Hi Anne, I don't know were or when the attribution to lace makers lamps originated,possibly in some book or other a very long time ago and since then has been regurgitated without question, it is not impossible that lace makers used lamps such as these with reflection globes used to shine the light onto the lace making pillows but I know of no hard evidence,many open flame lamps were made in Europe as well as England and there is a thought that French glass makers from Lorraine may have introduced them to England in the late 17th century,maybe at that time the connection to France and lace making led to the attribution or possibly it was the Victorians who loved to put "labels" on everything which is were so many attributions of what many 18th c drinking glasses were made for originated, ie ratafia glasses glasses, mead glasses etc , with no historical evidence to support the "labels", so it's more than likely it is just another "old wifes tale " that has stuck and even today is repeated without question , why a lace maker ticket would attract a higher price i don't know as most knowledgeable buyers today are aware of this erroneous description though 250 eu would not be a lot for a nice example,from memory the highest price paid at auction for a six spout English lamp was £10,000 , some are very rare !!! below is a late 17th c French lamp.
cheers,
Peter.
Topic: Unusual old Glass Item Hollow Stem???? (Read 2325 times)
