GLASS CIRCLE
NEWS
DORSET AND WILTSHIRE GLASS WINDOWS
EDITORS
David Watts
27 Raydean Road
BARNET, Herts. EN51AN
John Towse
’25-27 Curtain Road
London, EC2A 3PH.
No.44 July 1989
y
Borah Naisey
As summer is upon us quite a number of our members may visit Dorset or
Wiltshire.
My interest is in “stained
glass”,
and there certainly is “A
lot of it about” in this neck of the woodS.
Historic Salisbury Cathedral is always worth a visit in its own right.
Not
a lot of old glass, but the east window by Gabriel Loire, unveiled by Yebudi
Menuhin in May, 1980, is extremely colourful.
Beauty, they say, is in the
eye of the beholder.
A “Prisoners of Conscience” window, may or may not
intrigue its observer.
A separate booklet is for sale on this window,
which is a necessary purchase, as the figures are not self-evident.
Gabriel Loire has his workshops in the village of Leves on the outskirts of
Chartres, in France.
He is familiar with the sculpture and glass of the
great Cathedral.
His work can be viewed in America, Japan, Australia and
Brazil. In Salisbury Cathedral, his use of blue reflects an affinity with
Chatres.
Within the precincts of the Cathedral is Mompesson House, (National Trust),
opening Saturday to Wednesday iron 12.30 pm to 5.30 pm.
The house contains
a fine collection of 18th century drinking glasses, Toast Master’s glasses,
and some 17th century Dutch William III glasses.
Also, a glass
commemorating the shooting at Portsmouth of Admiral John Byng, in 1757, for
treason – a
fate
it is now believed he did not deserve.
There is no need
to make prior arrangements, but if a member would like a more enhanced visit
a note in advance to: Mr Michael Wrench, Mompesson House, The Close,
Salisbury Wilts. (or Tel. 0722 335659), would be beneficial.
A., short walking distance away is the tiny church of St Thomas Becket, which
has a very recent window by Mr Trevor Witten of the Salisbury Cathedral
Glass Dept. The window, depicting the “Annunciation” is situated on the
south side. It has no border.
This deletion was not the decision of the
artist but was taken by the Church Committee.
I had the privilege of
watching Mr Wiffen working on the window before it was installed, and must
say that standing at the elbow of a glass artist was extremely thrilling.
Before you leave, a medieval Doom wall painting and a Queen Elizabeth I
Royal Arms should not be missed.
Taking the A.354 then 8.3081 towards Wimborne, it is but a short detour to
visit Wimborne St Giles.
The church and windows were restored by Sir
Ninian Comper, the signature of whom is strawberries and strawberry leaves.
Normally, the signature is on the bottom right of the window, but in the
window depicting the “Wedding Feast” the signature is on the plate as part
of the
feast.
There is a considerable amount Of Sir Ninian’s work in
Dorset, – at Witchampton and Colehill to name but two more (His work is also
in Southwark Cathedral, Id.).
From Here Regis take the A.35 and left into the B.3390 to ‘St Nicholas
Church, Moreton, without which a sojourn to Dorset would not be complete.
Here there are twentytwo engraved windows by Laurence Whistler.
The “Apse”
-2-
•
window
.
(1955) has ribbons twisting round ten candles.
On the Winter side
of the Apse is a Christmas tree, on the South side is an Ash tree – the
pre-Christian emblem of eternal life and joy.
The “Seasons” window (1974)
has the setting sun. There are four bubbles, with Spring at the top, which
has the outline of Ben Lomond and Loch Lomond.
The next bubble (Summer) is
full of butterflies and moths. Autumn is a smoking bonfire, while Winter
shows Moreton House in a snow storm. Unusually, both sides of the glass are
engraved to give an illusory effect of depth.
Deep cutting, acid etching
and sandblasting techniques were used.
The latest window (1984) is the
“Galaxy” window.
A spiral galaxy has stars turning into blossoms and
different forms of life.
The “Crab” is evident!
Sherborne Abbey, rebuilt in 1415-1436 also has a Laurence Whistler Reredos
(1968), depicting the attributes of St Mary the Virgin to whom the Abbey is
dedicated.
