GLASS CIRCLE I
NEWS
No. 12 David
Watts
27 Raydean Road
Barnet, Herts. EN51AN
Gabriella Gros
9 Harman Drive
London, N.W.2. 2EB
September 1979
CONGRESS -A GREAT SUCCESS
At the time of writing three days of the London end of the International
Congress on the History of Glass havesped by and participants have paid, at
least to your correspondant, glowing tributes to the organization and interest
that has been evident so far. Sessions for the presentation of papers have
been well attended and on the first day the meeting rapidly came alive when
a question on the method of manufacture of Hellenistic cast (so called) glass
bowls engendered some conflicting speculation on how this might have been
achieved. Comfortably organizeq refreshment breaks have provided ample
opportunity to meet and discusss glassy matters with experts from all over
the world -perhaps the most rewarding aspect of any conference, But the
visits to museums and exhibitions have undoubtedly proved the greatest success.
Praise of “The Golden Age of Venetian Glass” has flowed unstintingly from
every quarter and Hugh Tait is to be congratulated on an outstanding achievement,
Ifyou can get to London put it right at the top of your priorities list. We
have said before that the Museum of London was designed to impress and the
sessions there combined academic interest with the opulence and comfort of the
new lecture theatre. Frank Greenaway provided a suitably light introduction
with his paper on a medieval glass distilling apparatus (purchased as a funerary
urn!) with its obvious application to the wellbeing of mankind, A small
private display of artifacts from digs around the City provided enchantment and
gasps of appreciation during the tea break. In the evening an enjoyable
reception, sponsored by The Glass Circle, Cinzano and the Museum of London
provided an opportunity to refresh ourselves, not least with some of the Garton
Collection now on show. The display of BaUusters is truly fabulous andtheir
lovely outlines and refeshing simplicity provided a sharp contrast in glass
making skill from the delicate Venetian ware. It is no wonder the Venetian
ambassador in London felt pangs of alarm ~hen he first saw these new compet-
itors to the established trade from Murano. Wendy Evans and her team may
feel well-satisfied with their efforts. And now Oxford and some sessions
on later glass before the move to Liverpool and the North,
The Congres, is undoubtedly a success but from the point of view of the
Glass Circle it is sad that more local members have been unable to attend.
Prom conversations one learns that many would have liked to attend some of
the sessions with the cost being adjusted pro rata so that it was not necess
ary to pay the full registration fee. For many, without any sponsorship and
ofte~ both husband and wife wishing to attend, the cost proved too great a
barrier. Had they taken the initiative and just turned up they could easily
have been accomodated with benefits both to themselves and the congress
finances. Although the cost of the congress may appear high the overheads
ate really very considerable and at the end of the day the organizers will
probably be relieved to find that the books still balance. But there is a
lesson here to provide for attendance on a more limited basis than the all
or-none scale originally offered.
One particular benefit of the Congress is that it has inspired a number
of exhibitions of glass all over the country. They provide an opportunity
to view collections, often supplemented by the best from private hands, that
may not come again for many years. They are listed ?ere for your informat
ion and apologise that it may be incomplete.
The British Museum “THE GOLDEN AGE OF VENETIAN GLASS” , Aug, 30 -Nov, 11,
Weekdays 10-5 Sun. 2,30-6, Lectures (at 1.15 p.m.) Oct.4, Venetian
Glass; O~t.11, ‘Ancient Glass:masterpieces in miniature; Oct. 18, Medieval
glass: an art rediscovered; Oct25, Venetian glass. At 3.00 p.m.on Oct. 6,
venetian glass. All the lectures are
by Kenneth Whitehorn.
,
–
1
.z ..
i n Mu um, ou h K nsingt~n. “H ST0R OF B I T ” un il Jan. 6, 1980. y OF WINE COLLECTION FROM HARVEY’S
nd Jan. ·l. Daily 10
•6
, Sun. 2.30-6 except Dec.24 26
us um o London, “LONDON CRAFTSMANSHIP collection. (Also other 1680-1780″ contains part of the Garton
until 23 Dec l n(oteworthy glass in the permanent galleries) Daily 0-6 closed Monday) Sun. 2-6.
Mer Y i.de County Museum Li 1 ,,
NORTH WEST” until 27th Ma:~~pool98·o HDISTiOlRIC GLASS FROM COLLECTIONS IN THE , • a y 10-5, Sun. 2-5
Ashmolean Museum Oxford A 11 xhib rare examples of,English• ds~a ie ition specially for the congress of 69 ri an ore gn glass, Roman to 19th c. from public and
P
vate collections. Well-illustrated catalogue, £2.50. Dailyl0-4, Sun.2-4
exhibition closes on Oct. 21. Also “ERVIN BOSSANYI”(hi i al’ld t ~ ‘ s pa ntings, drawings , wiud t thr~sparent designs for stained glass and some stained glass OVI• oge er with other items of interest.
