Glass Circle News_No.138, Jul 2015

Vol.38 No. 2 ISSN 2842-652 Issue 138 July 2015

•
Antique bottles

•
Roman moulded glass

•
West Midlands museum

•
American glass

Chairman’s letter

Letters

My favourite glass

Antique sealed bottles
Moulded Roman glass

American glass

A new home
Reports

Reviews

The Adoration of the
Chairman. ohn
Smith, venerated by Andy McConnell, reclining in
as

glass hammock
made

Pinaree Sanpitak
in 2014.

It uses 632 beads and weighs 400 kg.

CONTENTS

Diary and news

Glass Circle News

ISSN 2043-6572

Vol. 38 No. 2 Issue 138 July 2015

published by The Glass Circle

www.glasscircle.org

Editor

Jane Dorner
[email protected]

9 Collingwood Avenue, N10 3EH

Design and layout

Athelny Townshend

[email protected]

Neither the Glass ( ‘axle nor any or im officers rw committee

members bear any Imponsibility for the views expressed in this

publication, which are those of the contributor in each case. Every

effort has been made to trace and acknowledge copyright in the
photographs illustrating articles. The Editor asks contributors to

clear permissions and neither the Editor nor the Glass Circle is
responsible for inadvertent infringements. All photographs are

Printed by

Micropress Printers Ltd

www.micropress.co.uk

Next copy date:

15 September for the November edition

Cover illustration:

A group of London and Oxford tavern sealed bottles dating

from she late 1650s to 1670. © David Burton
EDITORIAL

irtually all the readers of

cp
this letter will be collectors

of glass, some modest,

some with deeper purses.

We all rely on the scholarship of others

when making purchases, so that we can

tell our friends accurately what we own.
Nothing is more embarrassing

that to be told when we say ‘it’s a

mid-18th-century mead glass’, ‘oh

no, that theory was dispproved in

the 1980s; it’s a champagne glass’.
The year 2016 is likely to be a

bumper year for British glass scholarship.

Dr Jill Turnbull’s new book on Scottish

Glass made between 175o and z000

should be in the bookshops and two of
our members are submitting papers to

The Journal of Glass Studies,
published

by The Corning Museum of Glass.

These papers concern the production

of glass in England in the 17th century.
Apart from archaeological work little

new thinking has been published on

this topic since Hartshorne published

in 1897 (although the latter statement
might be disputed by David Watts who

has indeed worked in this area). Both
the authors have gone back to source

material, a very time-consuming process.

Our knowledge of the period leading up
to Ravenscroft’s manufacture of glass
has been full of supposition, and the

period just after Ravenscroft started
even worse. At last we are starting to
have a better knowledge of how, when

and where lead was introduced into
vessel glass and the
effect
that this had

on glass design. None of these three
authors are academics working
in universities, but amateurs

with time and the mindset of
true scholars.

In May some zz members

visited glass museums in the USA

and Rebecca Wallis, curator at the V&A,

has written about our trip (see page 23).
One of the places we visited was Toledo,

Ohio, where we were shown the vase

illustrated opposite. Once upon a time
this glass was attributed to Ravenscroft;

the consensus today is that it is probably

French, but still late 17th century. Now

that we have non-destructive analysis
by X-ray fluorescence, I am going to ask

the museum to test the composition of

the glass, particularly looking for lead,
and the metal colourant used. The
original attribution to Ravenscroft was
by ‘connoisseurship’; we now look for

evidence. The visit was not all work.
The illustration shows me relaxing on a

glass (what else?) hammock outside the

Toledo museum.

Chairman’s letter

John P

Smith

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

Mary Lowndes and Britten & Gilson,

detail of east window (1896),

Holy Innocents’ Church, Lamarsh, Essex.
Arts & Crafts Stained Glass

Peter Cormack

Beautifully illustrated and based on more than three

decades of research,
Arts ea Crafts Stained Glass

is the

first study of how the late-19th-century Arts and

Crafts Movement transformed the aesthetics and

production of stained glass in Britain and America.

A progressive school of artists, committed to direct
involvement in making and designing windows,

emerged in the 1880s and 1890s, reinventing stained

glass as a modern, expressive art form. Using
innovative materials and techniques, they rejected

formulaic Gothic Revivalism while seeking authentic,

creative inspiration in medieval traditions. This new

approach was pioneered by Christopher Whall
(1849-1924), whose charismatic teaching educated a

generation of talented pupils — both men and

women — who produced intensely colourful and
inventive stained glass, using dramatic, lyrical and

often powerfully moving design and symbolism.

Peter Cormack demonstrates how women made

critical contributions to the renewal of stained glass

as artists and entrepreneurs, gaining meaningful

equality with their male colleagues, more fully than

in any other applied art.

HB ISBN 978-0-300-20970-9
r.r.p. £50.00
SPECIAL PRICE £40.00

PETER CORMACK is a noted scholar of 19th- and
20th-century British and American stained glass,

William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement.

Published by Yale University Press

for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

Louis Davis and James Powell & Sons, detail of

Benedicite
windows (1910), St Colmon Parish Church, Colmonell, Ayrshire.

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EDITORIAL & LETTERS

At the EGM in June you

approved some minor changes
to the constitution, and revised

and simplified subscription levels.

The subscription levels should

have been raised two years ago,

but this changed was postponed

while we were in discussions

with The Glass Association. Your
committee decided that it was

important to keep up standards,
with seven first-class lectures

each year, international visits,

and a magazine of high quality.

The quality of the magazine is

self evident, the Director of The
Corning Museum of Glass is

happy to appear in it! (see page ii).
Our future will continue very

much as in the past. Our lectures

will continue to be held at The Art

Workers’ Guild in central London,

sometimes using the smaller Gra-
didge Room upstairs, which has

been recently refurbished and is

considerably cheaper. For a variety

of reasons some meetings will be

on Wednesdays and Thursdays as

well as on our traditional Tues-
days. There has been some regret

that the merger did not take place,

as there was much sense in it, but
general relief that the Cirde will con-

tinue without having to make unhap-

py compromises.
The problem of our library

continues

exercise

the

committee, as it will have to move

from Sir Mortimer Wheeler
House soon. In April we heard

two talks on the future of the
Broadfield House collection and

its impending move to the White
House site (see page 2o). It is

possible that our library might

move there, if indeed they intend

to have a library and study room

there, which is in doubt.

Letters to the editor

LEFT:
Stephen

Pohlmann’s drawn

trumpet wine glass

All letters

about a
previous

edition

of the

magazine
refer to

Vol. 38 No.

1
Issue no.

137 unless

otherwise

stated.

Back copies

M
y father, Philip Jackson,

died last year and he has left

copies of the
Glass Circle News
nos

7 to 125 (I think every copy in

between). Sadly, neither my sister

nor I share his detailed interest

in glass and so it is unlikely that

we will need to refer to them.
I

see
that the Editor appealed for

certain missing copies in March

2011 and I’d be happy to let you

have all of them or just selected

ones for your records.

Paul Jackson
Bath

Editor’s note: In the fullness of time,

Philip Jackson’s copies arrived and
I now have a complete set for future

editors with the exception of issues no.

1
to
6.

Can anyone provide them for me

— photocopies would do.

Favourite glass

I have a (complete) glass just like
Patrick Hagglund’s ‘pieced-

together’ version. Mine is slightly

smaller, being only 12.5 cm high (5
in.), and no tear, which is perhaps

symbolic, and I do understand his
affection for his glass. My similar

trumpet may not be my no. 1
favourite, but if it broke, as did

Patrick Hagglund’s, it probably

would be.

My broken glass story concerns

an early posset cup. When we
moved to Israel in 1984, this was

the only piece damaged in the

shipment. A bad crack from one
side of the bowl to the other. But

still in one piece. The insurance

assessor came, and OK’d full
compensation. But then he

attempted to take the bowl with
him. Officially, it now belonged to

the insurance company. I stopped

him; almost threatened him. He

had officially declared it a total

loss, yet here he was, trying to

get his hands on it, for whatever
reason. He took the hint, and it is

still there, over 3o years later, still

in a place of very special affection.

Stephen Pohlmann
Tel Aviv

Marinot
s Penelope Hines explained
n her article on the works

of Maurice Marinot assembled

for the exhibition A Passion for

Glass currently being held at
the National Museum Cardiff,

examples of Marinot’s glass are

rare. Members who make trips

to Normandy may, therefore, be

pleased to note that there is a

small but impressive collection
of Marinot’s glass in the Dieppe

Museum.

Christopher Maxwell-Stewart
East Sussex

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No.
2

LETTERS

Glass breaks

I
was interested to read the

obituary of Chris Sheppard

and was reminded what a great
raconteur he was.
I remember he told me how

he went to Zurich to collect an

antique piece of glass from the
free-port zone. He took the tram

which goes from the centre of
Zurich to the warehouse. On the
return journey after he’d collected

the glass he caught the tram and

placed the glass, in a bag, on the

empty seat next to him. At the
next stop a very big lady got on

board and before he realised what
was happening the lady had sat

down next to him and crushed the

glass.
Chris told this as if it was an

everyday occurrence and just
laughed about it. He found it

amusing rather than tragic and
that says a lot about his character.
David Giles
London

Sang: conjecture

A
thelny Townshend’s exposi-

tion of his thinking process

on his Sang glass was fascinating.
I assume that the scrollwork

below the boat is indicative of the

sea. Elsewhere it is just decoration.
Sang uses a distinctive type of
engraving when portraying water.
The type of scrollwork evident on

his glass, as far as I am aware, is

not found on Sang glasses and as

far as I am can gather it is also not
found on Dutch engraved glass.
While I accept that the

engraving is crude it resembles the

‘German Metic style, see Thorpe

Plates XCVI

If this were

a Sang family engraving how did it
get to the UK as it is most unlikely
that that a collector would buy the

glass because of the poor quality

of the engraving. So if the glass

were engraved in England by a
German Metic does this support
the eternal argument that these
Dutch style light balusters were

made in England and exported to

Holland and engraved there. The

argument is endless.
Graham Vivan

London

Sang: response

G
raham Vivian raises an

interesting point that the

engraving looks to be in the style

of German Metic engraving, a
style not seen in the work of any
Dutch engraver, including Sang.

A
much
closer match in style to

those
mentioned in Thorpe can

be seen in the panel moulded
flip glasses which are sometimes

claimed to be American and

sometimes German. In either
case it is generally accepted that

they are both carried out by

German engravers on their travels.
However, I think the issue of the

style of engraving being German
in origin actually supports my

argument. It is reasonable to

assume that when teaching a
novice the basics of engraving Sang

would probably have taught them
in a similar way to how he himself

was taught. The technology used,
a treadle-powered grinding wheel,

is the same for both the cruder

and cheaper German metic style

and the more refined, but more

expensive, Dutch styles . The main

difference is that the former used
the side of the wheel and the latter

used the edge.
Graham also wonders why the

glass turned up in England. This
is difficult to explain. However
the most extraordinary thing

about this glass is for it to have

survived at all. People, over several

generations, must have cared

about it enough to protect it for

over 25o years… how else can you
explain its continued existence?

And yes, it does add to the debate

about where these glasses were

made!
Athelny Townshend
Suffolk

Other Sangs

I
thoroughly enjoyed Athelny

Townshend’s ‘skip through the

unknown: It’s a perfect example
of why everyone should have a
passion such as our love for glass.

There are so many aspects to this

tale.
It starts with a beautiful light

baluster. The ‘bad/naive/amateur’
engraving will have spoilt the glass
for some, but for others, it opened
up a world of conjecture. And

that’s absolutely OK; part of glass-

collecting.
I have two signed Sangs, both

also dated 176o. One is the classic
image of a ship – plus engraving

around the foot.
The other is, for this subject,

more interesting, for it is an almost

identical glass to the ‘Nottingham;
except the bowl appears to be

slightly more rounded.
The subject is a farmhouse, with

the usual inscription. The stem is
composed; the height is
20.9 cm.

Just like the Nottingham.
Stephen Pohlmann

Tel Aviv

BELOW LEFT

AND BELOW:
The engraved

Nottingham goblet

compared to a

German/American

engraved flip glass.
BELOW RIGHT:

Stephen Pohlmann’s
M type stem goblet

engraved and signed
by Jacob Sang.

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

Vy favourite glass

FAVOURITE

aving

bought and

disposed of

many pieces

of antique glass over the last

25 years or so, my present
interest is in old, hand-crafted,

domestic jugs and bowls. My

favourite glass though is none

of these things. It is a modern,

mass-produced,

moulded,

industrial acid flask. I have

been aware of it for several

decades but have only recently

acquired it. Standing at a
height of 7
1

/2″ (18.5 cm) it is

31/4″ (8.3 cm) in diameter. To
reinforce its original purpose

and to highlight the danger
from the liquid within, the

previous owner labelled the

flask CONC. SULPHURIC
ACID.

The beach glass within it

was collected a short walk

from where I live. One day,

on a swimming expedition

with my wife, I noticed small

pieces of glass amongst the

shingle. This gave me the idea
of collecting it and putting it

into a much smaller flask than
the one shown but from the

same source. After the pair
to the small one was drained

of peaty whisky that too was

filled with glass, as was a small

scent bottle.