The glass is artificially lit.
Another very interesting
window on the south side of the Abbey has figures of men in medieval
everyday dress. These are tradesmen and have the Arms of their Worshipful
Companies.
Tallow Chandlers (a small eagle-like bird).
The “Goldsmiths
Arms”.
At the centre- bottom are the Arms of the “Worshipful Company of
Glaziers and Painters on Glass”, before the Royal Warrant was granted in
1634.
The grozing irons and closing nails for the lead are quite evident,
but upside down.
Clearly, the glass restorer was not a student of
Heraldry!
Indeed, a “guide” today might tell you that you are looking at
mushrooms!
Don’t-be fooled.
There are many more churches and houses to be visited in Dorset, but I’ve
chosen to mention those that are normally open without prior arrangement.
BURMESE, BARGE AND COLOROLL
When Frederick Shirley set out in 1886 to promote his new discovery of Burmese
glass in England he wasn’t to know what furore
a
century later would touch a
product that, as Janie Chester Young describes in the Bulletin of the National
Early American Glass Club, gained instant celebrity status.
To many English
collectors it is probably more synonymous with Thomas Webb than its inventor at
the Mt Washington Glass Co.
The saga of
,
the Webb takeover by Coloroll and the
rape of its museum, in June 1987, was reported in No 39 of GC News, an act
which brought se a reprimand from the Chaitman of the Glass Association for
rocking the apple cart.
Alas, the carthad already been whisked away and my
remarks were but a small drop in the sea of outrage that followed from glass
lovers on both sides of the Atlantic.
it was the persistence of the Dudley
Evening Mail that probably brought the matter briefly to the attention of the
national press.
Questions were asked how such an important and valuable
collection, some of the best of Webb’s entire output, could be whisked through
our tough export controls, even if the stated destination was a Texas museum.
Enquiries brought Coloroll to trial last April but they were found not guilty.
Coloroll’s sale was in England and, whatever we may think of its morality,
their act was not illegal.
However, at least one dealer who has grappled with
our export controls stll believes that exportation would not have been possible
without the sympathetic co-operation of the vendor, and possibly even the
famous London Auction House that prepared the valuations.
Such collusion is
rarely possible to sustain.
If there was an illegal act, and few seem to
doubt it, then attention focuses on Florida dealer Ray Grover who, it is
rumoured, H.M. Customs would like to question.
Certainly, it is now stated
that the destination was a private collector and the motivation was profit. If
we have lost the banquet we still have the menu for the Barbe pattern book,
containing many of the Burmese designs, is now, hopefully safe; in the Dudley
archives.
For me, Coloroll is excluded from the family shopping list and Ray
Grover has forfeited his right to a niche .n American glass history.
D.C.W.
-3-
A SURVEY OF 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY GLASS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM (1850-1950)
••••
n
•••
n
••
n
by Judy Rudoe
This collection was begun in 1979 as a
result of a deliberate decision made
by the Director and Trustees to bring
the collections of the Department of
Medieval & Later Antiquities into the
20th century. The collection is
centred round influential designers,
firms, schools or art movements in
Europe and America; its greatest
strength
are
i
n
continental,
especially German, applied arts of the
period 1890-1945.
It is a historic
collection and will creep up in time
gradually, but as yet there is little
post-war material.
The emphasis is
on documentary pieces and in many
cases the objects are signed, dated or
provenanced.
Many of the designers represented are
artists or architects who also made
designs for pottery, porcelain and
metalwork, so some of the glass has
been acquired as part of the work of a
particular designer as much as for
its technical interest.
Often, these
artists were
not
trained in industry,
but were brought into modern existing
production, or, as in the case of the
Darmstadt artist’s colony, they were
given the freedom to design their own
houses with all the furnishings and
then had to persuade firms to produce
their designs.
In additions to acquisitions of the
last ten years, there are a number of
pieces which were presented to the
Museum during the 19th century as
contemporary examples of particular
technical or historical interest.
The collection of Felix Slade,
bequeathed in 1868, included two
little-known
”
modern” items: an
engraved tazza exhibited by the
Cristalleries de Clichy at the London
International Exhibition of 1862, and
a curious small dish of opaque red
crystalline glass shown by the
Imperial Manufactory of St Petersburg
at the Paris Exhibition of 1867.