~,;.;c..:,..”” .. r.–. anc,;: ..Albert Museum, .. MODERN GLASS t 1940-1979″ until Nov.
hlly 10•5.30 (closed Friday), Sun. 2-5.30. 4th.
Dudley Art Gallery and Museum, .. GLASSHOUSES” ( for a review see below)
until Oct. 6th. Daily 10-6, closed Sunday.
GLASS CIRCLE ACTIVITIES
.AMIN GLASSES by R.J.Charleston and Dr G.B. Seddon.
Meeting held on Tuesday 19th June at the Glass Manufacturers Federation
~–•··–=~~.,~leaton began with a bibliographical review of the works recording
~rating the Jacobite cause. By 1926 some ten or twelve glasses
a’iwAt’tfhich were first described as “Amen Glasses” by Grant Francis in
Nltllllt.,….,__.~ ID&liah Drinking Glasses”. Bl~s added little to the history but
ceowJla• • futheT three glasses -an act with an outcome beyond his imaginat
ion u will be seen. The number now stands at about 27 and Dr Seddon has
analysed the engraving of half of these by d6tail~d photography.
Mr Charle•ton then went on to recount some of the verses,creasonable,
loyal and disloyal, and some to our ears humourous, that have been inscribed
on 3acobite glasses, “May the hinges never rust or the bird of love lose a
feather”. Everything on the glass may be seen at a series of toasts or “bumps”.
Their soc~al role seems to have been to unite a particular group or family in
aupport
of the “Cause” in combination with serious yet convivial drinking and
a maximum economy of the expensive drinking vessels. H.G. Graham’s “Social
Life of Scotland” records that one family might possess twelve bottles but only
one glass. It is understandable that the one glass should be a cher.ished and
respected family possession. Decorative engraving hightened-the significance •
and mystery of this relationship.
Dr Seddon then described the known locationsof the .Amen Glasses and
acknow
ledged the generous assistance obtained that permitted him to photograph many
of them in detail. He then ran through a lengthy series of slides comparing
details of the engravings from different glasses, Characteristics of the
lettering and ornamentation allowed a ready classification. The calligraphr
had also been analysed by Dr Totty, a police forensic expert in this field.
The conclusions were unanimous and obvious even to our inexperienced audience.
Ten glasses were by the same hand and three, although stylistically simi~:rthe
were by an~ther person. The problem of an explanation now arose. Cou ht
three be by an apprentice who must have seen some of the first ten or mi:
they have been contemporaneous copies? In general, the work seemed muck or
cruder
and the balanceof the layout did not suggest either apprentice 7~rbe
contemporary copies. It seemed unlikely that such special orders wou
tru t d to an ◄a ·i 1 yway. A r th r mor
b n t merg t th se hre app d o be c 08 op of th! o:~nnond
Ca tle and Fish Cancommon Amen Glasses i1 lua rctcd y Bl 8 in 1926 not long
before thes glasses app ared on the market all, furth
rmore, lackinR th hit
orical provenanc no mally as~ociated with sue unique specimens. A further
damning piece of evi
ence was that Bl~s had illustrated three verses of the
anthem engraved on t e upper surface of the fodt of one Amen Glass by the tech
nical trick of photo raphing the foot from the underside and the reversing the
negative
in the prin ing so that in the book t e script appears in the normal
sense. This, howev r, gives the impression tat the foot has been engraved
on the underside and indeed, one of the three roblem glasses is so engraved.
But a dedication to rince Henry on the Drummo Castle glass not shown by Bl~s
nevertheless accurat ly appears
on the putative copy. It would seem that this
could could only hav been achieved by access photographs not used in the
book -if thls, inde dtwas the explanation. ~ether this was so is now unlike-
ly to be discovered f1Y ~ore than the original endors who seem to have dis
appeared without tra e. If one of the three i shown to be a fake then all
must be. Dr Seddon was prudently discrete in is conclusions. He left the
judgement
to others, being content with present ng the evidence. Perhaps,
fortunately, the two museums and one commercial collection involved can with
stand
the loss of s h prized specimens. Inde d,one museum was not surprized
as that particular ass had already been bject of much head-shaking by
the experts of the
y. For the private tor the lesson is that expens-
ive and fakable glass should be supported unshakable provenance.