The best-looking pieces

have been rounded and

frosted over the years by
the continual action of the

waves over the shingle. It is

impossible to tell now, for the
most part, from what kind

of vessel they came, although
most are probably from

bottles. The best finds have

been two green flask stoppers

and two circular bottle

stoppers. It is interesting to
think about where all this

glass was made, what kind
of vessels were involved, how
they came to be in the sea and
how long it had all been there.
by

Simon

Cook

The colours are just as

appealing as the shapes and
there is always the eager

anticipation of finding a

rare hue and the resultant

excitement when it is spotted

and retrieved. Mostly the glass

is clear, with very pale blue
and very pale green also in the
majority. Next comes emerald

green and then brown but
the rarest and most unusual

colours are navy blue, orange,

lemon yellow and lime green.
Red is the ultimate find, with

only one piece found out of
more than 3,000 collected.

The supply also seems to be
inexhaustible, for I can collect

hundreds of pieces one day

and return just a few tides

later and collect many more.
It is a case of the thrill of the

hunt but with guaranteed
results!

My flask and the other two

came from my late engineer

father’s garage. During
the weekend that I
gave the scent bottle
to a friend and the

small flasks, which I
had had for several

years, to my mother

and sister I retrieved
the larger one. It had

been languishing in

the garage because

the council would
not take it and the

stopper was jammed
tight. To free it I

applied some oil

to the top of the

stopper and a pair

of pliers got it out.

The small amount
of acid was disposed

of and the flask was

thoroughly cleaned

then filled.
The three flasks

in particular are

not only a tribute

and memorial to my
father but also to

my brother because

both visited me at

my seaside home. If

I had had to pay one

pound for each piece of

glass in my flask it would

have cost me £875. As it is,

the glass was free but the

joy and cumulative pleasure
of collecting it, sorting it,

looking at it and recalling

all those happy memories

of my father and brother is
priceless.

Simon Cook is a lecturer,
naturalist

and

polar

bear guard.

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2
5

BOTTLES

Antique sealed bottles

The shape and classification of the bottles

o
n

n
ito March I

gave a talk to
e Circle on

my three-volume

book titled
Antique Sealed

Bottles
1640-1900
and the families

who owned them.
This

book, published in

January zo15, brings
together a definitive

listing of British-

manufactured sealed
bottles with a social

and genealogical history
where many of the original
owners have been identified.
It examines the evolution of

the sealed bottle from the

164os to the late
1800s,
the

early glasshouses involved

in their manufacture, the

social and historical stimuli
that made changes in style

inevitable over relatively

short periods, the early inns,

taverns and coffee houses and

their use of sealed bottles,

the trade tokens that were a
major influence on the seal

engravings associated with

the tavern and inn keepers,

the bear-baiting and cock-

fighting across the River
Thames in Southwark, and

the records of the Oxford
colleges and Inns of Court

that provide information on

the drinking habits of the

well-to-do sons of the gentry
and noble families. With
many of the bottles sealed

with a crest or coat of arms,
the nuances and complexities
of heraldry are discussed in
detail to inform the collector

and encourage research in

this often misunderstood and

neglected field.
With the many recent

discoveries of bottles and

seal fragments excavated in
the former British colonies of
North America, it embraces

the use of merchant marks

in the colonies and the
harsh life of the early New
World colonial settlements,

the slave markets and the
absentee plantation owners

who accumulated vast wealth
through the hard graft of

the overseers and slaves
who worked the

plantations.
The
4,729
sealed

bottles and fragments
recorded in the book’s

main list are not

viewed in isolation

as simple pieces of glass
belonging to a certain historic
period. They contribute

broadly-based

introduction to the wider

subject of sealed bottles,

their design, evolution and

manufacture, balanced by the

changes in style as a result

of the need to lay down

wine to improve its quality
and longevity, and how this

relates to the social history of

the day, the individuals who
ordered and used the bottles

at home or in the private clubs
frequented by gentlemen,
much influenced by the

historic events of the i7th
through to the zoth centuries.

Genealogical research is
evident on every page and

some fascinating histories

have been uncovered where

wealth bought titles, but

where titles did not necessarily
create wealth.
RIGHT:

Fig.
2

This bottle dated 1674 was
purchased by Roger Dumbrell

from Richard Dennis in

Kensington Church Street

in 1976. Until this time,
the previous record price
paid for a sealed bottle was

£950 but this bottle sold for

£5,000, which featured in

the national press at the time

and changed the perception

of sealed bottles for ever.

THE ONION
c.1680-90

BELOW LEFT:
Fig.
3a

A short’stubby’ neck which
made it difficult to grasp and

pour, large bulbous body with

a deep basal’Idck-up’ and disc
pontil scar. Note the position of

the seal at the base of the neck,

almost covering the shoulder.
This was not the most efficient

of styles and yet the shape
lasted almost fifty years.
THE SHAFT & GLOBE

c.1640-1675
LEFT:
Fig. 1

The classic style of the 165os

with a long slender neck, some

slight tapering towards the

shoulder where it joins the
body, the string rim positioned

well down from the lip, small

bulbous body with a shallow

basal ‘kick-up and glass-
encrusted pontil scar.
Pre-1650-166o

BELOW:
Fig. 3b

Note the position of the

seal as it moves south.

C.1690-1700

David

Burton

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

RIGHT:

Fig. 4

An elegant half size bottle with

a more rounded bulbous body.

Note the engraving of the

letter ‘w’, a combination

of the letters and ‘u’

which was common in

the late 17th and early

18th centuries.1710 -20

THE MALLET
C. 1715-50

RIGHT:
Fig. 6

With a long

elegant neck,

sloping shoulders
and short body,

this is an example _

from the 172os

with a most classy

outline in the style

of an Indian club.
THE BLADDER

c.
1715-40

ABOVE & LEFT:
Figs. 5a & 5b

The rarest of all the bottle

shapes and known affectionately
as ‘Bastard’ bottles, so-called

after the name of a family
from Kitley House,
Yealmpton, Devonshire

who ordered many

examples. Note the

frontal view and the

view from the side
(fig. 5b), so designed

to ensure easier
transportation with
less damage, and

encourage the
binning of wine.
THE EQUAL-SIDED

OCTAGONAL
CYLINDER
c.
1740-85

RIGHT:
Fig. 8

This is also known as the
`rounded’ octagonal shape with

a long elegant neck, sloping or

angular shoulders, moulded
body with a deep basal ‘kick-

up’ and sand pontil scar.
THE RECTANGULAR

OCTAGONAL CYLINDER

C.I730-90
LEFT:
Fig.

A long elegant neck, sloping

shoulders and moulded body

with no evidence of chamfered

sides in the four examples

in the author’s collection,

and a minimal basal lick-
up’ with no pontil scar.

The Cylinder

C.I740S
-1900+

Left:
Fig. 9

This is much closer to the

shape of today with a short

or long tapering neck, narrow

body with a more elegant style

or a wide body with a much

heavier and more ‘weighty’ style.

The lick-up’ is wide and deep

with (usually) a sand pontil

scar.
BOTTLES

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2
7

THE

‘
CARBOY’ CYLINDER

177os -8os
RIGHT:
Fig. lo
Bottles in this

style are often seen today

as display bottles in
pharmacy windows.

This was probably
not the
case

in the

short time, less than
20 years, this style was

being manufactured.

All the seal engravings

can be associated with

private individuals.

paper label to the base.
The base is embossed

W SHIELS
& C° /
LEITH

which was

assumed to

be the name of the

wine merchant. The

seal is engraved BORDER

MAID 1877 encircling the
seal, which was thought

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

RIGHT:

Fig. 13

This is best described
as a fairly mundane

cylinder bottle
dated 1877. It was

not until a visit

to Berry Bros.

& Rudd that an
identical bottle
was discovered
in their collection,

but with the
addition of an ancient

8
to be the name of a whisky.

How wrong can one be: the

Border Maid was the name

of a ship, not a whisky! 1877
was the 4oth anniversary of

Queen Victoria’s accession to
the throne and on 1 January,

she was proclaimed Empress
of India: the sealed bottles,

filled with Scotch whisky,

would have been shipped in

celebration of the occasion.

BOTTLES

HENRY RICKETTS
‘
PATENT OF 1821

BELOW:
Fig. 12

The 19th century is marked by

the introduction of the three-
part moulded bottle in the early

182os, which revolutionised the

manufacturing process. The

mould was patented by Henry
Ricketts of Bristol and was

granted on 5 December 1821
and enrolled (i.e. approved) on

z6 January 182a. It simplified

the process of manufacture

and produced the body and
neck of the bottle in equal

size and weight, which proved
to be so successful that other

glasshouses producing bottle

glass had changed their method
of production within a few years.

‘The heart of the apparatus was
a hinged cast-iron mould that

was normally kept open by

gravity, so that the paraison (the

gather on the end of the blow-
pipe) could be introduced. Then,

the operator stood on a pedal to

THE SQUAT CYLINDER

1755
-1
83

BELOW:
Fig.
u

A group of three bottles dated

to the 178os from the southern

edge of Dartmoor. The bottle

in the centre is unique, being an
equal-sided octagonal cylinder

with the squat cylinder shape.
These are the bottles with

the largest capacity, averaging

some nootn1 compared with

the 75oml of today’s bottles

and were used by the yeomen
farmers and heavy-duty workers

of Cornwall, Somersetshire and,

to a lesser extent, Devonshire.
close the mould, removing his

foot from it when the bottle had

been blown. The arrangement

of pedals and levers permitted

the use of any mould required,

and it was easily adaptable

to produce bottles of large or

small capacities (Wills, p.23).

One rather sad result of Henry
Ricketts initiative was the

decline in the number of sealed

bottles, which accelerated after
ifizz. Mechanisation gradually

took over the manufacturing

process and from the mid-183os
it is evident from the number of

examples recorded that demand

for the sealed bottle was in
terminal decline. It has never

reappeared in any significant

quantity although some
businesses even today incorporate

an embossed seal bearing a
company logo or crest, used as a

marketing tool for their products.

BOTTLES

NAUSEA STYLE
1740-1820
The Nailsea Glassworks near
Bristol, established in 1788,

was an important source of

window glass and a wide range

of domestic glass, including
bottles, in the early 19th century.

The individual style of the

glass with the use of enamel
chips was known before
5788

but it has proved difficult to

associate any sealed bottle with
the Nailsea factory. The term

Nailsea style has been used

throughout the book to describe

this specific style of glassmaking.

LEFT:
Fig./4

The style of the lip and string

rim, shallow’kick-up’ and lack of

a pontil scar confirms the dating

of this Nailsea style Rectangular

Octagonal Cylinder to the 1740s.
ALLOA GLASS

Following the loss of the

American colonies in 1776,

trade between England and

America reduced to a trickle

and it was left to the Scottish

glass producers to re-establish
trade links and produce bottles

that appealed to the new

emerging independent nation.

The Alloa Glass Work had
been established by Frances,

Lady Erskine in about 1750

and towards the end of the

i8th century it developed free

blown glass in an individual

style that appealed to the

American market. The earliest

example produced at Alloa is

dated 1792 and all the examples

over a period of some 3o years

were sealed with initials only,
making them cheaper and

therefore more attractive than

the American-produced bottles.
BELOW:

Fig.
15

This revealing example lacks

any enamelling but introduces
eight rigaree glass trails, four

long, four short, running down
the side of the body. Revealing

also because of the detail of the

seal engraving dated 1821 which

carries a rake

and wine press,

almost certainly

the mark of a

wine merchant.

STIPPLE-ENGRAVED
ALLOA GLASS

With the continued decline

of an early steam train and

in demand for sealed

carriages stopped at a signal.

bottles, irrespective of the

The subject of the engraving

individuality of the style, the

suggests that the bottle was

Alloa glassworks

a presentation piece, possibly

introduced

to mark the retirement of

stipple-engraving

Robert Seath as he would

on
plain unsealed

have been aged about sixty

bottles in a final

in 1853. The auction hammer

effort to produce

price of US$1,800

a
product that

equivalent) is a record for an

was not too

Alloa glass stipple-engraved

expensive

bottle and this may reflect

but

the engraving of the early

would

steam train which would be

appeal

of much interest to collectors

of railway memorabilia.

those

who

wished

to mark

an occasion,

perhaps an engagement,

marriage, birth, retirement

or death, or simply being

Scottish. This flourished

from 5830-80.

ABOVE:
Fig.
16

This is a fine example
that probably marks the
retirement of Robert Seath

in 1853. The engraving is
THE SEAL ENGRAVINGS

BELOW LEFT:
Fig
17

Marking a bottle to denote

ownership or workmanship

was not new in the 17th century.
There is a good example in

the V&A of a bottle found

at Amiens in France which
is indistinctly marked on the

base FRONTIN 0. Frontinus,

who worked in the 3rd-4th

centuries AD and who probably
made the bottle at Boulogne

or Amiens, was originally from

Syria. A similar example with

an everted rim and strap handle

bears a moulded inscription
to the base, again slightly
unclear but identified

as
YOHAIAYO h.

A number of these

early moulded bottles

incorporate the name of

the manufacturer on the

base with most examples

having a simple, square

design for ease of transport

throughout the vast Roman

Empire, similar to the Dutch

case gin bottles shipped to the
East and West Indies in the late

i8th and early 19th centuries.
The seal engraving can be

viewed as the key that can
unlock the social history

associated with a simple

utilitarian object. The addition
of the seal introduces a third
dimension to the collecting

of these early artefacts. In

how many other fields of

collecting can one experience

that eureka moment when you

identify the original owner and

are in a position to uncover

perhaps 300 years of history?

