Glass Message Board

Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: Littleblackhen on September 30, 2008, 10:07:29 PM

Title: Cut glass fruit bowl - Edwardian?
Post by: Littleblackhen on September 30, 2008, 10:07:29 PM

Another lovely bowl found on my recent trawl of charity shops.  I bought this simply because I liked the look and because it had an old feel to it.  I would love to have some hints to dating it, maybe the pattern is typical of a particular era?  I think it is wheel cut, but I have very little experience in cut glass so probably I am wrong :)

I also found a vase in a similar style which I will post separately.

It would be great if anyone could talk me through what to look for to date particular pieces.  Thanks :)

Title: Re: Cut glass fruit bowl - Edwardian?
Post by: krsilber on October 01, 2008, 09:25:34 PM

You're right about this and your vase being wheel cut, probably with copper wheels.  Copper wheel engraving employed wheels in a wide range of sizes, from pin-head to several centimeters, and were used with a slurry of oil mixed with grit (pumice in the old days, now carborundum) of various grades that did the actually grinding.  There were also stone wheels employed and later diamond-embedded wheels; these generally remove material faster but don't achieve the same sharp details that copper wheels can.

Sorry I can't help with dates or makers.

Title: Re: Cut glass fruit bowl - Edwardian?
Post by: Littleblackhen on October 02, 2008, 07:34:17 AM

Hi Kristi

Thanks for that, it is really interesting.  I should imagine it to be quite a dangerous job too, with glass shards flying about if anything goes wrong.  Would copper wheel engraving be earlier than diamond embedded wheels then, or did they carry on for the quality even when the technology had moved on? 

I would still love to have a rough idea of the date for this if anyone else has any thoughts?  Any links to good websites with guides to dating?