Topic: Probably Irish, possibly rather old, heavily cut liquer glasses... opinions?

[chopin-liszt]

 :hi:
I found these two glasses in Belfast - on a bric-a-brac stand in the wonderful Farmer's market they have.

They're a bit strange. On first looking they seem very similar as if they might be a pair, but they are definitely not.

The're both different colours. One is yellowish glass, the other is sun-purpled.
And while the cutting looks to be the same pattern, it is completely different on each glass.

There are different numbers of panels cut around the top part - 14 on the sun-purpled glass and 12 on the yellower one.
Between the bulge and the knop of each, there are 8 panels.
Below the knop, there are 8 panels on the sun-purpled one, but 9 on the yellower one.

The cutting on the knops is not quite the same and there are different numbers of repeats of the pointy sharp bits on the bulge.

I was wondering if the same-but-different patterns might indicate a cottage industry of cutters..... ?

[chopin-liszt]

Last pic - the pontil mark on the other glass.
The pontil marks are completely different sizes, but both are completely round.

I'm a bit stuck for finding age-related wear to the bases. I think they actually sit on a very, very very narrow ring.

I can feel age-related wear with my fingernail. I just can't SEE it.
I was wondering if I used a wee drip of coffee on the base to "delineate" the wear, by "printing" it on a bit of paper?
Might that work?

Everything about them screams old. "Poor" colour and frit - but very heavily worked and a bit wonky.

[ahremck]

Could the "thistle" shape indicate they were from Scotland rather than Ireland, I wonder?

Ross

[chopin-liszt]

I think the incongruities are more in keeping with an Irish origin than a Scottish one...

[Leni]

You don't mention the size of these, Sue.  I have a small 'Thistle' glass, but with a merese instead of a knop (and 11 panels round the top and a polished out pontil mark!  )  I would think so many companies must have made this shape that it would be very difficult to find out a maker for yours! 

[chopin-liszt]

They're 3.5 inches tall.
I'd agree that it's a very common sort of thistle design, my curiosity was piqued more by the fact that they're together and so different from each other.