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Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: Lustrousstone on June 07, 2008, 05:01:23 PM

Title: Gilded and engraved finger bowl with chesnuts
Post by: Lustrousstone on June 07, 2008, 05:01:23 PM
This is finger bowl (at least I assume it's a finger bowl) is really pretty, the glass and the blowing aren't top quality, but the engraving is lovely with matte and semi matte finishing to add shine and depth to the leaves and chestnuts.

Five repeats of a spray with two leaves and three chestnuts. The gilding is interior to highlight four rings (two above and two below) encasing tiny olive cuts. I have three of these, one in noticeably thicker glass than the rest)

4.25 in (11 cm diameter) and 1.25 in (3 cm) deep.

Who, what, where and when would be nice please
Title: Re: Gilded and engraved finger bowl with chesnuts
Post by: Lustrousstone on June 17, 2008, 02:00:17 PM
Just talking to myself again... ::)
Title: Re: Gilded and engraved finger bowl with chesnuts
Post by: Leni on June 17, 2008, 02:53:17 PM
Can I just annoy people by posting to say nothing about this except that I love it and I think it's very pretty indeed!?  >:D  ;)   
Title: Re: Gilded and engraved finger bowl with chesnuts
Post by: krsilber on June 17, 2008, 05:10:07 PM
It is indeed pretty!  Tough one to ID though, IMO.  Probably Bohemian/Czech is my guess; the style of engraving is very typical.  Is there evidence of any gold left in the cutting?  The engraving could also be American, in which case I would think it's Hawkes since few engraved pieces of the ABP were gilt in any way (with the exception of the occasional Dorflinger piece decorated by Honesdale) and other decorators after the ABP were unlikely to partially polish their designs.

On the other hand, could be French, Belgian or English and I'm simply not aware that work like this was done in those countries.  But I know for certain that the style of engraving was done extensively in Bohemia.
Title: Re: Gilded and engraved finger bowl with chesnuts
Post by: Ivo on June 17, 2008, 06:40:51 PM
could be French, Belgian or English and I'm simply not aware that work like this was done in those countries

so why mention it? And why skip Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Portugal, Italy and Spain?
Title: Re: Gilded and engraved finger bowl with chesnuts
Post by: Lustrousstone on June 17, 2008, 07:06:37 PM
OK, so could be from anywhere. The only gilding is inside the bowl, not over the rim pattern. No gilding on the chestnuts. As I said the chestnuts and large leaves have been highlighted by lightly polishing in places to give a natural leaf/chestnut sheen.

Any thoughts about when, mid 19th C or earlier?
Title: Re: Gilded and engraved finger bowl with chesnuts
Post by: krsilber on June 17, 2008, 10:02:36 PM
could be French, Belgian or English and I'm simply not aware that work like this was done in those countries

so why mention it? And why skip Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Portugal, Italy and Spain?

Germany and Austria are (unlikely) possibilities, but I highly doubt it was done in any of the other countries Ivo mentions.  French and English are somewhat more likely because of the variety of engraving done there, but I know of no examples that are in this particular style.  I don't know why I said Belgian - it was an afterthought.

I'd say early-mid 20th C.
Title: Re: Gilded and engraved finger bowl with chesnuts
Post by: Lustrousstone on June 18, 2008, 06:30:53 AM
I don't think they are that "new", the quality of the engraving is far superior to the quality of the glass blowing and did anyone use finger bowls in the 1950s?
Title: Re: Gilded and engraved finger bowl with chesnuts
Post by: Frank on June 18, 2008, 08:42:27 AM
Yes, even in lower middle class homes like ours. I can remember then until at least the 1960s before they disappeared apart from fish restaurants.
Title: Re: Gilded and engraved finger bowl with chesnuts
Post by: Lustrousstone on June 18, 2008, 09:29:01 AM
Oh, well you was posh then. I'm a working class pleb and never saw a finger bowl until I started going to Chinese restaurants in the 1970s.
Title: Re: Gilded and engraved finger bowl with chesnuts
Post by: krsilber on June 18, 2008, 11:34:41 AM
What is it specifically about the glass blowing that is of low quality?

Could you post a close-up of the engraving please?
Title: Re: Gilded and engraved finger bowl with chesnuts
Post by: Lustrousstone on June 18, 2008, 11:50:55 AM
Quite a few bubbles, visible striations and variable thickness, one of the three must be half as thick again as the other two.
Title: Re: Gilded and engraved finger bowl with chesnuts
Post by: krsilber on June 21, 2008, 06:35:11 PM
I was out of town for a few days, so I'm just now getting back to this thread.

Just to briefly elaborate on my reasons for thinking this is more likely 20th C than 18th C - mostly it's the design and condition of rim, the fact that it's a plain band on the interior, and the style of rim engraving it's accenting.  Makes me wonder if there's some American stylistic influence there, but the fact that the rim is ground suggests Bohemian.  Older Bohemian engraving in this vein is often gilt.

Anyway, that's my thinking...could be wrong, of course!  Thought that since I threw in that guess at a date, the least I could do was give my reasoning behind it as well.