BELOW:
Fig.
18

This is a simple engraving on

a tavern bottle dated to
the 166os sealed

WILLIAM

CLIFFTON

encircling

a golden

fleece,

the sheep
hanging

by a strap

around its

19.8

48:1
–

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

middle being clearly visible in

the centre. He was tavern keeper

of the Golden Fleece tavern

on the site of what is now the
Drury Lane Theatre. The tavern

had a notorious reputation for

homicides, this part of London

being not of the highest public

standard, hence the reluctance

on the part of ladies to enter

a tavern, even with a male escort.

RIGHT:
Figs. i9a & b This is

the earliest complete example of

a dated sealed bottle with P /
R M (pyramidal format) / 1657

flanking a kings head, crowned,

and has been attributed to a
Kings Head tavern.

The head resembles
Charles I but is dated

during the period of the

Commonwealth when

Oliver Cromwell, Lord
Protector of England

(1653-1658) and king in

all but name, ruled
the country.

It has been

suggested
that the bottle

was made
a few years

later than 1657,

possibly early
in the reign of Charles II to

celebrate his accession, but the

early shape of the bottle would
rule this out.

A more logical explanation is

given by Woods, p.313).’In this
month (April 1660) all tokens

of monarchy restored. Armes

that had been plaistred
over in the broken

times, especially
those in the Public

Schooles, were all
plaistred (i.e. set up

again in plaster). The

signe of the Kings

Head that had been
dashed out or daubd over in

paint tempore Olivare (and in

its place was written’This was
the Kings Head’), was new

painted’.

BOTTLES

THE ENTRANCE TO THE CITY
(W

LONDON

ABOVE: Fig. zo The heads of
the felons on pikes served as

a warning to those entering
the city across London Bridge.

The figures closest to the
entrance are standing outside

the Bear Inn, one of the most

famous hostelries south of the
River Thames and one of the

favourites of Samuel Pepys.

There is a bottle associated

with the tavern dated c.1663

sealed C / T D surmounting

a bear, with THE WHIT
BEARE AT THE BRIDGE

FOOT encircling the seal

(fig.
21,
below). The initials

refer to Thomas & Deborah
Cooke who were married in

1663 at Canterbury and the

bottle(s) would have been

ordered to mark the occasion.

Thomas was the son of

Cornelius Cooke, inn keeper

at the Bear until 1666, when

he was succeeded not by his

son but by Abraham Browne.

The front cover image shows a

group of London and Oxford
tavern sealed bottles dating

from the late 165os to 567o. The

bottle with the degraded surface
(left) was recovered from the

River Thames at Wapping and

is from the Goose and Gridiron

tavern in St Paul’s Churchyard.

The irrisdescent bottle (second
left) was also recovered from a
river in the city and is associated

with a St George
&
the Dragon

tavern. The next one is the

Three Tuns tavern in Oxford,
one of very few examples of
this period in mint condition,

and the one to the right is
from a Bull’s Head tavern.
BACK COVER:

Fig.22a

The Colborne bottle. Note the

silver mount on the bottle from
the Sun tavern, behind the
Royal Exchange, a bottle famous

for its connection with Samuel
Pepys. The initials N C relate

to Nicholas Colborne, tavern

keeper from 1651 until 1664/65.

Compare this bottle with the
Wyche bottle (fig. 22b below

right) which is held in The
House of Sandeman collection.

Both have 17th century silver
mounts with silver bottle

stoppers and chains which are

identical in style, but slightly
different in pattern, to each

other. So what is the connection

between the two The bottle
in The House of Sandeman

collection bears the Arms of Sir

Cyril Wyche, elected President
of the Royal Society in 1683 and

succeeded, in 1684, by Samuel

Pepys. Sir Cyril also preceded

Samuel Pepys as First Lord of
the Admiralty. Did Sir Cyril also

frequent the Sun tavern behind

the Royal Exchange; it was, after

all, one of the most important of

the city taverns at the time? Sir
Cyril purchased Hockwold Hall,

near Thetford, Norfolk after
retiring from public life and the

Nicholas Colborne bottle was

also found in Norfolk, quite
close to Kings Lynn, which,

given the three-way connection,
makes it interesting to speculate
that Sir Cyril and Nicholas

Colborne ordered the elaborate

silver mounts at the same time,

slightly later than the date of
their bottles. It is also recorded,

z3 October 1663, that Samuel

Pepys had his own bottles

made and sealed.`Thence to

Mr Rawlinsons and saw some

of my New bottles, made with
my Crest upon them, filled

with wine, about five or six

dozen: It would be interesting
to speculate that Pepys bottles

also carried a matching silver

mount and stopper in the

style of the Colborne and
Wyche bottles but this would

be too much to expect.

David Burton is the author of

Antique Sealed Bottles 1640-

190o and the families who

owned them.
Copies of the

three-volumes can be
obtained direct from

him at david@

burtonl.com at

the special price of

£175 (RRP Lz5o).

Notes

Wills
(The Bottle-

Collector’s Guide,

1977, p.23)

Woods
(The Life

and Times of
Anthony Wood,

Antiquary, (1623-

1695),
p.313).

Glass Circle News Issue
138

ROMAN G LAS S

lVould-b own glass fro m ancient Rome
All images (0 Corning Museum of Glass unless otherwise stated. Museum numbers

are given in square brackets.

here is one

g
n

element of
mould-blown

glass that sets it

apart from all other Roman glass.

From mould-blown vessels, we

have preserved the names of a

small group of glass artisans
from the 1st century AD.

The artisan responsible

for the manufacture of

the earliest and finest
Roman mould-blown

glass was a man called

Ennion. His name is

known because it was

incorporated into designs

of the moulds used to

make his vessels. Set within a
rectangular panel, Ennion’s name

is written in Greek letters, and

it is combined with a verb form
meaning ‘made by’ — ‘ENNIWN

ETIOIE’ or `ENNIVVN EHOIESEN’

(Ennion made it). His name
is preserved on only three basic

shapes: cups, six-sided flasks, and

jugs.

Although we have his name, we

know very little about the man,

other than that he worked and

lived in the eastern Mediterranean,

where Greek, rather than Latin,

was commonly spoken. This

suggests that his workshop was

located near Jerusalem, possibly in
the city of Sidon (in modern-

day Lebanon), which is often

cited by ancient writers

as a city famous for

its glass production.
Ennion’s

vessels

were highly prized
by his customers,

and pieces that bear his
name have been found across

the breadth of the Roman
Empire.

Archaeologists working in

different parts of the Mediterra-
nean basin and beyond have found

fragmentary and nearly complete

works by Ennion. One is a mag-
nificent jug that was badly dam-

aged when the building it was in
burned

down in

AD
70.

Most of

the exca-

vated piec-

es of En-

nion’s glass

have

come
from

ancient
burials

located

around

the Med-

iterranean

basin

from Cadiz,

Spain, to Pan-

ticapaeum in the

Crimea. This ar-

chaeological evi-
dence suggests

that, in addi-

tion to being widely

traded, Ennion’s glassware was

highly valued because it was given

as gifts to the dead.
Ennion’s works stand apart from

the larger corpus of mould-blown

glass for their refined designs

and delicate decorative patterns.
His designs set a high standard,

which his competitors attempted
to emulate.

A common language
of design

When designing his glassware,
Ennion was inspired by decora-

tions and patterns from a number

of sources, including architecture.

The honeycomb pattern seen on
Ennion’s jugs and cups, for exam-

ple, may have been derived from a
type of Roman brickwork known

as
opus reticulatum,
a construction

technique that was introduced in

the 1st century BC. The refined

decorative patterns in Ennion’s

mould designs demonstrate a
high level of creativity, elegance,

and innovation. This same level of

refinement is not found on other

glass vessels, and scholars have

used the quality of the design to

determine whether an unsigned

work may have been made in En-
nion’s workshop.

The design vocabulary that

Ennion used was also employed

by artists working in other media,

including metalware and pottery.

The use of similar patterns in
different media illustrates the fact

that certain motifs, such as rosettes

and ivy tendrils or garlands, are

easily adapted to a variety of vessel

shapes. What works well on clay
or silver can also work well on

glass.
Only one of Ennion’s jugs still

retains its original foot,
which is preserved on
a jug in the collection

the Eretz Museum

in Tel Aviv, of which

Corning Museum of

Glass has a copy (fig.

i). A rectangular frame (called

a
tabula ansata)
is prominently

placed within a honeycomb-

patterned band. It bears the Greek

inscription ‘ENNIWN EITOIEr
(Ennion made it).

Ennion designed a variety of

drinking cups. While most have

Karol B

Wight

LEFT:
Fig.

Ennion jug
modelled after a

jug in
the Eretz

Museum, Tel Aviv

159.1.761

BELOW: Fig. 2

Drinking cup
166.1.361

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

ABOVE:

Fig. 3

One-handled jug,

signed. Gift off.

Pierpont
Morgan,

1917
[17.194.226].

RIGHT:
Fig. 4

Hexagonal flask

(amphoriskos),

signed. Gift
of Henry G.

Marquand, 1881

(81.10.224)
BELOW:
Fig.
5

Unsigned jug

[65.1.2)
Fig
s
3 & 4
©
The

Me
tr
op
o
lita
n

Museu

m
o
f
Ar
t

ROMAN GLASS

one or two handles (as in
fig. a), one subset has no

handles. All are inscribed

with Ennion’s name, and
many bear a second inscription

on the back, `MNFIOH 0

ArOPAZWN’ (May the buyer

be remembered).
Ennion also designed

flat-bottomed jugs

(fig. 3). They serve

to exemplify how
Ennion modified

the shapes of his

wares, even when
using the sa

design. Like
footed jugs, the fla

bottomed jugs ar
decorated with th

tabula ansata
that bea

Ennion’s signature. This

one is blown into a four-
part mould.

Only two of Ennion’s flasks are

known. Fig. 4 was blown in a four-

part mould. The hexagonal shape
is similar to smaller perfume

bottles; and the panels offered the
mould maker a generous surface

on which to create his designs.
Each panel contains a different

motif associated with Bacchus, the

Roman god of wine. The flask is

inscribed ‘ENNIWN EIIWHCEN’

(Ennion made it).
Some unsigned jugs (fig.

5) have decoration similar to
Ennion’s signed pieces, but only

a few have been assigned to
Ennion’s workshop because their

decoration parallels other signed

works

Ennion’s competition

In addition to Ennion, we know

of four artisans who signed their
works by designing their moulds
in a similar way: Aristeas, Jason,

Meges, and Neikais.
Aristeas was a somewhat com-

mon Greek name in the eastern

Mediterranean, but little is known

about the individual who signed
his glass with this name. Of all the
l’-

—

Ii
glassworkers who signed

mould-blown vessels at

this time, however, Aris-

teas is the one whose prod-

ucts most closely resemble

, Ennion’s. In fact, the simi-
larities are so striking that

‘ 1 it is tempting to believe that
these two craftsmen worked

together. Only two intact
vessels signed by Aristeas

have survived
from antiq-
uity.

One

is the only

example of

Aristeas’s

work found

in Italy, from

a site near

Pavia. It is

inscribed with

the name of its

maker, followed by

a verb form meaning

`made by’:
`APICTEAC

EllOffif
(Aristeas made

it). Surrounding the
inscribed tabula
ansata

are three pairs of floral

sprays, one of which re-
sembles vine stems and

leaves On the second
known cup by Aristeas,

the artist identifies
himself as a

Cypriot, from
the island of

Cyprus.

All

the

beakers made

Jason,

Meges, and

Neikais share

the same sparse,

minimal, decora-

tion. The design
is domin-ated by

a pair of inscrip-
tions that appear

in broad bands

on the sides of the

cups. The inscrip-

tions are separated

by stylised vertical
palm fronds that also conceal the

seams of the glass moulds. Jason

and Meges are common Greek
male names, but Neikais is a rare

variant of Nikias or Nikaios, a

name that was given to girls as

well as to boys. All three of these

artisans, however, were probably
men who manufactured glass dur-

ing the same period. Their wares
have been found only in eastern

Mediterranean lo-
cations, which
suggests that

their wares were

not distributed

as broadly as
Ennion’s and
were made

for a local
market.

Inspiration

for design

Inflating glass in

moulds carved

with

decora-

tive and figural

designs was a

technique used

to create multiple

examples of a vari-

ety of vessel shapes

with high-relief pat-

terns. The moulds used

to shape this ancient glass were

complex in their design, and the
mould-blown glass vessels of an-

cient Rome tell a wealth of stories

about the ancient world, from
gladiators to perfume vessels, from
portraits of a Roman empress to

oil containers marked with the

image of Mercury, Roman god of
trade. When creating designs for

mould-blown glass, artisans had

a wealth of sources from which to
choose. For centuries, myths and

epic poems were used as image

sources in order to paint murals on

walls, to decorate ceramic vessels,
to form scenes on metalwork, and
to carve stone sculpture. Imitat-

ing the natural world was another

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

ROMAN GLASS

LEFT
& BELOW:

Fig. 7a & b Vessel

for wine together

with a drawing of
the design running

round it
[59.1.152]

artistic practice,

so human heads,
animals, or fruits,

among other de-

signs, also served
to inspire. When

designing their
moulds,

glass

artists frequently

followed the prac-
tices of their fellow

artisans working in

clay and other ma-
terials, and scholars

can easily associate

vessels made with
the same imagery in

a variety of materi-

als. But glass artisans

also chose to forge
their own path. They

created new designs and

shapes that were unique to glass
because the properties of glass

enabled this material to do things
that other materials could not, due

to its malleability when hot. Lo-

tus-bud beakers, for example, are a

design found only in

glass (fig.
6).

