Topic: English? Or American? 3 Ring Neck Decanters

[Catisfaction]

I found this pair of old Three Ring Neck Decanters recently and my research is proving to be very confusing.
On the one hand they look like the old Anglo-Irish (as seems to be the current favourite term) decanters from the early 1800's but on the other hand they also look like the Boston & Sandwich and other American decanters of a similar era.
I understand why there would be a big crossover in design as there were a lot of British glass makers coming to America in those days, but it's not making it any easier for me to determine the origins of these two. I just don't know enough about glass from that period to identify the finer details that might indicate one of the other.
Any help would be much appreciated.

The first decanter has a panel cut design and a large starburst to the stopper. I'm confident that the stopper is original as the decanter is slightly discolored from age ( and apparently from holding sherry for too long) and the stopper color matches the decanter. This piece measures 8" tall and 3 1/2" in diameter. It has 10 panels around it with deep v grooves cut to separate them and it has a concave ground and polished pontil area on the base.



The second decanter is of a similar size, though a little taller due to the height of the stopper. It measures 9 1/2" tall and 3 1/2" diameter. Again I am confident the stopper is original, in this case due to the matching design on the body and the stopper. The stopper is hollow inside.
This one has a square cross cut design with small panels around the shoulder. I would suspect it was made by the same people as the first one. The downward cuts traverse the bottom of the decanter and end where the ground area of the pontil is.

[neilh]

Hi there,

I have access to the pattern books of Molineaux Webb of Manchester who were making decanters of a similar style to yours. None directly match your photos but there are examples with similar stoppers, similar necks and similar bodies. In the pattern book, decanters like these tend to congregate around the late 1840s period I would say, plus or minus 10 years, but as the pattern book only started circa 1835 they do not show designs earlier than this.

Perhaps somebody has a book on British decanters and can give you more accurate info...

[Catisfaction]

Thank you so much for sharing that information. It is a great start