At
the same Exhibition, Philippe-Joseph
Brocard displayed his first attempts
to
rediscover
Middle-Eastern
enamelling techniques; in 1902 C.H.
Read gave to the Museum a signed and
dated mosque lamp copied by Brocard
from a 14th century original.
Perhaps the most intriguing early
acquisition is a group of 25 pieces of
glass with gold or platignum
incrustations, presented by P.R.F.
D’Humy in 1878.
D’Humy patented his
method of incrusting glass with foil
in 1876 and he then directed the Vase
Murrhina Glass Company in London until
its closure in 1883.
The glass was
apparently intended to imitate Roman
reproductions in glass of the highly
prized ancient “murrhine” or fluorspar
vases.
D’Humy’s use of foil is most
unusual at this date and displays
astonishing technical virtuosity, as
in the case of a delicate plate in
which two layers of foil, one gold and
one platinum, are embedded between
three layers of blue glass.
Recent acquisitions of late 19th and
early 20th century glass include
streaked and speckled vases designed
by Christopher Dresser in the 1880s
and made by James Couper and Sons,
Glasgow; the glass was marketed under
the trade name “Clutha” and sold at
Liberty’s in the 1990s.
Art Nouveau,
is well represented; in addition to a
group of Tiffany glass, the Museum has
glassware from fin-de-siecle Vienna,
and a possibly unique tazza in the
Venetian style designed by Harry
Powell for the Turin Exhibition of
1902 with engraved and applied
decoration. Further examples of
glass made by James Powell & Sons were
presented to the Museum by the Powell
family in 1923.
The collections are
especially rich in German glass of the
years 1890-1914; there is a rare
lamp-blown glass designed by Karl
Koepping and made by the school for
glass instrument-makers in Illmenau,
Thuringia, together with some of the
few surviving examples of the simple
and elegant free-blown glasses
designed by the Munich artist Richard
Riemerschmid for the firm of Benedikt
Poschinger in Barvaria; the Museum’s
examples came from Riemerschmid’s own
house via his daughter.
The Bavarian
glasshouses also made glasses designed
by the artists working under the
patronage of the Grand Duke of Hesse
at Darmstadt, such as Hans
Christiansen and Peter Behrens.
-4-
The period between the wars is
represented by many of the major
European and American firms; in most
case outside artists were invited to
design for both individual and series
production. Some of these artists
were concerned above all with the
design’of everyday wares and wrote
extensively about their work and the
problems’ they encountered; for
example, Jacob Bang and Wilhelm
Wagenfeld.
The former designed for
the Holmgaard factory in Denmark, the
latter for Schott & Genossen in
Germany.
The Leerdam Glassworks in
Holland commissioned several artists,
among whom A.D. Copier is the most
well known, but the Museum also owns a
remarkable modernist vase designed by
C. Lebeau in 1924, comprising a bright
green{mould-blown bowl resting on a
deep purple pressed glass base.
Keith Murray was much influenced by
continental glass of the 1920s and the
Museum has examples of his work made
by Stevens & Williams of Stourbridge.
Finally, there are examples of of
table
glass in hand-made. crystal
designed in the 1930s by the Libbey
Glass Company, Toledo, Ohio, by Arthur
Douglas Nash (son of A.J. Nash of
Stourbridge, who ran the Tiffany glass
studio) and by the industrial designer
Walter Dorwin Teague, whose
streamlined “Embassy” service was made
for the New York World’s Fair of 1939.
The British Museum collection is very
much a collection in the making; there
is a conspicuous absence of French,
Italian, Czechoslovakian, Swedish and
Finnish glass, especially of the
inter-war years, and it is hoped to
fill some of these gaps over the next
few.. years.
In the meantime, much of
the
:
collection is on permanent display
and the rest may be viewed by
appointment.
(Text by J.R.)
The meeting was held at the Museum of
London on June 15th 1989 by kind
invitation of Professor and Mrs Haut
and Mr and Mrs B. Levy.
FROM THE GLASS CIRCLE DOWN UNDER
The Ceramic and Glass Circle of Australia, which was founded in 1984, sends
fraternal greetings.