Lotus bud bea-

kers come in many

sizes and were likely

used to drink both

wine and beer. Their

knobbed exte-

riors enabled

the

drinker

to keep a firm

grip on his

beverage con-

tainer.

vessels

used to drink

or serve wine

the imagery was

associated with
wine

drinking

or the mer-

rymaking of

the

follow-

ers of Bacchus,

the Roman god of

wine. The god is shown among his

followers (fig.
7).
Perfume bottles

and pyxides
Small flasks that

held perfumed oils

have survived in

abundance

from

ancient

times.

Their function and

decoration give us a

glimpse into ancient
life. Along with lidded

round boxes (pyxides)

used as containers for

jewellery or cosmetics,

these flasks would

have graced a dressing
table. There are many

different designs for the

perfume flasks, and their

decorative motifs often do

not have a clear association

with their function. These

motifs — symbols related to
Bacchus, images of birds, and

different vessel shapes — seem to
be purely decorative. But fruit-

shaped flasks in the form of dates
and grape clusters clearly advertise

their contents.
The decoration found

on pyxides is very elegant

and refined, with slender
palmettes and garland

swags. It relates these
vessels to Ennion’s

cups and jugs, and some

scholars believe that they
may have been made in

the same workshop.
Numerous

scent

bottles (as in fig.
8)
have

survived from antiquity,

perhaps because they were

often placed in burials as

gifts to the deceased. The

moulds used in the manu-

facture of these flasks were
frequently made in two parts, but

more complex moulds of three or

more parts were also used.

Identifying glass

workshops
Our understanding of how
mould-blown glass was designed

and manufactured is hampered by

the lack of archaeological evidence

from glass workshops that can be
dated to the 1st century AD. Very
few fragments of glass moulds

have survived, and those that do

often date to later periods. With

little evidence from glass moulds,
therefore, archaeologists and art

historians often look at the design

of the glass vessels themselves
to determine where they may
have been made. Small design

features such as the manner in

which a handle is shaped and

attached, how a rim
is fashioned or a

foot coiled on, all

are clues that help us
identify the products

that may have been
made within the same
workshop.

One glass

scholar identi-
fied vessels

from a work-
shop based

upon the man-
ner in which

their handles

were added.
Named the

‘Workshop of the

Floating Handles’, these pieces are

associated by the way the handle

is attached at the rim of a vessel,
then drawn down and flattened

at the bottom. Remarkably, the
base of the handle is intentionally

unattached and ‘floats’ above the

surface of the glass. In many in-

stances, the delicate handles have
broken off, so they are assigned to

this workshop by comparing pat-

terns to identical pieces in other

collections with handles intact.

LEFT:

Fig. 6 Lotus-

bud beaker (64.1.10

RIGHT:
Fig. 8 Scent

bottle (50.1.8.1

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

SlitKvittMilaYlitw

zt L A fi

v*4 kill titkiugit
s

g/.4
6
4

-• •

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

14
ROMAN GLASS

Each of the vessels made in this

workshop has a unique shape and

design; if the flattened handles
had not survived on some ex-

amples, this workshop might not

have been identified.
A group of cobalt blue vessels

(fig. 9) can be linked to the same

workshop by the design of their
distinctive wishbone handles with

pinched glass trails, and a foot
formed by a thick coil of glass. The

vessels were made during the 3oos
AD, and scholars believe that this

workshop was located somewhere
in the region of the eastern

Mediterranean.

Souvenirs
In antiquity, as today, vessels were
made as souvenirs to commemo-
rate a specific event or personal

journey.
Religious pilgrimages were

commemorated by the pilgrim

with the purchase of a mould-

blown vessel designed with
religious symbols, either Christian

or Jewish. Most of the vessels with
religious symbols were hexagonal

or octagonal, and a cross or
menorah often decorated one or

more of the vessels’ sides. These

vessels were often formed as

pitchers or large flasks. They could
have held holy water or oil, or they

could have been used to pour wine
in a ceremony.
Sports cups depict gladiators

in combat or chariots racing in

competition. Just as today’s sports
fans buy memorabilia related to

a team or individual, so did the

ancient Romans. The individual

gladiators are sometimes identified

by name, as are the teams of
horse-drawn chariots. The

majority of the mould-

blown vessels related to
sports competitions are

drinking cups.
Gladiators

were

the star athletes of the

ancient world. They

were befriended by

emperors and senators,

their achievements were
recorded in historical

texts, and their fans
scrawled their names as
graffiti on the walls of

cities. Gladiators were

immortalised by their

depictions in ancient art
— wall paintings, marble

reliefs, statues, and

vessels made in a variety of

materials.
Today’s Formula One

and NASCAR races

attract the same kind of

fan base as chariot racing did in

antiquity. Chariot drivers and

their horses were known, and

teams were named for animals or

mythical creatures that embodied

strength and prowess, just as

sports teams are today. Chariot
teams were also identified by

colours. Ancient writers have

written about the Greens and the

Blues, for example.

Fighting gladiators pair off

on the wine cup in fig. io, and

they are identified by name. The

armour worn by the gladiators

identifies their combat specialty.

The helmets, shields, and weapons

were each designed for a specific
type of combat.

Most of the cups were made

with three-part moulds, one

section for the base and two

sections for the sides. It was
common practice for the mould

makers to put a decorative palm

frond where the two side moulds

joined in order to conceal the seam
line that showed in the glass when

the vessel was inflated. A similar

tactic of using palm fronds to

conceal mould seams was followed

by Jason, Meges, and Neikais,

glass artisans who, like Ennion,
added their name to their mould

designs.

One type of drinking cup is

inscribed in Greek with the words

`KATAXAIPE KAI EYOPAINOY’
(Rejoice and be merry). Below

two horizontal lines, palm
fronds form a wreath above
the inscription, while a

chevron pattern below two
horizontal lines decorates

the bottom of the cup. The

words of the phrase are

divided between the two

halves of the glass mould, and

the mould maker concealed

the seams by adding vertical

palm fronds at the junction

of the two mould halves. This

use of vertical palm fronds to

ABOVE:

Fig.
9

Cobalt blue jug with

wishbone handle

T.59.1.194

RIGHT & BELOW:

Fig. ioa & b Wine

cup together with
a drawing of the

design running

round it 154.1.84.1

ROMAN G LAS S

RIGHT:
Fig.
ua

Square bottle
[66.1.168]

RIGHT:
Fig. sib

Underside

of the square

bottle. Situated
within a series
of letters that

fill the corner
is a standing

figure most likely

Mercury, Roman

god of commerce.
[66.1.168]

conceal mould seams can be seen

on other beakers with different

inscriptions and shapes, which

suggests that all of these beakers
may have been produced in the

same workshop.

Mould-blown glass for

the marketplace
When materials needed to

be shipped across the Roman

world, mould-blown glass ves-

sels became a natural solution
for merchants. Because mould-

blown vessels could be made

to the same size and had a con-

sistent interior volume, goods

such as olive oil and wine were
frequently shipped in them. For

the customer, glass bottles en-

forced governmental standards

of weight and volume. One could

see how much oil or wine the

bottle contained, and the seller

had no opportunity to cheat the
consumer. While the majority

of these bottles are four-sided,

others were designed to imitate
the wooden barrels and clay ves-

sels that were also used to trans-

port goods.
Those responsible for making

the moulds for bottles used to

ship materials usually chose to
keep the sides unadorned, and to

decorate the bases with identify-

ing symbols or groups of letters.

The figure of Mercury was often

chosen as a decorative emblem.

There is great variety among

the base designs, and consum-

ers undoubtedly looked at these

symbols to identify their pre-
ferred brands when making their

selections in the market. Similar

bottles used today have applied

labels identifying the contents,
but we have no evidence that

such labels were employed in an-
tiquity.
Many square bottles are

decorated on the underside with

an image of Mercury, Roman
god of commerce. Situated

within a series of letters that fill

the corner is a standing draped

figure, most likely the god

himself (fig. xib). This seems

quite appropriate because such
bottles were used to transport

goods throughout the empire.
Within a series of letters that

fill the corners is a draped figure

seated on an armchair.

Many of the finest of Ennion’s

surviving works from both

public and private collections are

on view at The Corning Museum

of Glass in the exhibition
Ennion

and His Legacy: The Mold-
Blown Glass of Ancient Rome

on show until January
2086

(see

Diary on page
32).
Two previous

exhibitions
Ennion: Master

of Glass
at The Metropolitan

Museum of Art, New York

City; and
Made by Ennion
at

The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

inspired this exhibition and

have focused much-deserved

attention on Ennion, one of the

most important glass artisans in

the ancient Roman world.
Blowing glass into moulds

continues to be a manufacturing

process to this day, and honours

a tradition that began with the

Romans about
2,000

years ago.

Karol B Wight, PhD is President

and Executive Director of The

Corning Museum of Glass.

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

AMERICAN GLASS

Getting to know American glass

his ispersonal

journey

t
g
al.

ex-

plored

the Robert

Charleston Memorial Lec-

ture (6 May) accompanied
by 50 slides and a table-

top display of American

glass. I began by ex-

plaining that the earliest
known glassmakers were

three Germans, Cas-
par Wistar (1739-52),
Henry William Stiegel

(1764-74) and John Fred-

erick Amelung (1743-98),

who set up factories in what

is now called Wistarburgh, New

Jersey, South of New York. Wistar
and Stiegel made mainly window

glass and bottles in a greenish
poorly fined metal. They are only

positively known by single pieces,
Wistar, a bottle with the initials

of his son Robert, and Stiegel an
English style opaque twist goblet

for the marriage of his daughter

with engraving attributed to La-

zarus Isaacs from Bristol. Both

are now in the Corning Museum
of Glass. Amelung, who took over
the Stiegel glasshouse, is know

from a number of engraved pieces

in a better quality glass and the ex-

tensive investigation of his glass-
house.
What happened next is

greatly influenced by American
resentment of the heavy tax

burden imposed from London.

It led to the Declaration of

Independence in
1776
and the

banning of all English glass

imports. The demand for English
high quality window glass, bottles

and tableware was to some extent
met by smuggling, but it planted

the seeds of the new industry.

Spillman’ tells us that of
63
glass

factories in operation in the
United States between
1790
and

182o more than half failed in the
first few years.

But this begins the traditional

collectors’ period and most at-
tention has focussed on domestic
by

David
C

Watts
Honorary

Vice-President

The Glass Circle
Imag
e
cour
tesy
o
f
Green
Va
lley
Auc
t
ions

VA.

LEFT TOP TO

BOTTOM:
Fig. 1. Pocket

flask attributed to

Amelung based

on the ‘Checkered
Diamond’

decoration. 18th

century
Fig. 2.

Bottom hinge

mould, early 19th

century.
Fig. 3. Three tier,

36 light (now

electrified) cut

glass chandelier in

the Independent
Church, Gloucester,

Mass., made by

Thomas Cains

South Boston Flint
Glass Works, MA,

in 1824.

Glass Circle
News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

AMERICAN GLASS

ware. Initially this

was free-blown
kitchenware,

pans, jugs etc.,

in a greenish
bottle glass

and pocket
flasks

and

decorative
bottles. (fig.

I) Both were

made using a
bottom hinge

mould

carry-

ing an embossed

decoration

with

patriotic sentiments
or commercial advertis-

ing. The bottles have a finish

to the neck whereas the flasks

tend to be left rough. The devel-

opment of the side-hinge mould

(fig. z) with two or three sections

allowed larger and more three-di-
mensional pieces to be blown such

as decanters and jugs. But, like the
bottom hinge vessels, these tended

to be patterned all over to disguise

the poor quality of the glass.

The import ban hit the Bristol

glass industry hard with numerous
closures. This may explain

the arrival from the Phoenix

glassworks of Thomas Cains in

1812. He set up his own factory in
South Boston in 182o and is famed

as being the first to introduce

glass making with lead glass. His
tableware is characterised by the
use of applied chain ornament

and rigaree reminiscent of the

Ravenscroft period. As well as

tableware he also made chandeliers
(fig. 3). Cains also used the hand-

pressed lemon-squeezer foot, a

device probably brought from

England (fig. 4).
By 1830 the blowing skills of

American glassmakers matched

those on the Continent but a new
American invention, the machine

press, changed its direction in a

fundamental way. Its exact date

is uncertain, but probably about

1825 and its origin linked to John
P Bakewell of the
Pittsburgh
Flint Glass Manufactory

who took out a patent
for an ‘improvement
in making furniture

knobs’ (fig. 5). A
lead glass was
required for the

pressing and there

was no shortage of

experienced carvers

to make the moulds.

Eventually,

each

glasshouse had its own

mould-maker who also

contributed many of the

designs. A team of four

or five semi-skilled workers

could now make 6o-ioo items

an hour. Cheap tableware became

available to ordinary families for

the first time.

Other firms quickly adopted the

press. Plates, bowls, comports and

other items flooded the market.

They are characterised by overall
patterns, usually with a stippled

infilling of the plain areas to mask

flaws in the moulding. For collec-
tors, salts and cup plates (fig. 6)

have proved particularly attractive.

Over 700 different patterns of
cup plate have been identified and

there are many modern copies,

some obviously so, being smaller,
and much lighter with a smooth

rim and often in coloured glass. Attractive

lighting

was

transformed by the introduction

of pressed glass candlesticks,
notably with an ornamented

column stem or the much-

favoured dolphin (fig. 7). These

were made in two parts, the sconce
and the body, produced in opal,
blue, green or uranium yellow, that

could be joined together in any

combination by means of a dab

of hot glass known as a wafer. Oil

lamps were initially hand blown
and of similar designs to those
made in England. They developed

into hand-blown fonts mounted
on ornamental pressed bases and

eventually separately pressed

both fonts and bases in a range of
colours and designs that could be

LEFT:

Fig. 4.
New

Bedford Glass
Museum study

area.

