know very well , the pair up north I have also seen and they are also ok , I think the may well have been made for a Scottish hunting lodge or similar ,the fact that a few have turned up recently is nothing to worry about , sometimes it's the  case that 1 is seen and prompts another owners to sell , so like buses a few come along fairly soon ,

cheers ,
                 Peter.

my pair below .

Title: Re: Opaque Twist Glasses engraved with Stag's Head and Peacock
Post by: SimonD on October 11, 2012, 07:55:05 PM

Peter, thanks for the revision on the date. That matches the data given by the Fitzwilliam Museum for theirs too.

Here is a link to entry for the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge glass: http://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/25731 (http://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/25731)

Your suggestion that they could be associated with a hunting lodge is interesting.

You're very lucky to have a pair of these glasses. I notice stylistically the peacock and deer look slightly different between your and my glasses. Maybe they were engraved by different people?

Thanks again,
Simon

Title: Re: Opaque Twist Glasses engraved with Stag's Head and Peacock
Post by: oldglassman on October 12, 2012, 11:19:18 AM

Hi ,
        Yes ,yours to me look to be a slightly better quality of engraving , its more than likely that they were produced in a small workshop with a few engravers and probably an apprentice or two,all the firing glasses that I have seen with this engraving  appear to have come from the same glassmaker. the rather untidy twists and possibly slightly later date could suggest a Scottish origin for both the glass producer and the engravers .

cheers,
             Peter.