It holds monthly lecture meetings at Queen’s College,
Melboetne University, as well as a monthly Newsletter and occasional social
events, A yearly Journal
is
planned for the future.
A mutual (in the
non-Dickensian sense) exchange of literature has been agreed and you will be
able to look up the Australian CGC publications in our. GC library in the
MuseuM of London. Mr D.J. Barnfather, Secretary of the Australian CGC will
welcome new members.
Send for details to P.O. Box 4823, Spencer Street,
Melbourne 3001, Australia.
N.B. Pilese check with Wendy Evans first if you wish to consult the GC Library,
MILK AND HONEY; SHORTAGE IN MASSACHUSETTS
We were pleased to welcome to a recent Glass Circle meeting Janie Chester
Young, Director of THE NEW BEDFORD GLASS MUSEUM. The Museum houses a 4000
piece specialist collection of New Bedford glass (1867-1956) of
the Mt. Washington and Pairpoint glass companies. Their goodies
include Burmese, Peach Blow and Amberina as well as art glass and
much else. The Museum finances are not too strong at the moment
so if you are in the vicinity of 50 No Second Street, New
‘031EBEIIBIEL
Bedford, Massachusetts, 02740, they will be delighted to greet
j Ina 01
you.
THE. NEW REDFORD (:I ASS
CSE1 M
-5-
THREE WILLIAMITE GLASSES
By Mary Boydell
In this talk, with the aid of slides,
Mary Boydell brought together, for the
first time, information connecting
three early 18th century. giant
goblets.
These are the Cobbe Loving
Cup –
–
in
the Ulster Museum, the .
Longfield glass in the V & A, and the
Richmond glass in Goodwood. House.
They are 12.5, 10.5 and 14 inches .
tall,
!
respectively.
e
-Investigation of
the backgroand- of each glass revealed
that Cobbe
a
after whom the first is
named, became Archbishop of Dublin in
1742/3. • The bowl is engraved with a
scene of King William III on horseback
at the Battle of the Boyne , and a
lengthy toast “TEE GLORIOUS AND
IMMORTAL MEMORY OF KING WILLIAM AND
HIS QUEEN MARY AND PERPETUAL
DISAPOINTMENT
TO THE ePOPE -TEE –
PRETENDER AND ALL THE ENEMIES. OF THE
PROTESTANT
,Ap importants
feature:.; of
rim . and- -bowl-
is
characteristic, elaborate scroll work.
The Longfield glass also has an Irish
ancestry,
but rather than
being a
baluster, is a trumpet-shaped glass
with tear in the stem and a folded
foot.
There
are marked similarities
in the engraving, particularly the
foliate motifs on the foot, and an
identical toast.
Similarly,
;
the
Richmond glass, comes from a family
with
long-established
Irish
connections; it is, unfortunately,
damaged and has a replacement foot.
Marked
superficial
similarities,
including the toast, can be found
between this and the other two goblets
but close inspection of the details
depicting the battle
scene suggest
engraving by a different hand.
Mrs Boydell then explained the history
of the battle and how this related to
the • details on the glasses.
One
interesting feature is that the
glasses incorrectly illustrate one
account, showing Williamite bias, that
King .James passively watched the
battle from .a derelict church on
nearby Donore hill.
Although there are three glasses known
with longer toasts, this particular
wording is found only on these
glasses.
A number of jugs. and
goblets have similar decoration to the
Longfield and •Cobbe glasses; these
include the ten-inch high William and
Mary double-portrait glass from the
collection of the late Mr Rose, an
illustrious past Glass Circle member.
Evidence was presented that the three
commemorative glasses may have been
made in Dublin and if this is true
only one man, Joseph Martin, is likely
to have carried out the engraving.
These notes were prepared from a
typescript supplied by Mrs Boydell
which will be published, with
illustrations, in a future issue of
Glass Circle. Members are also
reminded of Mary Boydell’s delightful
booklet “Irish Glass” in the Jarrold
1976 series which features a full page
colour photo of the Cobbe goblet on
the inside front cover.