BELOW LEFT:

Fig. 5.
Glass

expert, Art Reed

demonstrating the

pressing machine.

ABOVE & RIGHT,
TOP DOWN:

Fig. 6.
Rare cup

plate depicting

Queen Victoria

and Prince Albert.

Lead glass. Probably
Boston and

Sandwich, MA,
c. 1839.

Diam. 98 mm.

Fig. 7.

Replica dolphin
candlestick in

uranium glass. Note

the wafer joining
the sconce to the

body. Moulded with
S.G.M. on the base

for Sandwich Glass

Museum.

Ht. 163 mm.

Fig. 8.
Sandwich

style vase and

lamp, both made
from the same

pressed paraison
and mounted by

Art Reed on a

hand-pressed lemon
squeezer base.

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

AMERICAN GLASS

RIGHT:
Fig. 9.

Tumbler by Duncan

and
Miller, PA.

copper stained ‘But-

ton Arches’ pattern

shallowly engraved

for the Atlantic City

Exhibition of 1909.

joined by the same mix and match

process. The paraison produced

by a pressing could be developed
into several different articles by
the glassmaker (figs 8 or 9). Before

the end of the century elaborate

parlour and banquet lamps in cut

overlay glass, often on tall metal or
blown stems, represented the top

end of the range.
The second half of the i9th cen-

tury saw major developments. In

1864 Thomas Leighton, who had
already established his name mak-

ing triple overlay cut glass that

introduced gold ruby for the first
time, invented a new lime glass for

pressing. It replaced the old lead

glass, was cheaper to found and
quicker setting, cutting the cost of

pressed glass by four. It heralded

a boom period when pressed ta-
bleware was mass-produced in

every conceivable colour and de-
sign. Prominent

among the fac-

tories Hobbs
Brockunier,

where Leighton

became Works

Manager, became

the largest in

America. A print
of 1879 shows
eight

presses

and five chairs at
work round three
furnaces.
Apart from

the opaque twist

by Stiegel, men-

tioned earlier, the
known free-blown

drinking glasses are

an undistinguished lot, fre-

quently with round funnel bowls

on a heavy short stem with sim-
ple knopping plus the occasional
drawn trum-

pet. The rea-

son is that

tankards were

the predomi-

nant drinking

vessels, mostly

non-glass.

Blown tumblers,

also known as
flips from their
use for cock-

tails, became a
major drink-

ing vessel and

were made in

millions. A few

were engraved.

Press-moulded

drinking

glasses

were slow to appear, mainly be-

cause sharp edges to the rims were

not overcome until the 184os.

However, they soon became

LEFT:
Fig. 10.

Cut
lead glass

‘Punch Bowl’ made

by the Sweeny Flint

glass Works, PA in

1844 as
a

memo-

rial for the grave of
Michael Sweeney,

the
firm’s

owner. Ht.

c. isoo cm. Now
in

the Oglebay Glass

Museum, WV.

RIGHT:
Fig.
11.

Table setting with

press moulded green
gilded tableware

and elaborate centre-
piece, blown goblets

with pressed stems,
189os. Cambridge

Glass Museum, OH

RIGHT:

Fig.
12a & 12b.

Two
punch
bowls

and cups. Left, press

moulded and gilded
by Duncan Miller

Glass Co., PA., 1908.
Duncan and Miller

Museum. Right,

brilliant cutting of

green overlay glass
by Dorflinger, PA.

c. 1890. Cut Glass
Museum.

AMERICAN GLASS

dominant and were produced in

an endless range of designs, some-
times as part of a more extensive

suite of tableware. In the 189os the
firm of George Duncan in Pitts-

burgh designed a pressed tumbler
called Button Arches. The lower

part had the pressed design and
the upper clear part was copper-

stained red. It became popular
for lightly engraved souvenirs and

momentos (fig. 9).
Upmarket cut lead crystal was

made by several firms, particularly

the Ritchie Flint Glass Works

(1835-1837) which made elegant

cut drawn flutes, more than a
match for English styles, and the

Sweeny Flint glass Works (1845-

186o), both in Wheeling. The
latter produced table suites cut

in the heavy Germanic fashion.

Sweeny is most noted for a

stemmed cut punch bowl, 5 ft. tall,
made in 1844 as a memorial to its

owner, Michael Sweeny (fig. to).
The Cambridge Glass Museum
displays a table elegantly set for

a meal with its pressed tableware

and blown goblets with pressed

stems (fig.
II).

By about 1876 several firms

were making the new brilliant

cut glass. (figs. ma & tab) It is re-
markable for the depth and detail

of the all-embracing designs on

thickly-blown fine crystal blanks.

For consistency and quality it is
undoubtedly the finest cut glass

ever made. Of an estimated one

thousand producers the firm of

TG Hawkes of Corning, NY, be-
came prominent, winning prizes

at the 1889 Paris Exposition for
two patterns named Grecian and

Chrysanthemum. In 1903 Hawkes
teamed up with Frederick Carder

to found the world famous Stue-

ben Company that survives to this

day. At the 1893 World’s Colum-

bian Exposition in Chicago, The
Libbey Glass Company of Toledo,

also still extant, carried off the top

awards for cut glass with their Co-
lumbia and Isabella patterns. But

it was prohibitively expensive and
by 1910 pressed glass had got its
revenge. No more than a hundred

cutters had survived.

Another development, involv-

ing two Englishmen, was the in-
troduction of shaded ruby glass.

On 24 July 1883, Joseph Locke of

the New England Glass Co. pat-

ented a clear glass shaded yellow

to ruby which he called Amberina

(fig. 13). A month later, Frederick S

Shirley of the Mount Washington
Glass Co. patented a similar glass
which he called Peach Amberina.

Lengthy litigation over the name
resulted in it being renamed Rose

Amberina. All such glass is now

generally called Amberina. Then

in 1886, Frederick S Shirley pat-
ented an opaque uranium glass

shaded to red which he called Bur-
mese (after the robes of Burmese

monks). This glass was made un-

der licence by Thomas Webb and

renamed Queen’s Burmese after a

set presented to Queen Victoria. A

variant shaded glass with the ura-
nium replaced by pale copper blue

was called Peachblow. Perhaps
because of the name it became im-
mediately popular and versions of

it, blue and otherwise, all became

called Peachblow (fig. 14), a name
that endures in America to the

present day.

David Watts is the founder Editor

of
Glass Circle News

and edited

Issues Nos
1-126.

Endnotes
Spillman, Jane Shadel (1983)

Pressed Glass
1825-1925. Corning

Museum of Glass

BELOW LEFT:

Fig. 13. Hand

blown
Amberina

pitcher. Pilgrim

Glass Works, WV.

c. 196o.

Ht. 10.5 cm.

BELOW:

Fig. 14.
A selection of

Peachblow glass by

Hobbs Brockunier,
OH.
The two items

(bottom left) with

coloured linings

are extremely rare.
Late 189os. Oglebay

Glass Museum,

WV.

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

Graham
Fisher
MBE

RIGHT:
Fig.

The proposed

site for the new

facility to house

the Stourbridge

Collection
and more.

This view from the

canal shows what

was,
until zoos,
the

site of the
Stuart

Crystal glass
works.

RIGHT: Fig. 2

Canalside view
of Plowden &

Thompson/Tudor

Crystal. The

truncated cone on

the right is thought
to be the only

remaining cone
that

is
still used for its

original purpose of
making
glass.

BELOW:
Fig.
3

An artist’s

impression of the
proposed new

facility.

NEW HOME

A new home for glass

gm
,
he Glass Circle

meeting on 14

April 2015 saw

an examination

of Stourbridge Glass delivered

by two people of divergent

backgrounds, and hence divergent
perspectives, yet which were
mutually complementary in their

narrative.
Kari Moodie opened the

evening. She is Keeper of Glass

and Fine Art for Dudley Museums
Service and custodian of the
renowned Stourbridge Glass

collection currently on display,
in part at least, at Broadfield
House Glass Museum (BH) in

Kingswinford.
Following on from her erudite

overview of the nature of the
collection and its significance, it
fell to me to illustrate the proposals

for its relocation. I introduced
myself as a writer and broadcaster

specialising in inland waterways
with a passion for glass; ostensibly
a curious combination but there is

an explanation.

I was pleased to declare my

appreciation to Kari in supporting
my appointment some years ago

as an Outreach Worker, which

enabled me to combine my parallel
lines of interest — the Stourbridge
Canal runs through the heart of the
eponymous glass industry, there’s

the explanation — before then

describing how I was appointed

as a Trustee of the British Glass

Foundation (BGF). For reasons

that will become evident I felt it
necessary to enlarge upon the BGF

itself prior to expanding on its

proposals.
The BGF is entirely independent

and purely philanthropic with
none of its Trustees receiving

a penny piece in remuneration.

Donate a tenner to us and that

same tenner goes in full to ‘The

Cause: BGF is also apolitical so
it is with a flat bat I relate the
reaction to that day in
2009
when

out of the blue, at least for most of
us, came reports announcing the

proposed closure of BH as part of

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

NEW HOME

Q
o

ci
I

a cost-cutting exercise.

At the time I was a broadcaster

with
102.5
The ‘Bridge radio and

in that capacity attended a rather
tetchy meeting at Wordsley
Community Hall in which the

Powers that Be
faced a critical,

perhaps even hostile, audience.

To me, two facts quickly became

apparent; the
Powers that Be
did

not appear to appreciate the value

of the collection and they certainly
underestimated people’s affection

for it. The meeting closed amidst
mutterings of dissatisfaction and,

whilst I am being a trifle simplistic

here for brevity, it was out of the
ensuing chaos that the BGF arose.

Who they?
I hear you ask.

We are a disparate bunch with

little in common save an interest

in glass and the English language,
and even then some of my

colleagues have the better accent
for it. However, working alongside

other groups and enthusiasts we

quickly established our credentials

in helping bring together under a

common cause the likes of Friends

of Broadfield House, the Glass
Association, the Contemporary
Glass Society and, of course, the

Glass Circle – with apologies and

salutations to the many more I
have not named.
I was appointed with a remit
for PR and Communications

and felt it essential that we
quickly established lines of

communication. Thus was born
GlassCuts,
our informal

ad hoc
email

bulletin — which has grown like

topsy and now spans the globe — in

addition to other publications that

I drew to the meetings attention

which have helped in promotion or

raising funds.
GlassCuts
is available

free of charge via our website.

Others involved are BGF

Chairman Graham Knowles,

CEO of the Hulbert Group,

Dudley. He is a benefactor to

Broadfield House Glass Museum,

with part of his glass collection on
ABOVE LEFT:

Fig.

Items made during

the
2012
Portland

Vase Project. The

replica vase, an

amphora version

and the replica
Auldjo Jug. Centre

front is the replica
base disc. All of

these will be housed

in the new facility,
having been granted

on permanent loan
by Ian Dury.

ABOVE:
Fig.
5

A Portland Vase

that didn’t quite

make the grade

due to a defective

handle; the handle

was ground away

and the blank

re-fashioned as The

Olympic Vase. This

will be housed in the

new facility, having
been granted on

permanent loan by
Ian
Dury.

LEFT:
Fig. 6

Cloak bottle by
Allister Malcolm,

part of author’s

collection. Allister

Malcolm’s vibrant

work contributes to
the surivival of the

Stourbridge glass

industry.
loan to them. He is also President

of Friends of Broadfield House

Glass Museum. Meriel Harris is a

career consultant with an interest
in fine art and cricket, amongst

other things, and maintains order

over our finances in her capacity as

Treasurer.
Allister Malcolm is resident

artist at BH and brings a practical

acumen to the table. He is also

a dab hand at raising funds by

way of ingenious projects such
as
The World’s Longest Glassmaking

Demonstration
and his
Celebrity

Doodles
Project. David Williams-

Thomas was the last Chairman
and Managing Director of Royal

Brierley Crystal (formerly Stevens

& Williams). His wealth of
experience meant that upon his
retirement as Trustee recently we

were delighted when he accepted
our invitation to be the first BGF

Patron. Secretary Lynn Boleyn is
not a Trustee but does a fine job in

all the seccy-things and, as a former

local Councillor, knows how to
navigate the intricate corridors of

power without getting us hung up

on the coat hooks of politics that

adorn their walls.

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

NEW HOUSE

RIGHT:
Fig.
7

The Crystal Mile

is a walk along the

Town Arm of the

Stourbridge Canal,

which was the

spine of local iron

and glassmaking
sites.

BELOW:
Fig.
8

Delightful depiction
of a ‘chair’ of

glassworkers at
Stuart
Crystal.

And that’s us. Pretty thin on the

ground, you might think. Hence
the imperative for me to indicate
how such a small but determined

group punches well above its
own weight. As testament to this,

within the space of just a few
months we had developed from

a collective of enthusiasts whom

no-one had heard of (nor, in some

cases, wanted to speak to — one
key official declined to even meet

us) to being seated at the top table

as an integral part of proceedings

(where that same key official now

sat alongside us). Which is quite
amazing
per se;
as our Chairman is

oft inclined to say: ‘We don’t own
the bat and ball (the collection)

the pitch (the site of the proposed
new facility) or the players (staff).

