Topic: Victorian Mustard Pot?

[NevB]

I assumed this was a mug when I bought it now think it's a mustard/preserve pot minus the lid. It's only 9cm./3 1/2" tall but weighs in at 500g./18oz. and because of that and the sharp pyramid hobnail moulding I don't think it would be good to drink out of. The base is a good 1/2" thick. The rim is also ground which suggests to me it would have had a lid. I searched the History of Molineaux and Webb site I found they produced an unregistered handled mustard pot but not in this design. I'll keep looking for a possible maker.

[Paul S.]

Hi Nev.   -  you may be correct, I've no idea, and have only one old mustard pot which is Georgian and nothing like this, so unable to make a comparison.          I would say that looking at Victorian glass examples, the majority appear not to have handles, and seem somewhat narrower than this piece, but who knows.     
I'm not seeing any hobnail pattern  -  plenty of relief diamonds, and as you say quite sharply moulded ones.            If it's not a mustard, then it might come under the heading of a 'can' or perhaps 'tankard'  -  but otherwise I'm no wiser than you - but a good piece of history, and I'm going to chicken out regarding a date - sorry.

[neilh]

It looks to have some features reminiscent of the handled goblets in the Launay Hautin catalogue of 1840, showing pieces from Baccarat and St Louis. Not really my area but I wonder if it could be a post 1840 French piece?

[Ekimp]

Is it an applied handle?

[NevB]

No Ekimp it's moulded and I think it's for steadying the pot when using it, not for use as a mug as the decoration is so sharp it is very uncomfortable to hold. Here is the page from Neil's site showing the mustard pots.

https://sites.google.com/site/molwebbhistory/the-history-of-molineaux-webb/registered-designs/molineaux-webb-unregistered-pressed-glass/molineaux-webb-catalogue-mustards-and-pickle-jars

The glass around the rim does have a grey tinge but I'd guess it isn't Georgian, more likely Victorian and English but I haven't ruled out Early American Pattern Glass.

[NevB]

Some views of the pyramids.

[Paul S.]

just as an aside, and as an extension to Ekimp's comments .............   there was a period c. mid C19, when there seemed to be a fashion for adding handles to tumblers thereby converting them to tankards  -  perhaps something to do with people's changing drinking habits.        Unrelated here, but a small social habit worth remembering.

As to the sharpness of the decoration:  ... on cut glass, relief diamonds aren't in relief - they appear so, but are in fact on the same plane as the body of the glass .............   whereas, with the moulded diamonds here they do appear to be genuinely in relief from the rest of the body of glass, hence the greater awareness when touching.

In comparison with the mustard pots from Neil's site, I could be very wrong, but the proportions of the height to width, appear far less (more squat) than on the piece here, which looks taller, and far more ornamental particularly on the base.

[Ekimp]

Yes, that’s what I had been thinking about Paul - a tumbler with applied handle. Was about to get the tumbler book out It must have been a challenge to design the moulds so that the finish item could be removed, with that handle and prominent diamonds you would think it’d have the tendency to get locked into the mould.

I thought it had a bit of a bohemian look, I quite like the feel of the diamonds in the hand, especially nice sharp cut ones.

[neilh]

I'm still going for 1840s French. The pattern on the body of the goblet is not that relevant. What dates it to this era is the clear band at the top of the glass, the stress lines on the handle, the style of foot, and the base, which is of a type that does not appear at all on northwest glass. The high weight reported probably means it has a top end density of 3.2g/cc which would date it to pre 1850. I have a bit of an advantage here as I am sitting on two handled goblets myself from this era - which are also 9 cms tall -  - a decent find which I have passed on to Siegmar Geiselberger for showing in the next edition of Pressglas-Korrespondenz, otherwise I would show them here.

I could of course be wrong. Are there diagonal fold lines in the top clear band, coming from either side near the handle and running into the bottom of the top clear band? That's what I see on mine.

[NevB]

Sorry Neil you are absolutely right, I didn't study the Launay Hautin catalogue properly. It closely resembles the mugs in the 2me Partie Planche 12 and 13, particularly No. 1049, but with the bottom similar to No.1056 and the handle from No.1062 on Planche 13. The pattern is described as "diamants et filets". It's fascinating it should end up here in a charity furniture warehouse.