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Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: glasstime on September 22, 2020, 11:07:04 AM

Title: Is this a Whitefriars decanter?
Post by: glasstime on September 22, 2020, 11:07:04 AM

Hi, Can anyone identify this gorgeous decanter please? I've been told it's Whitefriars but can't find it in any catalogue. It has the number 2 on the stopper and just below the rim and is about 29 cm high.
Many thanks.

Title: Re: Is this a Whitefriars decanter?
Post by: glassobsessed on September 22, 2020, 03:10:59 PM

Looks to be the decanter from the M68 service, here it is in the 1957 catalogue:
https://whitefriars-glass.com/resources/p3657.jpg

1957 catalogue here: https://whitefriars-glass.com/whitefriars-cat-1957.php

John

Title: Re: Is this a Whitefriars decanter?
Post by: Ekimp on September 22, 2020, 05:09:37 PM

Hi, although it is a similar shape to the M68 one in the Whitefriars catalog in Glassobsessed’s link, there look to be significant differences to me:

The M68 one has more of a wasted type neck.
The M68 looks to have a more bulbous body, with narrower base.
The M68 doesn’t look to have an everted rim.
The M68 has a teardrop shape stopper with stem, Glasstime’s is elliptical and of more narrow proportions. The 2 on the stopper and neck are to match the stopper with the bottle, so it should be the original stopper.

I don’t know if this is a Whitefriars decanter or not but I would say not M68. The shape has been around a very long time, McConnell, in the book The Decanter, calls these bottle shapes tapers or broad based tapers, he shows one of a very similar form from 1765. I imagine there would be dozens of manufacturers who have made this shape over the years, including in the 20c.

Title: Re: Is this a Whitefriars decanter?
Post by: glasstime on September 23, 2020, 09:23:19 AM

Thank you both for your thoughts.
The decanter has a gentle rippling effect vertically - I suspect this has a technical name!