We therefore have to rely upon

our integrity as being key to our

contribution.
BGF has striven to engage

actively across the board in order
to

underscore its credentials.

Witness its support of the
International Festival of Glass,

the Hagley Hall Gala Afternoon,

the 2012 Portland Vase Project,
the Webb Corbett Heritage

weekend and archeological dig,
Allister Malcolm’s projects,

The George Woodall and

John Northwood Plaques plus
numerous talks, shows, fairs and

much, much more. Then there

are our links with organisations
in the UK and beyond including
the British Museum, Corning

Museum of Glass in New

York State and the Frauenau
Glass Museum in Germany.

The reason for all this, and

why BGF must be promoted so
vigorously? Here’s the punchline:

whenever one applies for a grant
— as we have been doing — for

whatever reason and however

noble the cause, the first question

that is inevitably asked is: ‘What is

the degree of your public support?’
It may appear incongruous, but

the money in itself is of no great
use. Get the public support and
the money tends to follow. Get
the money first without public

support and, as has been seen in

so many instances
(cf.

‘The Public’

at West Bromwich), the project is

ultimately doomed.
I reckon we have amply

demonstrated our public support,

so when we get the money here’s
how we propose to channel both.
Down by the Stourbridge Canal

at Wordsley (you can see where
I come in now) there is a derelict
building opposite Red House
Glass Cone that was once home to

Stuart Crystal. Eminent high-end

producers, they supplied work for
White Star Line, owners of
RMS

Titanic.
Sadly, the firm closed in

zoo’ with the loss of zzo jobs.

This signalled the last of the

‘heavyweights’ that caused many
to erroneously conclude the

Stourbridge Glass industry was
finished. This is simply wrong.

As with Mark Twain, reports

of its death have been greatly
exaggerated, a point I am always
keen to clarify with reference

to the likes of the Studio Glass
Movement as represented by
Allister Malcolm, specialist

manufacturers, decorators, heri-

tage centres and any number of

aspects indicative of an industry

that, albeit now not what it was a

mere generation ago, still thrives as

it adjusts to the New Order of the

21st Century.

So, a former glass works of

huge provenance almost at the

epicentre of the Stourbridge Glass

industry and directly adjacent to

an instantly recognisable tourist

attraction with ready access via
canal and road. What a spot for a

new home to house a wonderful

assemblage of the old: and, indeed,

of the new Ian Dury, Coordinator
for the
2012
Portland Vase Project,

has already offered the resulting

artifacts, which he owns, to go on

show here.
And that, in a nutshell, is it.

More than five years after the
threats to Broadfield House, it

is still open, dare one suggest
largely as a result of BGF and the

Powers that Be
negotiating a stay of

execution until BGF could secure

a new home for the collection. We
have set our hand to the plough

of accomplishing our goal and we
will not stop until the end of the

furrow.
It is our intention to create a

world class facility that not only

shows the majesty of our local glass

but will be an inspiration to those

who seek to develop and continue
the proud traditions for which

Stourbridge is justifiably world
famous.

In thanking the Glass Circle

for its hospitality, support and

friendship I conclude by inviting
readers to share our vision at wwvv.

britishglassfoundation.org.uk

Graham Fisher, MBE, is a writer

and broadcaster and sits on the West
Midland Waterways Partnership,
part of the Canal & River Trust
that superseded the former British

Waterways.

Glass Circle News Issue
138 Vol. 38 No. 2

REPORTS

Glass Circle study tour

A
n enthusiastic group

/n.of 20 Glass Circle

members gathered in
Dearborn, Detroit, on 12

May to begin the USA

study trip organised by

our Chairman John P

Smith.
Our study of Ameri-

can culture started

promptly the next
morning with a trip,

by traditional yellow

school bus, to the nearby

Henry Ford Museum.

Named after its founder,

the noted automobile

industrialist Henry
Ford (1863-1947), the

museum and associated

Greenfield Village fulfills
Ford’s desire to preserve

items of national and

international significance

and in particular repre-

sents the industrial and

technological innova-

tions from the 17th cen-

tury onwards. The site is
now home to a vast array

of significant buildings,

machinery, exhibits, and

Americana. The collec-
tion contains many rare

items including John F
Kennedy’s presidential

limousine, the Wright

Brothers’ bicycle shop,

and the Rosa Parks bus.

Of specific interest to

GC members were glass
ribbon manufacturing
machines (for making

machine-blown glass

ornaments), collections

of American glass and
the Liberty Craftworks

Glass Studio. We were
privileged to be given a

tour of the studio by Josh
Wojick, who, with his

team, creates glass based

on historical American

designs.
That evening we had a

private view of Habatat

Gallery’s 43rd Interna-

tional Glass Invitational

Award Exhibition in
Detroit. Gallery owners
Ferdinand and Corey

Hampson were wonder-

ful hosts and it was a

fantastic opportunity

for us to see the larg-
est contemporary glass

exhibition in America
including work by artists

such as Dale Chihuly,
Peter Bremers and Judy

Chicago.
On the Thursday we

were welcomed by Jutta
Page, Curator of Glass

and Decorative Arts,
to the Glass Pavilion at

Toledo Museum of Art.

From the founding of the

museum in 1901, Toledo

was already known as
the Glass City due to

the concentration and

innovative glass industry

based in and around the

RicHT:Jutta

Page,
Curator

of Glass and
Decorative
Arts, to

the Glass
Pavilion

at Toledo
Museum

of Art.

Behind her

is Campiello

del Remer

Chandelier

# 2
by Dale

Chihuly.
original

configuration
1996, this

configuration
2006

BELOW:

Glass for

sale made
by Liberty

Craftworks

Glass Studio

at Greenfield

Village.
BELOW

LEFT:
Toledo

Museum of

Art’s Glass

Pavillion.

All exterior
walls consist

of large

panels of

curved

glass. It was

SANAA,
Ltd

BELOW:

Glass Circle

members at
the Habatat

Galleries.

Foreground

Peter

Bremers

Connected

BELOW
RIGHT:

Only the

Atoms are
Immortal

No
2
by

Clifford

Rainey

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2
23

RE PORTS

area. Jutta also explained
that contemporary glass

has a strong connec-

tion with Toledo as the

Studio Glass Movement

began in the grounds

of the museum. In

1962 Harvey Littleton

received the support of

director Otto Wittmann

to explore ways artists
might create works from

molten glass in their

own studios, rather than

in factories. Opened in

2oo6, the postmodern

Glass Pavilion was
designed by Tokyo

architects SANAA Ltd.
Exterior and interior

walls consist of large

panels of curved glass,
resulting in a transpar-

ent structure that blurs

the boundaries between
the spaces and allows for

wonderful opportuni-
ties to display glass from

the collection. The glass

collection comprises
more than
5,000
works

of art from ancient to
contemporary times and

the pavilion also houses

artist studios, demon-

stration areas and spaces
for temporary events.

The museum contin-

ues to acquire outstand-

ing glass for the displays,

both in the pavilion and

alongside fine arts in the

main museum building.

One recent acquisition
that Jutta showed the

group was a stunning
spiral form chandelier
made in 1810-ii for Brun-

swig Castle, the summer
palace of Napoleon’s

brother, Jerome Bona-

parte (1784-186o). The
makers Werner & Mieth,

Berlin, considered it to
LEFT:

Chandelier

made for

Jerome

Bonaparte by
Werner &

Mieth, Berlin

s8io

MIDDLE
LEFT:

The signature

of Louis

Comfort
Tiffany

BELOW:
Window
in

the
north wall

of the First

Congrega-
tional
Church,

Toledo, OH

created by

Louis Comfort

Tiffany
be the most beautiful

chandelier they created.
Its design may be at

tributed to the archae-

ologist and theoretician
Hans Christian Genelli

(1763-1823), as it relates
to a drawing in which

he ‘dissects the volute

shapes of a classical ionic
column.
Our visit to Toledo

included a chance to

see the Tiffany
&
Co.

stained glass windows
in the First Congrega-
tional Church. From an

earlier church the pews
and eight Tiffany & Co.

stained glass windows
of the 188os, in a high
Arts and Crafts style,

were incorporated into

the 1913 building. Further

Tiffany windows on
the north wall were

commissioned c.1927

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

REPORTS

depicting Truth, Justice,
the Ascension, Hope,

and Inspiration. As John
explained to the group,

Tiffany’s windows are
known for their jewel-

like layered construction

and re-enforced copper

leading, allowing for

greater depths of colour
and scale. Louis Comfort

Tiffany was so proud of
these windows he was

said to bring prospective

clients all the way from
NYC. to view them in

situ.
On Friday
15
May

a short flight took us

to Corning, New York

State, our home for the

next three days — no

study tour would be
complete without taking

in this important centre

of glass making. Many of

us took the opportunity

to familiarise ourselves

with Corning town,

exploring the numerous

antiques shops along
the main street. Much

of the visit centred on

the world-renowned
Corning Museum of

Glass (CMOG) starting
with the private view of

Ennion and His Legacy:

Mold-Blown Glass

from Ancient Rome led
by Karol B Wight (see

page ii). The museum
cares for and displays

the world’s best collec-
don of art and historical

glass so our schedule
was extremely full and

definitely rewarding. On

Saturday morning Re-
becca Hopman and Beth
Hylan took us behind

the scenes at the Rakow
Research Library and

Archive to see treasures

such as glass designs,
documents and rare

books. It was wonderful

to see items rescued from

the Corning floods of

197z including a copy of
the Mappae Clavicula,
a izth-century Latin

manuscript that presents

more than zoo recipes

for making various

substances used in the
decorative arts. This was

followed by a tour of

the exquisite European

glass collections in the

museum with Curato-
rial Assistant Alexandra

Ruggiaro. Key recent

acquisitions include
Venetian glass, English

candelabra and French

furniture.
In March CMOG

opened its new Contem-

porary Art and Design

wing and Kris Wetter-

lund, Director of Educa-
tion and Interpretation,

took us around what is
now the world’s largest

space dedicated to the

display of contemporary

art and design in glass.

The new wing features

more than 7o works

from the Museum’s

permanent collection,

including recent acquisi-
tions and large-scale

works that have never
before been on view.

Thematically curated gal-
leries, located around a

central structure shaped

in the form of Alvar
Alto’s iconic I93os bowls,

highlight objects that
refer to nature, the body,

history and material.

Artists represented by

large-scale works include

Tony Cragg, Katherine
Gray, Stanislav Libens4

and Beth Lipman to

name but a few.
We were also treated

to a glass-making dem-

onstration by CMOG’s
expert glassblower,

scholar, lecturer, and
teacher

William

Gudenrath.

An authority
on historical hot

glassworking techniques
from ancient Egypt
through to the Renais-

sance, William has
presented lectures and
demonstrations through-

out the world and

contributed to numerous

academic publications.

Personally it was amaz-

ing for me to finally
see

William at work, having

previously heard him
explain how glass in

museum collections was

made.
On Sunday Jane Spill-

man, former Curator at

CMOG, kindly returned
to show us the important

American glass col-

lections including the

development of me-

chanical press-moulding,

Comings cut-crystal

and the Carder Collec-
tion of glass designed by
Frederick Carder (1863-

1963) — a gifted English
designer who started

his career at Stevens &

Williams before manag-

ing the Steuben Glass

Works from its founding

in 1903 until 1932. That

evening we sampled

delicious local wines and
traditional, seasonal food
from the Corning area at

the Benjamin Patterson

Inn built in 1796.
On Monday we took

a coach journey through
upstate New York to

our next port of call,

the Brooklyn Museum.

Situated in the heart of

one of the most diverse,
creative, and exciting ur-

ban centers in the world,

the borough of Brooklyn,
the museum houses an

extensive and com-

prehensive permanent
collection that includes

ancient Egyptian mas-

terpieces, African
art, Euro-

pean painting,
decorative arts,

period rooms,

and contemporary art.

The group was given spe-
cial access to the galleries

and collections (closed to
the public on Mondays)

with Edward Bleiberg,

Curator, Egyptian, Clas-

sical, and Ancient Near
Eastern Art and Barry

R Harwood, Curator,

Decorative Arts. We

were able to examine

glass in the stores much,

BELOW:

17th century
vetro

filigrano

ewer made

in Venice
ABOVE:

Venetian

style wine

glass by Bill
Gundenrath

BELOW:
Bill

Gudenrath

displays his
mesmerising

and skilful

technique

in his cho-

reographed

making of

a Venetian

style goblet.

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2
25

REPORTS

of which is in the process

of being catalogued

and made available for

research on their website.
On Tuesday we spent

the whole day at the

Metropolitan Museum

(Met). Curator Elizabeth

Cleland took us behind

the scenes to
see
up close

a selection of glass from

the 50,000 objects in

the museum’s compre-
hensive and historically

important collection

of European sculpture

and decorative art. Of

particular note was a

glass monteith of 1700.
This is the Met’s earliest

example of flint glass

and is engraved with the

arms commemorating

the marriage of Wil-
liam Gibbs of Horsley

Park, Essex, and the
heiress Mary Nelthorpe,

inscribed with the name

of the groom and mor-

alising inscriptions in

Italian, Hebrew, Slavonic,

Dutch, French, and

Greek (such as ‘Fear God

and honor the King in

the main panel). A tour

of the galleries followed

with time spent in the

Wrightsman Galleries

for French decorative

arts, the Lehman Collec-
tion and the American
Wing with stunning
daylit exhibits of 17th

through to zoth-century

American glass. The Met

also has an extensive
reserve collection part

of which can be seen in
their open stores within
the museum. On the last

day of the tour many of
us revisited the Met. I

also visited the Museum
of the City of New York

which has a fabulous col-
lection of Tiffany Glass.

