Topic: Cut blue drinking glass or posy vase with star cut square base

[bat20]

Nice John,are the dimensions wrong for a egg cup?

[Lustrousstone]

Cobalt blue is Bristol blue; the raw material was imported through Bristol initially

[Paul S.]

thanks Christine.

I'm thinking that the cut and bevelled rim indicates a non-British origin - perhaps in some sense Ivo has already suggested that.

In terms of genuinely old pieces, then square bases can occur on big and small items  -  from quite dinkie monteiths/jellies, up to very large candlesticks  -  on many drinking glasses the square base was made by moulding (which included a recessed moulded star) and then ground/polished to give the finished square shape we see.

[glassobsessed]

Very interesting, all of the cutting and polishing lacks precision, I could easily be persuaded that this has had some modification. There are a couple of teeny tiny nibbles on corners but otherwise it seems very clean.

As it happens I don't quite agree with the 'if it is old it must be damaged' maxim, older items usually are but not always. I have had utterly perfects bit of 120 year old Salviati which are incredibly prone to damage.

[Paul S.]

have to say John, that like Chris, virtually all of my Georgian/Regency pieces with square feet do show damage to some extent on the foot, and it's usually on the corners or edges - none has a foot as good as your example.

[Paul S.]

I notice that the Baccarat perfume urn in one of the current posts shows substantial damage to one of the corners of its square foot.

[Ivo]

I had a square footed dark uranium open salt once (before the disaster) which was made by molineaux & webb circa 1850.  I have also seen it in cobalt blue. In both cases the square foot was pristine, undamaged, unscratched.

[Paul S.]

we would suggest that in both those instances the Gods were smiling on you  -  for us mere mortals most square feet we possess show damage in varying degrees - there must be a big premium on the perfect examples, and some of us have to settle for second best            
So sorry to hear of your disaster

It's all those right angles and sharp edges that just seem to tempt fate, and apart from the risk that ordinarily comes with substantial age, the entire nature of decoration and shape of most old cut pieces seems to invite damage.

Perhaps we should start a thread along the lines of.............    what is acceptable in the way of damage, and what is not.     I'd guess this might depend on age, rarity, value or just sentiment.

[brucebanner]

I have about 30 odd bits of old murano glass now, only three are in good nick the others have repairs mainly at the weakest point on the stem which gives first if the glass has a knock, or they just shatter and are beyond repair none are chipped. I was looking through a box of charity shop donations earlier given to a local St Marys hospice i help and an independant church charity shop and you would not believe what gets thrown away, including lots of pressed glass and as a rule any charity shop can not sell anything chipped. If every one threw away six things a week  thats 3,276,000 going into landfill or being recycled every year.

Most of my old murano glass does not look damaged the repairs are very clever, the local antiques dealers are always getting glass repaired at the red house glass cone not far from where i live, i reckon some repairs ruin the shape and original design.

[Paul S.]

so where do these five hundred and forty six thousand people live Chris  -  are they all in your road   -  anyway we think it's cheating when you get first pick at the charity shops. - lucky you.

I think all of us - perhaps even Ivo - have the odd bit that's damaged - glass is impossible to use and not get broken occasionally.       Some of us have more than others, and I'd rather have a Georgian piece with a little damage rather than nothing or little from that period.