Hi Nicky - these new pix a lot better, and show some good decoration, so quality glasses, but regret unable to help mostly in view this type of decorative embellishment applied commonly, as already mentioned, but would agree almost certainly not Walsh.
There are some aspects that might possibly help with dating - wear or its absence - stones in the glass - but then again glasses can sit in a cabinet for half a century and then when they see the light of day they look almost new - so care needed before jumping to conclusions.
If I had to guess then would possibly suggest somewhere in the first half of the C20, but really not sure - they're nice glasses though, and the cut stems and bowls are attractive.
Forgot to make a correction to one of your original comments.............. there isn't any etching on these, just the cutting which is obvious, and the grape and vine leaves which have been produced by engraving (using small copper wheels and possibly some fine grit to act as abrasive).
Etching is a wet acid process where a resist is placed on the glass, usually, and the design is applied through said resist, with the glass then subjected to the acid which bites where the resist has been cut through. This is a very simplified description of the process, but you get the gist, and fortunately the result from each of the two processes look very different, so usually not difficult to tell which one you have in your hand.
Your reference to 'pontil' is perhaps better described as a 'pontil scar'............... just in case there is confusion with the glass worker's 'pontil rod'................. this of course refers to hand made glasses and not machine produced pieces.
Having blown the bowl of your wine, made the stem and foot and attached all three (sometimes two), the worker needs to finish the top of the bowl and perhaps make other refinements, and in order to do this the glass needs to be held in some way. Traditionally, this is done by using a 'pontil rod' which is a solid (usually, but sometimes hollow) metal rod which is attached to the underside of the foot by some small quantity of plastic glass.
When the glass is finally completed, it needs to be detached from the 'pontil rod' (from the underside of the foot), and this is done as soon as the glass starts to harden and cool - but obviously this removal leaves a rough and sometimes sharp 'scar' where the glass and the rod part company.
On much C18 and some C19 glass the scar remains unaltered on the finished piece, but as techniques progressed and feet became flatter, it became the norm to grind and polish the scar, which is why you have the small polished depression under the feet of your glasses.
P.S. to Mods. As a suggestion, might be worthwhile to change the subject heading in view of the potential confusion with the 'Fruiting Vine' pattern from Walsh - which these glasses are not - in my opinion
Topic: Wine Stemware Dating - Grape & Vine pattern (Read 1278 times)
