Topic: Sowerby Opalescent (blanc de lat) small “gathering apples” 1882

[flying free]

I think it's just quite difficult to keep on top of all new information when there is limited resource in terms of time and people.

Glass also often takes a back seat compared to silver and china/pottery and paintings.  I've no idea why because it seems to me the works of art in glass are many times more difficult to create than those in silver or china.

I went to the Musee des Art Decoratifs in Paris with a non-glassy friend recently.  When I explained how some of the opalines were developed and also how some of the art nouveau pieces and pate de verre were made, she was suddenly completely intrigued by the complexity of the glass.  She had assumed in her head that they were all just blown into a mold in some way, in different colours, so was about to walk on.  Afterwards her comment was if the museum had actually written some of this information on  how the pieces were made and placed it alongside the pieces on display, then she'd have been much more interested in reading about them and looking at them. 

It's a crying shame when the complexity and history of these stunning pieces of glass art (whether handblown masterpieces or pressed glass rare objects ) is lost amongst the oil paintings and giant bits of silver.  They're missing a trick in engaging a wider audience.

[flying free]

For viewers of the thread to show which items are under discussion, here are two of the 'Griffin/Gryphon/(Swan - but could referring to them as Swan vases cause confusion a) between these and the Sowerby vases and also b) they look like Swans, in chains, but have a clawed foot it seems to me? )' vases that are in the V&A collection.


https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O7150/vase-edward-moore/

The V&A has them as 'probably Edward Moore' but it seems there is no definitive id on this vase so far.


These are different to the Swan vases from Sowerby which appear on the Advertisement referred to earlier in the thread (see bottom photo here)
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,72358.msg402660.html#msg402660


Lots of information on this 'Edward Moore'? Griffin / Gryphon vases on this previous thread here:

http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,46854.msg263492.html#msg263492

Found in museum in Brno one which is apparently 25cm tall.

The 25cm tall one was in the Moravská gallery in Brno
Photographs here but no identification.
source: Pressglas-Korrespondenz 2006-4
https://pressglas-korrespondenz.de/aktuelles/pdf/pk-2006-4w-stopfer-moore-vase-schwaene.pdf

There is a strangely coloured green one here: (see page 7)
https://www.pressglas-korrespondenz.de/aktuelles/pdf/pk-2008-2w-vogt-slag-glass.pdf

[flying free]

Original (?) price list here of Blanc-de-lait and Queen's Ivory Ware:

See page 437 for prices for January 1883 (? that was the date of the cover of the Report but didn't go through and check it was the same for the whole report) for every item produced  it appears 

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Commercial_Relations_of_the_United_State/gIs8AQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=davenport+glass&pg=PA415&printsec=frontcover

on the subsequent pages from that - the prices of 'Opal, Turquoise, Gold, Jet and Malachite'( dated 1881?) Are these also Sowerby perhaps?

[thewingedsphinx]

I would say yes to your last question apart from “gold” which has left me a bit confused, although
 Sowerby did add gold decoration to some items, ie you may have a jet black vase decorated with chains and swag and the chains and swag would be paint in gold. I’ve not come across anything from Sowerby from this era completely in gold colour.

[thewingedsphinx]

Should have looked on Mikes website victorianpressedglass.com  as Gold is a reference to pale Amber.

[flying free]

Well that's good to know .  Thank you.  Hopefully the info might be useful even just in terms of the list of items produced perhaps.  It's not an area I collect or know anything about but I always love a list
m

[MHT]

As Mike says these are all Sowerby colours. The list is referring to prices from a catalogue from August 1881 but for some reason the illustrations from the catalogue have not been included.
"* It was not considered expedient to publish the illustrations sent by Consul Jones." (see page 417).

Sowerby pattern numbers have, in general, not been included in the price lists so it is impossible to tell which patterns the prices refer to.

A few pattern numbers are included in the lists, some with 3 numbers which are early.  It's almost a list of all patterns produced by Sowerby up to this date.

The price list seems to cover domestic as well as ornamental coloured goods. It is also interesting to see Sowerby Venetian mentioned on page 440.

Nice find m.

[flying free]

oh page 425 I did notice something
On the left hand column it says Finger cups Turqois edge.  They were enormously expensive. I thought that might be Venetian?

[MHT]

Looks like they could be Venetian. Are finger cups what we call finger bowls or rinsers?

Might be like the pair of bowls in the Gallery on this page:
http://www.victorianpressedglass.com/sowerby_venetian.htm

[flying free]

I think we decided on another thread that finger cups was a description for what we think of as finger bowls yes.  The pair of bowl in the gallery I think would be too small for that description as they're only 10cm in diameter.  Perhaps butters/master salts maybe?