SOLD – Two Stevens and Williams Amethyst & Amber wine glasses c1900.

Description

A pair of Stevens and Williams Amethyst & Amber wine glasses c1900.

Two spectacular wine glasses. one in Amethyst and one in Amber.  Lipped Ogee bowls above facet cut shoulder knop and slice cut knop stem above plain feet pontils.

As can be seen from the pictures the workmanship is spectacular with flowing bands of cut scrolls and shells with engraved flowers and grasses delicately cut and polished. Each glass has the same design. but each glass is slightly different. the cutting and engraving all being done by hand to a very high level.

After extensive research. it is our belief that the glasses were designed by Frederick Carder while at Stevens and Williams before he moved to Corning in 1903.

I have includes a few links below on Frederick Carder (1863-1963)

http://www.cmog.org/bio/frederick-carder

http://www.cmog.org/article/frederick-carder-biography-young-audiences

Carder loved to make glass in many different colors and in unusual shapes. He designed more than 6.000 glass objects in 140 colors. He was often inspired by nature and art from other countries. He gave his glass fancy names like Oriental Poppy. Intarsia. and Cluthra. Carder designed glass to be used in different ways. including glass for the dinner table and for decoration.

Fred Carder did many things in Corning in addition to making glass. He had a beautiful flower garden. He started the Corning Rotary Club and was a member of the School Board. Carder loved to paint and golf. He also loved children. On Halloween he gave out nickels to children who came to his house to trick-or-treat.

Carder designed glass for more than 80 years of his life. He lived to be 100 years old. On his 100th birthday he received birthday wishes from President Kennedy. Governor Rockefeller. and the Queen of England. Frederick Carder died in Corning in 1963. 

We asociate these by comparison to known glasses in the Corning Glass designed by Carder. we can see the same love of nature and flowing Art Nouveau designs.

The glasses are light in construction and delicate as would be expected for late Victorian England and early Edwardian elegant glassware.  

Below is a link to a beautiful Stevens and Williams cranberry glass c1875-1925 where the same flower head and flowing workmanship can be seen. We have also included a picture of this glass above.

http://www.cmog.org/artwork/stemmed-goblet

A further wonderful set of glassware attributed to Carder on display at Corning. Again the similar delicate design cutting to the feet. 

http://gowithgilmores.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/the-corning-glass-museum.html

After 12 years of handling dozens of glasses on a dialy basis. when you pick up something very special. its simply sings to you

They measure 7 ½ inches tall with 3 ¼ inch rims and 3 inch feet.

Condition is excellent. There are no chips cracks or restoration. There is a tiny flaw of the rim of the glass as shown (Amethyst).  It’s so insignificant that it can barley be seen with the naked eye and we didn’t notice or feel it it until we were using a macro lens on the glass.  Under an eye glass it looks more like the engravers hand slipped and the wheel touched the rim….or it could be a pin prick or even a tooth mark.  The wear on the glass rim and foot. as can be seen on the macro pictures is genuine and exactly what you would expect to see in glasses from the late Victorian era.

You will also notice that on the amber example that there is a very subtle colour change in the bowl from a light amber/pink on the rim into darker amber at the base of the bowl.  

Two superb pieces of museum quality that have been a pleasure to hold and examine.