Topic: Huge vintage tazza with sandblast & cut decoration

[Anne E.B.]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/glassie/DSCF2944.jpg
Top plate.  http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/glassie/DSCF2940.jpg
Stem. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/glassie/DSCF2942.jpg

This was sold to me as being possibly Irish and "cut glass".  I think it might be a combination of both pressed and cut glass.  What does anyone think please?   Its actually quite huge and very heavy and of real quality.  From reading up, I think this was probably made after 1870 because of the frosted/sandblast treatment on the top plate and foot.  The double knop stem is quite lovely with its diamond facets.  I can't see any markings anywhere, and I've looked to see if I could find the geometric pattern at the base of its rim  (which I think is machine cut) shown anywhere else, which can sometimes help ID pieces.  I looked at the Manchester glassworks designs, but found nothing similar.

Any help would be much appreciated.  I'm way out of my league here (including most other things too :ac1: )
TIA

[neilh]

The top part is a dead ringer for the top bit of Molineaux Webb pattern 8208 which I would date to 1870 plus or minus a couple of years. The bottom parts do not match anything in the Molineaux Webb pattern book - I can't see anything which combines a frosted foot with a cut stem. However I can see that not dissimilar cut stems start to appear on some items around 1870. The pattern book only goes up to about 1873 so if Molineaux & Webb changed their stem designs later in the 1870s they are a possible contender. Might be a long shot though as I was told by Edwina Percival that stems are quite distinctive to individual glassworks so in the absence of firm evidence...

[Anne E.B.]

Many thanks Neil.  Not conclusive, but...
It has a similar rim and foot (along with the frosted surface) as the Greek key celery shown in your History of Molineaux & Webb website.   I'm presuming M.&.W. didn't mark all their pieces?  I do have a small creamer which is marked with RD134908 c.1889.  I spent ages trying to discover the maker from the Rd.number, without success, and found the creamer on your M.&.W. website

[neilh]

Outside of registered pieces, Molineaux Webb are not known to have marked their wares bar one example mentioned in Hajdamach's book where a vase circa 1850 had "MW & Co" on the base. There is also a spherical orb late 1880s which still has a sticker on it: "M.W. & Co. Ld."

They also used a trademark circa 1850 of "Carnelian" so if anyone has that marked on a piece of Victorian glassware...