I would like to thank

the Glass Circle and its

members for providing

a generous bursary to

allow my participation

in this study trip. It was

enormously rewarding

and has given me op-
portunities for introduc-

tions and discussions

with eminent scholars
and professionals, and
promises to increase my

specialist knowledge of
and engagement with the

glass collections under
my care.
Rebecca Wallis

Curator, Ceramics &
Glass,

V&A Museum

Circle meetings

io March
David Burton’s talk on

antique sealed bottles is

given
in
full on page
6.

Co-hosts for the meeting
were: Laurence Trickey

and Tim Udall

14 April
The talk on Broadfield

House Museum by Kari

Moodie and Graham

Fisher is
on
page zo.

The host for the meeting

was: Tim Udall

6
May

David Watts’s Robert

Charleston Memorial
Lecture on American glass

is on page
16.

Co-hosts for the meeting

were: Andy McConnell

and Brian Clarke
9

June

Four engravers from

Utrecht by Anna Lameris

n
iamond-point

V engraving was used
in the Netherlands in

the 17th century, and
became an intellec-

tual pastime among elite

circles, but faded from
use in the 18th century.

Engraved glasses have

survived as treasured

specimens in families,
churches and among

guilds and corporations.

Large ceremonial covered

goblets were used as
loving cups but also used

on the installation of a
new guild member who

had to drink the entire

contents, often equiva-

lent to a bottle-full. The
installations were also

times when new mem-

bers gave such glasses to
the guilds, either glasses

that were new at the time
or ones that were already

old. As the period
progressed diamond-

point engraving died

away, work was done by a

smaller number of more

professionalised wheel-
engravers, so it is wheel-

engraved pieces that have

survived in most Dutch
cities, with Utrecht an

exception.

The four Utrecht

engravers shared stylistic

similarities. They all

worked on lead glasses;

inscriptions were usually

in a cartouche or shield
with heavily worked
tendril or acanthus-leaf

type borders, and similar

borders around the
rims. They often used a

gothic black-letter script
when other hands were

becoming more popular,

and this again was quite
heavily worked. When

working coats of arms

or pictures they used a
pictorial technique of
working a matte area

which functions as black

or shadow, where wheel
engravers use a more

graphic or linear mode of

representation.
The engravers Thomas

van Borckeloo and
Abraham Frederik van

Schurman worked to

commission, though one

or two pieces have come

down through their

own descendants. Van

Schurman had intel-

lectual antecedents in a

great-aunt who was an

intellectual prodigy co-

eval with Rembrandt and

of similar fame in their

day. Of the two Adrianus
Hoevenaar the younger

had a partly military

career and his work in-

cludes depictions of the

rulers of the Netherlands

in the Napoleonic period

and after. A detailed ar-
ticle on this subject will

appear in a subsequent
edition.

Anne Lutyens-Stobbs

The hosts for the meet-

ing were: Jay and Anne
Kaplan

ABOVE:

The Carder

Collection

at Corning
Museum of

Glass

BELOW:
A behind the

scenes view
was given

to the Glass
Circle visi-

tors to the

Metropoli-
tan Museum

NY of an

early flint
Monteith

c. 1700
Diamond

line

engraved

goblet signed

by Abraham
Frederik

van

Schurman

(1730-1783)

in
1757

‘A.F.a

Schuman

Sculpsit Ao

1757:

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

REVIEWS

Books

A Passion
for
Glass

The Dan Klein and

Alan J Poole Private

Collection of Mod-
ern Glass

Edited by Rose
Watban

NMS Enterprises

Ltd. National Mu-

seums Scotland.

Edinburgh 2015, £40

ISBN 978-1-905267-

83
–

5, 334 pp

n
an Klein and Alan

J Poole — both

individually and together
— have been two of the

most significant agents

of promotion, encour-

agement and develop-

ment in contemporary

glass in the UK over
the last 3o years. They
channelled their energy,

curiosity and creative
eye

into a collection of mod-

ern glass that is quite
remarkable, and that was

gifted to National Mu-

seums Scotland in 2009

and it is this collection
that is charted here.
Many makers will at-

test to Klein and Poole’s

approachability. They tell

tales of the encourage-

ment that they offered in

the development of their

career — encouragement
that was often reflected

in the purchase of a

piece. The pair bought
work by newcomer and

established maker alike,

and followed careers as

well as buying one-
offs that caught their

eye. So we see pieces

that trace the artistic

development of David
Reekie, Colin Reid,

Anna Dickinson, Tessa

Clegg, Steven Newell

and Angela Jarman over

a decade or more. But we

also see snapshots and

clusters of snapshots;
Keith Brocklehurst,

Galia Amsel, Jane Bruce,
A PASSION FOR GLASS

THE DAN KLEIN & ALAN J. POOLE

ORNATE COLLECTION Of MOOEILY GLASS

*
A.

Sabrina Cant, Heike
Brachlow, Dominic

Fon& and Transglass to

name a tiny number of

those represented. Plus a

heap of surprises; people

we’d forgotten, vaguely
remembered or missed

out on for one reason or

another.
The sheer number

of pieces presented
here — over 150 artists

— in good, clear images

packed into an easily

Arts and Crafts Stained

Glass
Peter Cormack

Yale Books, 354 pages

ISBN 978-0-300209-

709, £40 discount to
members (E5o RSP)
Published for the

Paul Mellon Centre

for Studies in British

Art

This
is a grand gar-

rulous book by the

foremost authority

on the subject. Peter

Cormack began his love

affair with the Arts and
Crafts movement while

Curator at the William

Morris Gallery. There,

during the 1970s and
80s he brought the work

of disregarded stained

glass artists — many of
them women — into the
handled but spacious

size make it a valuable

resource. The collection

consists mainly of work
made in the UK and Ire-

land, with a smattering
of international pieces,

which means that what
you have is the most
comprehensive view to

date of the sculptural

objects in glass made in
the UK since the 197os –

a unique perspective that
is not equalled by even

the V&A or Broadfield
House Glass Museum,

important though these

are. This collection gives
those who love contem-

porary glass today’s im-

mediate predecessors.
It is a perspective that

we don’t always see in
presentations of glass the
UK — a very personal

view, with the gaps and
preoccupations that

come with that. It is a

unique approach from

two people immersed in

spotlight that he felt they
deserved. His well-re-

searched commentary on
their work allowed oth-

ers to share his enthu-

siasm for their achieve-
ments. With support for

continuing research as

an independent scholar

since 2010, Cormack has
been able to examine the
the glass community that

comes from a sustained

period of looking, enjoy-

ing and buying contem-
porary glass objects. Seen

alongside the burgeoning

array of approaches that
include performance,

video and installation,
design and lighting in

glass that are a growing
part of the whole picture

of contemporary glass,

it’s a jigsaw piece that fits
neatly into place.

For a student this is

essential reading. For a

collector it’s an invalu-

able guide and personal
primer. For a maker in
the UK or Ireland, its a

family album that forms

an important part of the
collective story of who

we are and what we are

a part of. It should be on

all our bookshelves.

Victoria Scholes, an artist,

curator and writer based in

the north-west of England

,
1
n
1
n
•
nn
1

productive lives of artists

influenced as well as

trained by Christopher
Whall.

Initial chapters estab-

lish the place of Arts and
Crafts stained glass prac-

titioners of the 189os and

19oos as ‘building on the

acknowledged advances
in public taste achieved

by the Morris circle and
now able `to explore a

more personal integra-

tion of artistry and

craftsmanship’. Cormack

charts the personal trials

and eventual triumphs of
Whall’s gradual control

over the materials of his
craft. Early exhibitions

and commissions are

analysed here, Whall’s

search for the right

imagery and participa-
tion in exhibitions and

lectures from his ‘country

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

REVIEWS

Page
228

183
Charles

J Connick,
detail of
war

memorial

window
(1921)

First

Presbyterian

Church,
Greensburg,
Pennsylvania

studio workshop, the

converted coach house

and cowshed at Stone-
bridge’.
Cormack reveals the

efforts made by Whall’s

colleagues to interest

buying and commis-

sioning members of the
public. The formation

of the Arts and Crafts
Exhibition Society,

Century Guild and Art
Workers Guild at this

time contributed towards

the gradual acceptance

of their new vision while
many Guild and Society

members played an im-

portant role in educat-

ing a new generation

through craft courses in
London (Central School

of Art and Royal College

of Art), Birmingham,

Manchester and Glas-

gow.

New names featured

by Cormack at this

stage included Mary J
Newill, Charles March

Gere, Henry Payne,

Sidney Meteyard, Helen
Coombs, Heywood

Sumner, Sylvester Spar-
row and Walter Crane.

On the subject of church

attitudes, Cormack refers
pertinently to the Revd

AGB Atkinson who

contrasts the decadent

modern ecclesiastical
upholsterer’ with the

medieval artist who is a

‘master workman, mov-
ing amongst his men and

inspiring them with his
own ideals’. (1899)
The development of

Whall’s own work in

stained glass and that

of his ablest assis-
tants Louis Davis and
Reginald Hallward, is

described by Cormack
in some depth and we

are introduced to Mary
Lowndes, co-founder

of Lowndes and Drury

where so many fine win-
dows were fabricated. By
5900, Whall continued to

play a vitally important

part in the education

of a new generation of

artists with inspirational

teaching and a publica-

tion — his 1905 practical
handbook
Stained Glass

Work.
Students at this

time included Theo-

dora Salusbury, Margaret

Chilton, Gordon M
Forsyth and George E

Kruger.
Cormack then turns

his reader’s attention

to developments in
Birmingham, focusing

on the work of Henry
Payne, Richard Stubing-

ton, Bertram Lamplugh

and Florence Camm
before turning to Ireland

and the foundation of

The Tower of Glass by
Sarah Purser with Alfred
Child (one of Whall’s

students) in charge.

This fabricating studio
enabled fine work to be

made by Beatrice Elvery,
Ethel Rhind, Catherine

O’Brien and Wilhelmina
Geddes. Evie Hone who

also worked here has

not been included in

this context. However,
Harry Clarke

is briefly

mentioned before Cor-

mack moves the story to

Scotland and the work of
Robert Anning Bell, Al-

exander Strachan, Oscar

Paterson and Douglas

Strachan of whom he

writes:’With Douglas
Strachan, who can be

considered the foremost
British stained glass

artist of the generation

after Christopher Whall,

the Arts and Crafts ap-
proach to the design and

making of windows takes

on a distinctly modern

intensity. The result is

one of the last dramatic
flowerings of the figura-

tive tradition:
Cormack then pauses

to consider ‘Glazing

Schemes; the difficul-

ties encountered and

triumphs achieved with a

sequence of windows in

an architectural setting.

Christopher Whall’s

struggles with his
magnificent Lady Chapel

windows in Gloucester
Cathedral are recorded

here as well as Louis

Davis beautiful scheme

for St Colmon, Como-
nell, Ayrshire and finally

Douglas Strachan’s ‘Peace

Palace’ windows at The

Hague.

We are then taken

to America where Arts

and Crafts ideals were

fostered by the eloquence

of two Boston architects,

Ralph Adams Cramm

and Charles Collens who
both wanted good qual-

ity and original stained

glass
for their new

churches.

‘Religion and art

join in the demand for

stained glass that shall be
good from the stand-
point of art and religion;

the day of forgeries,

shams, sentimental

substitutes and patented
tours de force has passed

away and the field is clear

for a great restoration

which shall be strong

with the heritage of

the past, vital with the

impulses of the present

day’. (C Collins)

Cram had visited Eng-

land. He enjoyed meet-

ing Whall and had been
immensely impressed by

the Gloucester Cathedral

windows, commission-
ing Whall in 1907 to

create new stained glass
for All Saints Episco-

pal Church, Ashmont,

Massachusetts. The
American artist Charles

Connick admired this

work, describing the

‘white glass areas as

crisp flowers glistening

with frosty light’. In 1910
Connick visited Whall at
his studio workshop in

Ravenscourt Park where

he responded warmly to

the genial, friendly and

unhurried atmosphere’

more like `a. school than

a commercial factory.

Shortly after returning
to America, he opened

his own studio produc-

ing many fine brilliantly

coloured windows. He

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

THE JACOBITES

and their

DRINKING GLASSE
REVIEWS

is best known for the

‘Holy Grail’ window

(1919) in Procter Hall,
Princeton, New Jersey

and the stained glass

windows for the 1938
Heinz Memorial Chapel

in Pittsburgh.

Cormack continues

the story of Arts and

Crafts stained glass

with the work of the
younger generation

of artists (1900-1914),
many of whom made

their windows at

Lowndes and Drury’s

studio. Among then

were Whall’s daughter
Veronica, Edward
Woore, Rachel Tancock,

Arnold Robinson,

Joseph E Nuttgens,

Lilian Pocock, Joan
Fulleylove, Herbert

Hendrie, Margaret

Aldrich Rope, her cousin

Margaret Agnes Aldrich
Rope and Mabel Esplin.

