Topic: Exceptional engraving over bullseyes - John Walsh Walsh maybe?

[albglass]

This is such an unusual vase, with such beautiful cutting and engraving that I am thinking it may be British.  There are bullseyes around the top half of the vase spaced regularly like the bullseye glass made by Webb, but there are no bullseyes on the lower half, and all the bullseyes have engraving on or around them.  Two of the bullseyes have become the center of engraved flowers.  The rest of the bullseyes either have cuts on them to make buds, or have multiple slices on them to make them leaves or part of the flower petals, which were then either frosted or the slicing gave them a frosted look.  The bottom of the piece is also cut.  There is a large polished pontil under the cutting on the base, but I can't find any mark.  There is a lot of wear on the base, but still, I think I would have detected a mark underneath had there been one. I don't have access to books on British engraving.  This is so distinctive--does anyone recognize the maker?

[Max]

Moved to 'Glass' forum for you, you'll get more people looking at it, then we can move to British Glass if needed.   :thup:

[Anne]

It's quite beautiful, but I've never seen the like before. Hopefully someone will be able to help - this will fetch it back up the forum meanwhile.

[keith]

Have looked through my modest book collection,no joy,some pieces are marked on the body,it might be worth another look

[albglass]

Thanks so much for commenting on this vase!  I took it out again and went over all of it with a magnifying glass, but I can find no mark on it.  Perhaps the bullseyes will be the key to identifying this piece, since there can't be too many glassmakers that made glass with nice round lumps evenly spaced around their glass, and used the bumps to form a pattern for the cutting and engraving.  In case this is another clue, it does have a wonderful bell like ring when I tap it that rings for a good 8 seconds.

[Leni]

I love this vase!  Such a beauty!  Congratulations on finding it
 
I'm wondering if you could be right about it being Webb.  It reminds me of the bowl I found recently from the 'Gayglass' range, which apparently came in Plain, Bullseye, Ripple and Waterlily engraved.  The thread I posted is here: http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,37484.0.html

My bowl appears to be Ripple, but has been engraved.  Yours, although not one of the 'Gayglass' uranium colours, looks as if it might be one of the 'Bullseye' shapes, which has had added engraving.  The fact that my bowl had an apparently unlisted engraving on it would seem to indicate that these variants were indeed possible. 

[albglass]

Leni, it was very exciting to read about your Gayglass example that was apparently engraved in a previously unknown pattern.  It opens up the possibility that other Webb lines could have occasionally been engraved without becoming production pieces.  I have read that Webb bullseye glass did come in clear (and amber) and had a polished pontil, sometimes had a foot, and had a lovely bell tone when struck (as this does) but I don't know enough about the Webb shapes to know if the shape of this vase could be Webb.  The only bullseye vase on the Internet that I could find curved inward near the top, and this vase curves out and then goes straight up to the rim.  It is 8.25 inches tall, the foot is 4.25 inches in diameter, and the rim is 4 3/8 inches wide.  Apparently there were lots and lots of shapes used, but I don't know if they are all  documented somewhere.  I really thought this would be easy to identify, ha, ha!

[keith]

In 20th Century Glass,C.Hajdamach,there is a picture of the 'Gay Glass' range,can't see any the same shape as yours,Stuart glass may be a possibility

[Anne]

I trawled through (seemingly! ) endless images of Webb bullseye and bumpy glass last night but, like Keith, can't match this shape at all. Webb Corbett, John Walsh Walsh, or Richardsons might be other avenues to explore along with Stuart.

[albglass]

Bless your heart for checking all those Webb shapes--I am SO impressed!  And it was brilliant, Keith and Anne, to suggest casting about for another attribution.  Unfortunately, I don't have much information on Stuart and Richardson glass (if anyone has a recommendation for a good book that covers their glass, I would be eternally grateful), but I do have the Glass of John Walsh Walsh book by Eric Reynolds.  This shape vase is shown in fig. 139, 145, and possibly fig. 104 (the rim on 104 looks like it curves in a tad).  This shape is also shown in over a dozen figures in the back of the book from the two factory pattern books that have been recovered.  It would have made my day if my pattern had been shown, but alas, in all the cuttings shown on this shape, none matched my piece.  There is an example of a flower cutting out of a central clear circle (fig. 92), but it is not even remotely as complex as my vase. But most of the records of the company were destroyed when the factory closed, so all of their patterns are not known.  Also, the book talks about all the innovation and creativity that was going on in the cutting shop, so if this is even John Walsh Walsh, it may not be a production piece.  The book also says that their mark "can also be seen on the edge of the base or foot, but this is frequently obscured or totally obliterated by wear--a particular problem on heavy vases, ..." and "this mark was applied by acid etching and this process only produces a faint impression." Of course, my luck that this vase is heavy and is quite worn on the bottom. So maybe John Walsh Walsh...