The meeting was held on the 15th
February, 1989, at the Artworker’s
Guild
e
by the kind invitation of Mr
and Mrs G. Miller, Mr P. Rose and
Mr A. Gallichan.
D.C.W.
NEW BOOKS
THE ART OF RENE LALIQUE By Patric Bayer and Mark Waller with a foreword by
Marie Claude Lalique.
Quintet Publishing ltd. 1988. pp.102, with 353 all colour plates, size approx
12 x 8.5 inches, price £30.00.
THE BREAKING AND REMAKING OF THE PORTLAND VASE By Nigel Williams
Published by the British Museum, 1989. pp.32 + 4 in colour. size, price £3.95.
This is a souvenir booklet by the BM conservator, mainly on the dismantling
(certainly not breaking) and rebuilding of the vase, plus a short background
history of the vase and its meaning. The centrefold has two colour pictures of
the reformed vase.
Like the BBC broadcast, it irritates by its omissions.
-6–
MORE NEW BOOKS
CONTEMPORARY GLASS A World Survey from the Corning Museum of Glass
By Susanne K. Frantze.
Published by Harry Abrams, INC. NEW YORK. 1989. (270×396 may). Price $60.
This weighty volume, on heavy art paper, is the latest example of the printers
skill and fully lives up to the high technical standard we have come to expect
from CMOG publications.
Most of the 264 pages are devoted to 248 full colour
plates of contemporary glass creations.
The photography is perfect except in
some of the more exotic pieces where the obliteration of highlights and shadows
has made it impossible to even guess at their true shapes.
Perhaps the time
has come for a more enterprising approach. Holograms are still too expensive
but I see no reason why the use of stereo pairs, as nowadays used to show
molecular models in scientific texts, could not be explored with advantage.
The benefit of being able to study a piece in 3-dimensions would be inestimable
The text I estimate at little more than a modest 20 000 words, the early
section of which I found rather heavy reading with the emphasis on reliable
historical documentation.
Only when we get to Harvey Littleton’s pioneer
enterprises in the 1960s, when we are carried along by the succession of
glassmaking problems that he faced and successfully overcame, does the subject
really come alive.
The integration of international influence is skillfully
developed.
The author closes with a redefinition of Studio Glass, claiming
that the creator has changed fundamentally from being the skilled glass
operative of earlier years to the designer or worker in other media who, by
applying his parallel knowledge, exploit the skills of the glass technologist.
Many, I think, would take this as a trend rather than an accomplished fact, one
facet of a wider interest? The bibliograply is impressive.
The text only loosely relates to the pictures. The techniques used to create
each piece are listed but no attempt is made to explain them or where on the
piece and why they were used. More wisely, there is no attempt to explain the
thinking or emotions behind a particular piece.
The book is a statement of the CMOG collection but no real guidance is given to
the collector other than by example. We are told that an “agressive collect-
ing policy” was adopted for contemporary glass but it would have been revealing
to learn the criteria applied to selection. For example, no distinction is
made between pieces made under amateur studio and professionally-backed com-
mercial conditions. The towering contribution of, particularly, Czechoslrv-
akia in the commercially-backed art glass arena stands out like a beacon and
may persuade other countries of the inestimable value of such activities.
By my count, 25 countries are represented in the collection, the top six being
USA (221), Czechoslovakia (40), UK and GFR (27) each, Japan (17) and Sweden
(13).
Only UK (8) and American (7) artists were significant in contributing
pieces made away from their native countries,
Indeed, the pioneering British
contribution is recognised although one of its major guiding spirits, Peter
Layton, is not even represented. One is left with the feeling that opportun-
ism, coupled to the spectacular, weighed more heavily in selection than any
desire for historical or geographical representation. A book such as this is
expected to provide information.
But it fails if it does not stimulate
comment and criticism and generate guidelines for the future.
In this respect
Susanne Frantz is to be congratulated on having made a valuable contribution.
D.C.W.
TIFFANY By Norman Pottier and Douglas Jackson.
Pyramid Books, 1988. pp.127. many plates, size approx. 8 x 8 inches, price
£9.45.
-7-
THIS AND
THAT
BY JOHN TOWSE
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 1989 INTERNATIONAL
CERAMICS FAIR,
9-12TH JUNE, 1980.
at THE PARK LANE HOTEL, PICADILLY.