Of the Birmingham

group, the TW Camm
Studio continued

working in their studio

at Smethwick, Henry
Payne ran his own

Guild in Amberley,

Gloucestershire and
Richard Stubington

continued teaching and
making windows. In

Ireland, Wilhelmina

Geddes created

astonishing, powerful

windows as did Douglas
Strachan in his splendid

studio in Scotland. The

story ends with John
Betjeman’s comments
taken from a

Spectator

article written in 1956
commending Geddes

window in Laleham
and noting ‘the truly

impressive east windows

and executed by Patrick

Reyntiens in Oundle

School Chapel … these

seem to me a landmark
in the use of colour, that

brilliant jewel-like colour

which only glass can

have, and which Strachan

and Christopher Whall

understood:
This is a wonderful

resource book, with

proper references
indicating the wide range

of Cormack’s research.

It is a scholar’s book.
Sadly there are no maps,
no lists of sites, no time

lines. These I had hoped

for. But guidebooks exist

elsewhere. No one other
than Peter Cormack

could have created these

fascinating, meandering

chapters.
The discount is avail-

able for three months
from 15 July and the pro-
mo code is Y1457. http://

yalepress.yale.edu/book.

asp?isbn=978o3oozo

9709 and enter the code
in the check-out process.

Caroline Swash, a stained

g
lass artist and writer and

former Leader of the Post

Graduate Courses, ‘Glass,
Fine Art and Architecture’

at Central Saint Martin’s
College of Art and Design

41111111111F

The Jacobites and their
Drinking Glasses, 3rd

edition

Geoffrey Seddon

Antique Collectors’

Club, 208 pp, f.28 to
members (RSP £35)

ISBN 978-1-85149-

795
–
9

I n 1995 I reviewed the

I first edition for
The Art

Newspaper.
This is the

third edition, in a larger

format redesigned with

the text in two columns,
better quality of the

colour plates, and easier
to read. It also has two

further chapters reflect-

ing further research since

1995.
The first thing to

say is that Dr Seddon
is a superb photogra-

pher, well served by his

printer, important, as
this book is all about im-

ages. His book is aimed

at two distinct markets,
the Jacobite enthusiast,

who needs the chapter

on 18th century drinking
glasses and their forms,

unlike the readers of this

magazine; and the glass

collector, who needs all
the help he can get on

Jacobite emblems and
symbols. This review will
concentrate on the latter

readership.
Many of the early

British glass collectors

and writers were keen
followers of the Jacobite

cause. This had two ef-
fects, one benign and the
other malevolent. The

benign effect was that

these glasses were much

discussed and illustrated.

However because of

this they became very
collectible and expensive,

extraordinarily so, and as

the engraving is relatively

crude they were easy
to fake: and faked they

were, and are.
The first two chapters

concern the history of
the Jacobite movement,

from the battle of Kil-

liecrankie in 1689, to the
battle of Culloden in

1746. The first rebellion,
in 1715, or uprising for

Catholic freedom as

the Scottish National-

ists might prefer, was

historically important

but probably did not

generate much glass of a
political or commemora-

tive nature; but see The Cycle Club mentioned

below founded in 1710.

The second rebellion,

in 1745, was a different

matter with the romance

of Charles Edward
Stuart, (Bonny Prince

Charlie). After Culloden,

when the army of Prince

Charles was obliterated

by the’Butcher’ Duke of

Cumberland and Charles

fled to France, helped

by Flora McDonald, he
remained, hovering in

the background, a pos-

sible rallying point for

supporters of the cause.
Chapter 3 concerning

the Jacobite clubs, is the

pivotal chapter in the
book. Following on the

work of our late mem-
ber Muriel Stevenson

during the last war, our
current member, Peter
Lole, has discovered

over 14o Jacobite clubs,
mainly in England, and

they all needed glasses.

The Cycle Club founded
by Sir Watkin Williams

Wynn, of Wynnstay

in north Wales, is the

most well-known of

these clubs, but Seddon
mentions the Society of

Sea-Sergeants as well as

societies in Rotterdam
and Boulogne.

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

REVIEWS

Skipping the excel-

lent chapter on English

drinking glass forms we

come to the chapter on
emblems, mottoes and
their meaning. From

the oak leaf to the star,

the thistle, the feath-

ers, the compass etc.

all is explained, as are
the mottoes. For those

who wish to understand
fiat, reddite, redeat,
redi, revirescit, reddas

incolumem, radiat, turno
tempus erit, floreat, ab

obice major, cognos-

cunt me mei, premium virtuitis, pro patria, and

many more, those of us

who have not had the

advantage of a classical
education need go no
further. The portrait

glasses and the source
material for the images

are also discussed in this
chapter.

The next chapter is

the real reason why the

book has been written,

the fruits of many hours

of research, and in many
ways the most conten-

tious. Dr Seddon has

examined and photo-

graphed 487 glasses and

analysed the results. He
has identified
5
prolific

engravers on stylistic

grounds, A B C D E,
and four other F G H

and I. This is all based
on close examination of

calligraphy, the method

of depicting roses, and

other means. There is
undoubtedly a lot of

sense in this: engrav-

ing, like handwriting,

is recognisable, but it is

quite difficult. I know

of several dealers with

Jacobite glasses who have

struggled to assign their

glass to a particular en-

graver. Also this reviewer

wonders whether all the
engravers A-I are dead

yet, although Dr Seddon

might dispute this. He
ialso discusses several

London engravers who

Are known to be working

at this time.
The next chapter dis-

cusses the Jacobite Rose,

what it ought to look
like, and what it signifies.

Also the significance of
none, one or two rose

buds in the engraving.
Chapters
9
and io

discuss ‘Amen glasses.

This, as I said zo years

ago, and will say again,
is the most riveting
part of the book. There

are just over 3o Amen

glasses currently known,

some with impeccable

provenance going back to

the i8th century, and all

extremely costly.

If one came on the

market today it might go

for less than £500,000,

but not much! They

have been studied by

experts in calligraphy,

and are all by the same
hand. Here each one is

photographed and ana-

lysed, and its provenance
discussed.

Work on these glasses

has unearthed several
fake Amen glasses, all
made by the same

engraver on genuine
i8th century glasses/The

Snakes in the Grass as

Seddon describes them.
There are also genuine
reproduction Jacobite
Glasses, not made to

deceive, but these are not

a problem. The fakes,
known as Ferguson

glasses, after the person

who ‘discovered’ them in
the I930s are quite good

copies, but the faker

made one fatal error, he

copied a glass from Bles’s

famous book without

realising that in one

of the illustrations the
image on the foot had

been reversed. The faker

inscribed the wrong side

of the foot!
In
5994 Peter Francis

from Belfast published a

paper in the Burlington
Magazine unmasking

a faker of Williamite

glasses, who conveni-

ently signed his work in

a hidden way, and who

worked towards the end

of the 19th century, and

a little later. This opened
up a complete can of

worms and we now

think that there are very
few genuine Williamite

glasses. This paper
caused some people to

think that this might

also be true of Jacobite

glasses. This led, in

1996, to a symposium,
organised by the Glass

Circle, ‘Judging Jacobite
Glass’ at the V&A. At

that time very, very few
non-Amen Jacobite

glasses had provenance
dating back before 191o.

As Seddon points out,

this conference spurred
researchers, particularly

Peter Lole, to delve deep

into archives and the
results of 59 years of la-

bour are published here.

Genuine Jacobite glasses
do exist.
The final chap-

ter might have been

published in our next

Journal, which has been
delayed during discus-

sions with the Glass

Association. In 2050 a

conference was held in

Edinburgh to celebrate

400 years of glass mak-

ing in Scotland. Dr Sed-

don gave a paper there,
which he later refined in

detail, giving his theory

as to whom might have
been the calligrapher

of the Amen glasses

(see Issue 526.3-4). He

proposed Robert Strang,

a line engraver work-
ing in Edinburgh and

elsewhere. Although Dr

Seddon’s hypothesis is
not universally accepted

he deploys some very

convincing arguments.
It is these last two

chapters that make
this book essential for

all those interested in

Jacobite glass, even if

they have a previous

edition.
Dr Seddon has shown

us that there are many
fine and genuine Jacobite

glasses in existence but
caveat emptor. I think

that we might both agree

that there is a ratio of
roughly 8o/2o between

right and wrong. But

we might not agree on

which is the 20%.
The discount (includ-

ing postage) is available

direct from the author:

Garden House,
34
High

Street, Little Eversden,
CBz3 ‘HE.

John P Smith

Glass Circle News Isst4138 Vol. 38 No. 2

Record price for

a flask
An early Pittsburg-

district double eagle

historical flask fetched a

record price of
$57,330
at

the Norman C. Heckler

& Company auction on

18 March. The pint-sized
flask, made between

182o and 184o, is in fine

condition, rare and in

a bright yellow-green

with olive tones. It has

a sheared mouth, pontil

scar and light exterior
high point wear. The

Connecticut auction

house ran the auction

through its website and

attacted nearly woo bids
for the 94-lot sale.

Valete
Eveline Newgas, who

died on
31
January aged

91, was a member of the
Glass Circle for many

years. Known to most
of us as Eve, she always

came to meetings that
might have a bearing on

her particular interest,

which was Continental

glass.

Eve came to the UK

with her family from
Vienna, in the late 193os,

to escape Hider’s perse-

cution. With the family

came their collection

of glass from Renais-

sance to Bohemian 19th

century glass — and also
fine continental ceramics,

in which she also took a

great interest.
Eve was always happy

to talk about glass and

china and to pass on her

knowledge. Her elder

son, John, shared her
interest and is also a

member of the Circle. In

her old age she remained

as enthusiastic as ever

and nothing seemed to

slow her down, even the

serious injuries sustained

about ten years ago when
she was knocked down
on a pedestrian crossing
NEWS

as she took her dog to
the park.

The last meeting Eve

attended was in No-
vember 2014, when our

AGM was followed by

a successful auction to

raise much-needed funds

for the Circle. She will
be very much missed.

Anne Towse

Tina Oldknow
retires

Tina Oldknow, will

retire fromThe Corning

Museum of Glass in

September 2015. Since

2000,
Tina Oldknow has

been responsible for all
curatorial aspects of the

glass collections dating
from 1900 to the present.

She transformed the

displays and collections

of the museum, cu-

rated numerous popular

exhibitions and is widely
known as a leading ex-

pert in the field. The new

Contemporary Art
&

Design Galleries at the

museum is the exclama-

tion point to her career
here and a gift to all who

love contemporary art

in glass.

She has curated

numerous special exhibi-

tions at the Corning

Simon Cottle
Honorary President

John P Smith
Chairman &
Publications

Laurence Maxfield
Honorary Treasurer &

Membership Secretary

Susan Newell
Honorary Secretary

Vernon Cowdy
Website Manager
Museum, notably: `Czech

Glass: Design in an Age

of Adversity 1945-1980′

(2005),`Curiosities of

Glassmaking’ (2007),

‘Making Ideas: Ex-
periments in Design at

GlassLab’ (zolz), as well

as focus exhibitions on
influential studio glass

artists, including Harvey
Littleton, Erwin Eisch,

Richard Marquis, and

Toots Zynsky.
She is also a prolific

author.

Shaun Kiddell
Geoffrey Laventhall

Anne Lutyens-Stobbs
Meetings Organiser

Marianne Scheer

Athelny Townshend
Publications Production and
Graphic Design

Anne Towse

Graham Vivian

The Glass Circle

Committee members

www.glasscircle.org

Glass Circle News Issue 138 Vol. 38 No. 2

DIARY

Diary

Circle meetings

Held at the Art Workers’

Guild. 6 Queen Square,
WCIN
3AT. 7.115.
Sandwich-

es from 6.3o p.m. Guests

are welcome (there is a
charge of Li° for mem-

bers,
£12
for members of

related societies and £15

for guests).

13
October

Project Cristallo

Suzanne Higgott
Project Cristallo,
a

research programme

concerning Venetian
Renaissance

glass currently being co-

ordinated by the Louvre

to November
AGM and auction

Following on from last

year’s successful fund-

raising event, we are hold-

ing another. Please put

aside any glass or books

you wish to donate for

the auction — entries of all

kinds are welcome. Please

bring them on the day.

8 December

Homage to
Rene Lalique

Andy McConnell’s

talk will cover Lalique’s

early art nouveau work in

jewels and furniture,
before he dedicated the
remainder of his life from

c1905 to glass

joined with the Roman
mould-blown wares.

29 July, 6.15pm for 6.3opm

Annual Lecture of the

Stained Glass Museum
Keith Barley FMGP

ACR: Herkenrode
Conserved: the remark-

able survival of a 16th-

century masterpiece
The Art Workers Guild

www.stainedglassmu-

seum.com/lectures

ti October

Cambridge Glass Fair
Knebworth

22
November

National Glass Fair
National Motorcycle
Museum (nr. Birming-

ham)

www.nationalglassfair.

corn

BBC Antiques Road-

show

Series
35
dates and

locations:
19 July
Walmer Castle,

Walmer, nr Deal, Kent.

30 July
Balmoral Castle,

Ballater, Aberdeenshire.

3 September
Trentham

Gardens, Stoke, Staf-

fordshire.
to
September
Lyme Park,

Stockport, Cheshire.

20
September
Hanbury

Hall, Droitwich,

Worcestershire.
28 October
Royal Hall,

Harrogate, North

Yorkshire.

Other dates
May-19 October

`Ennion and His Legacy:

The Mold-Blown Glass

of Ancient Rome’

The Corning Museum of
Glass

See the article on page

xi. Other Roman mould-
blown glass from the
permanent collection are

on display too. Then from

October-4 January 2016,

additional mould-blown
glass from antiquity to the

present day from Corn-
ing’s collection will be

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Glass Circle News_No.138, Jul 2015

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