Due to staff pr blems it seems probable th this will be the last Glass
Circle meeting to b held at the Glass Manufact· rers Federation for some time
to come. Members ave always looked on these eetings as a special privilage
and the highlight o the season and we hope
we hall be able to meet there
again in the future The G.M.F. have always b en most generous hosts and we
would particularly ike to thank
Mr Normandale nd his staff for their kind-
ueaa and hospitalit • There is no doubt that his lecture will go down in
our archives for it importance and significanc for a very appreciative
audience.
SUMMEll OUTING, Sat
Once again the
_granme of enchan
city of
Salisbury.
proceeded to view
at Mompesson House
houses a small and
and some very inte
fragments of a cur
uranium.
~ rday 30th June 1979.
season ended with this year
nt and relaxation in the fo
After a fortifying lunche
he
glass collections at the
the latter belonging to th
good collection
of 18th C.
esting medieval material in
ous
yellow colour that have
y event which provided a pro
of a visit to the medieval
at the White Hart members
iltshire Municipal Museum and
National Trust. The museum
glish
table glass and bottles
luding a quantity of glass
een speculated to contain
·Mompesson
Hous , built in 1701, is a fine ample of i·ts period and the
ornate stucco deco ation on walls and ceilings, dating from the 1740’s are
designed on a most sumptious scale,
although t identity of architect and
cTaftsmen remain a mystery so far. The House as refurnished by
the Trust in
1976, aided
by g nerous loans and donations, and the magnificent collection
of 18th
c. drinkin glasses bequeathed by Mr o .. N. Turnbull in 1976 provides
one of the
highlig ts. Numbering over 370 pi es, this represents the largest
collection at a Tr st property and includes so e exceptionally fine corrmemorat
ive
glaues 1- a ‘k nuine (!)” Amen glass. a fi ly engraved “Byng swings”, a
tall facetted
cord al with ovoid bowl and a nu er of superb twists and Beilby
enamelled drinking glasses. The collection i spaciously displayed in the
twO front room• of the house. Fine weather ad a sood attendance made this
• rabl
day.
NEW LIGHT ON THE YOUNG EMILE GALLE
A paper by Gabriella Gros discussing the hitherto unpublished correspond
ance between Gall4′ and the Bowes family, particularly Josephine, founders of
the Bowes Museum at Barnard Castle, sheds interesting new light on this young
genius. It is published in t.,he September issue of the Connoisseur and a
few offprints are available at a cost of SOp each to GC members. Please
send a suitably large
stamped and addressed envelope with your order.
Gabriella
will be giving a talk on her discovery in the Bowes Museum archives
as part
?f the programme of this seasons Glass Circle lectures. ~
NO LIGHT ON WHERE GEORGE RAVENSCROFT HAD His HENLEY GLASSHOUSE
Over the past few years our member, Peter Elliman, who lives in Henley, has
been beavering away trying to find evidence for the location of one of the most
famous glasshouses
of all time. So far, he regretfully reports, like the
abominable snowman and the Loch Ness monster,
it remains obstinately obscure.
Promising leads suggested that an outbuilding at the rear of No 91 Bell Street,
the main thoroughfare running parallel to the river Thames, might have housed
the furnace but
it has now been shown by excavation to have been built in the
18th C,, too late for the glass works which closed down before the end of the
previous century. Trial excavaiions, under the direction of Mr R.A. Chambers,
for the Oxford Archaeological Unit, do not rule out completely the existance of
glass manufacture in this area of Henley but Peter says that at the moment
leads are running
dry and it is becoming difficult to know quite where to search
for more.information. Detailed scrutiny of the local archives has proved
unrewarding and the word \1asshouse’ does not appear in any past deeds, histor•
ies, maps or plans of Henley that Peter has been able to tum up any’where in
Henley. At present the major hope resides in one so far unexamined folio
of papers belonging to the Stonor family and to which access is still restricted.
If
any members have any documents or information that might help Pete-r in his
search
he would be truly grateful. Contact him directly or through the medium
of this newspaper.
If the glasshouse could be located the infonnation it
might
yield could revolutionize our understanding of how lead crystal was
discovered.
GLASS THROUGH THE AGES
A aeries of six weekly lectures, from Mon. 1st October at 7.30 p.m. _will
be given in Macclesfield, Cheshire by me~ber, Mrs Laura Seddon, M.A. The
lectures,
which are sponsored by the University of Manchester and the W.E.A.,
will deal with glass from antiquity to the present. Laura has recently~isited
.alassworks in
Scotland and her pictures of glassmaking there will help the stu
students to understand glassmaking processes
THE CONSTABLE-MAXWELL CATALOGUE OF
ANCIENT GLASS
A reprint of Sotheby’s original catalogue and price list, supplies of
which are now exhausted• has been undertaken on behalf of
Mr Constable
Maxwell and will be sold exclusively by Maggs Bros. Ltd., 50, Berkeley Sqared
Lonion WlX 6EL to whom all correspondance on this matter.should be address~·
the price of the catalogue has, however, doubled
to £20.00, postage extra.