N.Ikodinovic & Co. s.c.
A pair of
Bohemian cut glass candlesticks with a
faint rose tint, c.1725.
£15 000.
Sheppard & Cooper Ltd.
A Russian
Imperial vodka set comprising’ eight
vodka cups, flask and tray, jewelled
and enamelled, dated 1875.
It bears
the inscription “Bitter vodka, bitter
vodka,’ drink to good health and become
wise”.
f6 200.
Shirley Warren. A pair of Venetian
cruets in reticello, last quarter of
the 16th century.
£18.000.
An interesting group of glasses of
Jacobite significance, each bearing
symbols of the Jacobite cause, dating
from 1745 to 1760.
Price range from
£1 300 to £3 000.
Leo Kaplan Ltd. A Clichy ‘piedouche’
pedestal
millefiori
paperweight,
c.1850. Price in excess of £12 000.
Peter Korf de Gidts.
A pair of
mid-18th century white Delft figures
representing Shakespeare and Milton.
Made by a Dutch craftsman after
examples in Westminster Abbey seen on
his visit to England. 12″ high. Price
£9 500.
Frides Lameris. A 17th century Dutch
wine glass with
1
blown hollow knops
in the stem. ‘Finely wheel-engraved
with scenes from stories from Erasmus.
It is very unusual for wheel engraving
to be used on such thin glass at such
an early date.
Price in excess of
£30 000.
An unusual pair of Jonas Zeuner
(1724-1814) pictures depicting hunting
scenes
–
se reverse painted on glass.
Among
e
the rare examples of his work
are those in the collections of the
V&A and
:.
the Queen. Price for the pair
in excess`. of £40 000.
EXHIBITION OF STAINED GLASS DESIGNS
Moss Galeries. 238 Brompton Road.
London, SW3. 5th-22nd December, 1989.
The display will be primarily of
designs in watercolour or pencil for
stained glass windows during the
period 1860-1950.
• Artists include
Charles West Cope R.A., 1811-1890;
Robert Anning Bell R.A., 1863-1933;
Louis
B. Davis
1861-1941;
Sydney
Harold Neteyard R.B.S.A., 1868-1947;
William Glasby exh. 1900-1923 and
Alfred Hassan c. 1840-1900.
An exciting and challenging quotation
comes from “Utz” by Bruce Chatwin
(Pub. Jonathan Cape 1988, 1st Edn.),
page 20.
“An object in a museum
case.n..must suffer the de-natured
existence of an animal in the zoo.
In any museum the object dies – of
suffocation and the public gaze –
whereas private ownership confers on
the owner the right and the need to
touch.
As a young child will reach
out to handle the things it names, so
the passionate collector; his eye in
harmony with his hand, restores to the
object the life-giving touch of its
maker.
The collector’s enemy is the
museum curator.
Ideally, museums
should
he
looted every fifty years,
and their collections returned to
circulation…”.
In view of the immense stimulation and
pleasure received from visits to
museums I am not sure of the exclusive
merit of private ownership.
I would
like to consider the private collector
merely a trustee of his treasures for
the benefit of posterity.
Surely
aesthetic pleasures are to be shared
and not confined to a privileged few.
Opinions on this exciting dilemma are
invite, for further exchange of viws
and possible publication.
•
……
The Portland Vase whose history we
outlined in GC News No.33., one of the
British Museum’s most famous treas-
ures and valued at over £30 000, is
back on show.
It was taken off
display a year ago, 145 years after
being smashed, for a third attempt to
stick
the
200 pieces together again.
The world’s finest example of Roman
glass is now back to its former glory
thanks to
Nigel Williams, the B.M.’s
head of glass restoration.
He tells
his story in a little booklet
described in our “new books” section.
PETER LAYTON MAKES A POINT AT
3RD INTERNATIONAL GLASS SYMPOSIUM ,
1
October 1988 saw Novy Bar hosting the
3rd International Glass Symposium to
be held in Czechoslovakia. What
makes this symposium unique is that
the major part of the working
programme is held in the massive
Crystalex factory.
