Small 18th Century Glass Tazza

Description

Heading : An 18th century glass tazza
Period : George II – George III 1750- 1800
Origin : England 
Colour : Clear 
Bowl : Shallow dish
Stem : Ball knop above a tapered plain stem
Foot : Conical folded
Pontil : Snapped
Glass Type : Lead 
Size :  9.5cm height. 12.0cm diameter bowl. 8.3cm diameter foot 
Condition : Excellent. no chips or cracks 
Restoration : None 
Weight:  218grams 

The shallow design of the tazza was originally intended to oxygenate red wine. There are 16th century paintings depicting glass and silver vessels being used as a “testevin”. In modern Italian a tazza is a mug or cup.

By the early 17th century they were being used to serve candied fruits. however. the far larger tazza intended to be used as serving dishes or to display jelly glasses and custard cups was very much a mid 18th century English part in the evolution. the tazza stack being the pinnacle of it’s achievement.

This small tazza may well have been a top tazza in a four of five tiered tower or simply a sweetmeat dish as was the Italian ancestor. It is just too large to be a patch stand.