The print number has not been disclosed so that no comment can
be made upon
v}lat appears to be an extraordinary increase.
OVERHEARD IN
THE CONGRESS REFRESHMENT ROOM?
“Now I know why the English drink so much tea.••••• I have ju 5t tried •
their coffee!”
WHAT’S ON AT DUDLEY
The dominant feature
of the
18th and early 19th century views
. ,;:·i/.:·•:·· ·, . … ,, .. ,, .. ,,,,;” –
of glasshouses is the lofty glass cone. The one shown here is the Hollaway
End Cone at Ambleside, near Stourbridge. Later illustrations show how the
cone went out of fashion and the glasshouse became a more anonymous structure
quite often in the fonn of a large covered area with a tall centralchimney
rising from the middle. Alas, from being once so cotmlon,
the cone has all
but disappeared. Today only four still stand, at Wordsley, Catcliffe,
Lemington in Newcastle-on-Tyne, and Alloa in Scotland, (the Hollaway End Cone
was demolished in the
1950 1s but the remains of another from the Redcliffe
Glasshouse in Bristol has been iJcorporated into the dining room of the
Dragonaria Hotel recently built next door to St Mary Redcliffe church)
emphasizing how much of glass heritage has been lost. Even the future of
these four is not assured.
Besides exteriors, the exhibition gives some fascinating glimpses of what
went on inside the glasshouse -by no means a common subject for illustration.
A highlight of the exhibition is a dramatically lit watercolour by James Crank
of Warrington (1746-1826) showing a glassmaker at the furnace while two
primitive but evocative early 19th century oil paintings show the interior of
the Richardson cone at Wordsley and the cutting shop. The size and complexity
of a glassworks is demonstrated in an interesting series of photographs of
Thomas Barron’s works
at Mexborough near Rotherham, including the mould-fitting
department, the mixing yard and the pot-making shop.
To give a fuller picture of glassmaking, the exhibition touches on other
aspects such as glassmakers’ societies, unions and processions •. Two features
of this section are a modern replica of a banner of the Glassmakers and Cutters
Friendly Society, Stourbridge District, and a rare and Fascinating illustration
of a glassmakers’ procession in Bristol from the time of William IV.
To accompany the exhibition, a folio ha~ been prepared, containing a dozen
black and white photographs, four coloured postcards, extracts from contemp
orary accounts of glass-making and a check-list of the whole exhibition with
short notes on
many of the exhibits. The normal price of £1.50 has been
reduced to £1.00 (plus 20p
P+P) as a special concession to Glass Circle Members.
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h
0
A poster advertizing the ‘tnasshouses” exhibition, based on a blow-up of a
fine black and white print c 1818 of the Aston Flint Glassworks, Birmingham, , – ,
is also available for 15p plus 1postage.
New Glass Museum: Dudley’s two famous glass collections, the Stourbridge and
. Brierly Hill collections, are to be brought together to form a new glass museum
at Broadfield House, Kingswinford. Repairs have begun on the house, an imposing
19th century brick building, and it is hoped that the museum will open some time
in 1980.
The Brierly Hill collection was started before the 2nd World War by a local
collector, W.W. Skidmore Westwood. Today it ammounts to over a thousand pieces,
and is still being added to. When Brierly Hill Library, where the glass was
displayed, moved to new premises in 1976, the glass was taken to Dudley Art Gallery
where a section is on permanent display. The collection ranges from Roman glass
to
modem studio work, but its strength lies in English and Continental glass of
the 19th and early 20th century.·
The Stourbridge collection numbers about 800pieces, predominantly glass made
in the Stourbridge area. The
two most important parts of the collection are the
Benjamin Richardson III Bequest of 1953, comprising about 300 pieces of glass the
majority ·of which was produced in the family works at Wordsley, and the John
Northwood II Gift of 1954. The latter includes cameo and etched glass by John
Northwood I, and glass made at Stevens and Williams where Northwood I was artist
ic director from 1882. The collection in its entirity is on permanent show at
the Old Council House, Mary Stevens Park, Stourbridge.
-000-
Tbr•• vu•• exhibited by Meaara. lice Harri• &Son of the Islington
Glu• Voru, Binaiqha, at the lxbibition of Art and Art-Indu•t~
la Dublia iD 1853. Tbe narav:laa• are taken.from th• Ulu•trat
taloaue publt•h ..
by the Art-Journal.