For two days the
the Novy Bor craftsmen give their
services to help glass artists from
all over the world realise ambitions
on a scale that might otherwise only
be a dream. At this meeting were 105
craftmen, about half of them from 23
countries outside Czechoslovakia.
The yff, contingent consisted of
Londoner, Tatiana Best-Devereux, from
Stroud, Colin Reid, and two familiar
Glass Circle members, Diana Hobson and
Peter Layton. The Symposium is the
sole subject of the latest issue of
the Czechoslovakian “Glass Review”
(Vol.3/89) to hit these shores.
Peter is described as “one of the
founding organisers of glass-making
happening in Great Britain”!.
On his
third visit, to what he describes as a
show-piece symposium, he drew
admiration from all sides with a
masterful creation some 4-5 feet tall
whose picture dominates the front
cover of the Journal and features
prominently inside, a pyramid composed
of about 120 clear crystal bars,
constructed log-cabin fashion.
It is
a perfect blend of artistry, design
and craftsmanship exploiting an
underlying simple technology. All
the bars were made in a single mould
consisting of a chanel with a sliding
endstop..both shaped to achieve the
perfect pyramidal outline of the sides
and edges.
To complete this in the
time allowed is remarkable. – His
work, and some of the other master
artists, clearly reflected much
thought and careful preparation.
Others, though, came to experiment and
not all pieces survived the leer.
A
selection of the best creations were
displayed in the exhibition hall with
Peter’s Pyramid in pride of place.
–
-W
Although it was an opportunity for
work on a grand scale, both Colin and
Diana were mentioned for the beauty of
their small creations.
Diana was
working with Pate de Verre, her
speciality that has secured for her a
unique position in Art Glass history.
Because of the number of participants
some, presumably Czechoslovakian, used
the facilities of their own works.
By Comparison with the excitement of
the furnace, cold worked, cut and
engraved glass attracted only a few
participants.
There, was a great
opportunity for working on large or
complex blanks produced to order under
factory conditions, an area in which
the host country is unsurpassed.
One
feels that our Guild of Glass
Engraving, recognised as world
leaders, could have made an impact
here.
There were many other exhibitions and
lectures and the participants spanned
glass history and museum interests as
well as critics and those who were
“just interested”, while the open day
attracted
great
crowds.
‘The
facilities of. Novy Bor, a smallish
town, must have been fully stretched.
The cynic might say that this is just
an elaborate public exercise.
If so,
it’is one’we would dearly like to see
here.
The 4th Symposium is not until
1991,
so
there is time to start saving
your hollers.
DUDLEY CRYSTAL FESTIVAL 71989
Fri. 25th August-Sun. 3rd September
To promote Stourbridge as the centre of
hand-made crystal tableware, Dudley is
hosting a 10-day festival of glass-
oreintated events.
In addition to the
usual factory tours and displays there
will be a variety of specialist events
‘including participation of the Glass
Circle.
Broadfield House (Bd.Hse.)
will be open 10.00am -5.00pm throughout
with two special exhibitions.
These
are “A Few Nice Pieces of Glass” from
the ‘Michael Parkinson collection and
includes Beilbv glass and pieces from
the Prince Regent’s dinner service as
well as virtuoso items. “Glass of 89”
displays work by final
year degree
students from all over England stim-
ulated
by £2000 of prizes!!
Starting
with 26th Aug. the events
are:
Saturday,. Special show of glass videos,
at Bd.Hse. 10.00 am – 5.00 pm.
Monday, Yard of Ale making competition,
at Bd.Hse. 10.00 am. Iestyn Davies, who
won last year with a 23 foot creation
faces a strong challenge.
Glassmaking
demonstrations in the afternoon.
Tuesday, Demonstration of copper-wheel,
stipple and flexible-drive engraving at
Bd.Hse. 10.00 am – 5.00 pm.
Wednesday, Connoisseurs evening at
114.Hse. when Barbara Morris will talk
about her experiences with the Antique
Roadshow and give hints on glass
collecting.
Guests will be able to
handle items from the museum. collect-
ion and see some archives. Cost £7.50
inc. supper and wine. *25 places only*
Thursday, Auction of 500 lots of glass,
18th cent. to the present, by Giles
Hayward, The Auction House, St Johns
Road, Stourbridge. View Tue 10.00-4.30,
Wed 10.00-7.30.
At 7.30 p.m. Brian
Moody will give a lecture on “George
Ravenscraft and the Invention of Lead
Crystal” at the Bonded Warehouse,
Stourbridge. No charge.
Friday, Videos as on Monday.
Saturday, Glass Collector’s Fair, 18th
cent. to the present. Summerhill House
Hotel (near Museum). Some 40 stands by
quality glass dealers (Tel. 1060 271973
for more details).
At Mary Stevens
Park (MSP), Stourbridge. Antiques Road
Show with John Brooks, Dill Hier, Giles
Haywood and Roger Dodsworth.
Also at
MSP, glass displays etc. by many local
factories and studios.
Display of
entties from the glass cutting and
friggers competition. Glass Circle
and Glass Association stands (Please
cote and help). All 10.00 am – 5.00 pm.
Sunday, Charity Auction of modern crys-
tal and china at MSP, 2.30 p.m. This
festival promises to be a great jambor-
ee with a chance to meet old friends in
a delightful ambience of glass in all
its aspects.
See you there…O.K.
THE BEST OF THE GUILD OF GLASS ENGRAVERS
The Guild of Glass Engravers is holding a “Selected Exhibition of Engraved
Glass” at
the Dixon Room,
Institute of Education, University of London,
Bedford Way, London, WC.1. from Oct 19th – Nov 4th 1989.
Guild Fellows,
Associate Fellows
and
Craft Members will be showing their work in diamond
point, copper wheel and flexible drive etc. on a wide variety of glass shapes
and forms, ranging from small paper weights through glasses, decanters
and
bowls right up to commemorative windows and panels. The Guild has been
synonymous with some of the world’s best craftsmen in this field; Laurence
Whistler CBE, David Hutton, David Peace, Michael-Preston and, of course, Peter
Dreiser
spring to mind.
Need more be said? Opening times Mon-Fri
10.00-6.00, Sat 10.00-12.30.
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OBITUARY:- PHILIP WHATMORE
The sudden death of Philip Whatmore from cancer will have distressed all those
who knew him. He was a member of the Glass Circle for more years than most of
us older members care to remember and, for many of them, was a member of the
Committee and fulfilled the arduous role of Honorary Treasurer with his
customary good humour and generosity. He will probably be remembered mostly
for his collection of musical glasses and the unbounded pleasure which his
Christmas lecture, with carols on the glasses accompanied by community singing,
gave to those present. This was, however, only one facet of his wide ranging
interests which embraced not only the collection of eighteenth century drinking
glasses but also the more unusual and bizarre in glass.
A cucumber
straightener and a somewhat dubious bee swarmer were but two of the items with
which he enlivened Society meetings.
He also sought out a small but fine
collection of paintings behind glass before they became collector’s items of
note.
Other examples of his ubiquitous interests are cricket and Dorset
clocks, on which he was joint author of a book, and, more lately, cider and
cider-making impedimenta, of which the family collection had become one of the
most impressive in the country.
But perhaps his most enduring and likeable characteristic was his enthusiasm
and willingness for taking up any challenge that would further the advancement
of glass knowledge and the interests of the Circle. He was not the original
discoverer of the Kimmeridge glasshouse, close by his family home, but his
enthusiasm for the excavation certainly helped overcome the barriers to turning
it into reality. For myself, I shall remember his prodigious effort in
helping to produce the catalogue for our fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition, the
text of which he licked into shape in an unbelievably short time, almost
unaided.
The fine quality of its production was also a direct consequence of
his desire that our anniversary should be celebrated in a memorable fashion.
The
Glass
Circle is grateful for the pleasure and errudition that Philip
brought among
us
and we record his passing with sorrow and commiseration to his
family.
D.C.W.
4.
C7R!
47777-
7777
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4..4
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1111111
KIMMER1DGE
GLASS
FURNACE
1980.81
Drawing after the 1980/81
excavations, directed by David
Crossley, from the Proceedings
of the Dorset Natural History
And, Archaeological Society,
Vol.103, p.129, 1981.
11111 ma’