This squat pitcher set was cut by Libbey and is shown in the ACGA composite catalog reprint on page 136. It appears to be the No. 47 pattern . It is likely, because of the design elements used, that this was engineered by William C. Anderson. All pieces are signed.
The main feature of the pitcher is one of the biggest Anderson design elements – a large hobstar with an extended, crosshatch-filled point. Feathering surrounds that extended point and divides the pitcher from the rest of the pattern. Large, triangle shaped fields are filled with notching separating the larger, shooting stars. The handle of the pitcher is triple notched and the base features a rayed star. The tumblers repeat the pattern exactly – no compromises were made for the difference in size.
The pitcher and tumblers are in perfect condition with no damage and on beautifully clear blanks. The squat, cider-style pitcher is quite large measuring 6 1/4″ tall and 5 3/4″ wide. The tumblers are 3 5/8″ tall and 3″ wide. Sets this nice are rarely found and prices this inexpensive!
I absolutely adore this piece. The cutting and polish are so well done – completely wood wheel polished, with deep, singular cutting. It’s stunning in every sense of the word. I it’s likely cut by J. Hoare due to the motifs used.
There are countless details in this design. Crisscrossing, modified cane/zipper frames the edge portion of this piece. They interesect at diamond-shaped fans. The interior of each frame is a flat hobstar and somehow, the cutting managed to fit crosshatching into all four corners of the hobstar! Under the upper portion of the design are two huge fields featuring two motifs. One is the deepest possible triple miter cane. Nobs of cane stick out off the surface of the glass framed by triple miter cutting. The other field features a large section of crosshatching with clear leaf-work cut into it. Moving inward on the punchbowl there are 8 large hobstars surrounding a central large hobstar.
The punch bowl is quite large, measuring 12″ wide and a staggering 7 1/2″ deep. It’s in perfect condition with hardly a scratch on it. This piece is a true work of art – it will impress anyone that sees it and is extremely unusual in the most aesthetically pleasing of ways.
This is a beautifully, well-done bowl. I think it was likely cut by Meriden due to the variety of motifs – particularly flat hexad and clear-button hobstars. The bowl is an unusual shape with fold-over, deep sides.
All five hobstars are cut with clear-button centers. Extremely fine crosshatched bands frame the rest of the pattern. Intersecting miters divide up the bands along with several fields of hexad cutting. I particularly like the use of very busy cutting like this, interspersed with the clear glass and hobstars.
The bowl measures 9″ wide and a deep 4″ tall. It’s in perfect condition and on an exceptional blank. It is difficult to find something in this price range with this much quality and uniqueness.
This is a beautiful vase cut in Libbey’s own variation of the Ellsmere pattern. The shape is bulbous with a great flair at the top. It’s signed with the Libbey sabre mark.
The most noticeable portion of this vase is certainly the upper portion. It consists of that awesome notched prism Libbey is so well known for. They combine it with large panels of triple miter cane. I love how the notched prism seamlessly meets silvery crosshatching. This portion of the pattern mets octagonal hobstars. The lower third of the pitcher is finished with bursting fan cutting that alternates with deep and more shallow miters. The base of the pitcher is finished with a rayed star while the handle is triple notched. The pattern doubles up again as it works its way to the bulbous portion of the vase. I absolutely love how the pattern expands and contracts to conform to the shape. The base is covered with a 20-point hobstar.
The vase is in perfect condition with no issues and measures 11 3/4″ tall and 6 1/3″ wide. The shape of this vase is exotic and the pattern really lends itself to these upright pieces.
This is a stellar 7″ plate in Sinclaire’s Lace Hobnails & Engraving. The exact piece is shown in the H.P. Sinclaire, Jr, Glassmaker Vol. 1 on page 70. It is signed in the center with the Sinclaire trademark.
The cutting on this piece pops off the glass with dazzling brilliance. The center is cut in a triple mitre Trellis design. Despite the relatively thin blank, there is staggering depth to this cutting. The border is done in lattice work that frames flowers flanked on either side with foliage. The cutting and engraving contrast is sublime.
Some Sinclaire glass is gray or almost yellow, but the blank on this piece is stunningly clear! It’s in perfect condition with hardly a scratch on it and measures just under 7″ wide and 3/4″ tall. I have not seen a 7″ plate of this quality in this style in a number of years – it’s a true rarity and one that exemplifies the best work at Sinclaire.
This Tazza is cut in Hawkes’ Kings pattern – a seldom seen design within the royal family – Queens and Princess being the other two. All of these patterns have putnies which provide for a startling optical effect. This piece is signed on the base with the Hawkes Trademark.
One of the most stunning portions of this pattern are the large, clear punties that wrap around the piece. They provide wonderful optics when looked through – like a lens. The border of the is also unusual – it is cut like Hawkes’ Panel design with large scallops and then a u-notch between each one. This rim frames richly cut, diamond shaped hobstars. The punties are divided with a notch and a downward fan. Then there is another additional row of clear-button hobstars and another row of punties. THe base of this piece is awesome with thick, clear glass and a 16-point hobstar with serrated edge.
While the condition of the piece is excellent, it has one minor repair. One of the scallops was smooth out slightly from what was likely a small chip. THis wouldn’t be noticeable to most collectors but should be mentioned for accuracy’s sake. The price certainly reflects the minor repair. The tazza measures 9 1/4″ wide and 6 1/4″ tall. The blank is ultra-clear allowing for those punties and that base to really show well.
This shell shaped piece, cut in Ohio’s Palm design, has always remained one of the most whimsical pieces from the period. It’s probably Ohio Cut Glass’s most memorable pattern.
The handle of the piece features a large, 24-point hobstar with a deep circular miter framing out. Shooting outward from that star are chains of hobstars – the first one being flat, white the following two are deep. These chains are seperated with crosshatching and divided by two parallel lines of notching. The last row of notching contains three bands.
The shell is in perfect condition and on an excellent blank, measuring 6 1/4″ wide and 1 3/4″ tall. This is an excellent cabinet and conversation piece that will light up most collections.
What’s there to say about this piece that one can’t observe from the photos? This is a gorgeous piece cut in one of the most desirable patterns of the Brilliant Period – Meriden’s Theodora. Meriden reserved this blank for their best patterns – I have also seen it cut in Rose Diamond and Byzantine. This is the only piece of Theodora I’ve seen on this blank, adding to the rarity.
The Theodora pattern has always reminded me of bursting geometric flowers. The stem is a deep miter cut between angled, parallel lines, sprouting outward. At the top is the flower, laced with hobstar points as petals with the most beautiful center. The center of the hobstar is actually a scalloped punty with just an extremely fine, flat frame of the glass left around it. It’s astonishing to me that Meriden hit that motif every single time on the Theodora pattern. Separating each “flower” is a triangular field of cane. The neck of the piece is step cut and the base is finished with another hobstar. Please not the depth of cutting to achieve the hobstar center in profile views in the photos.
The vase is in nearly perfect condition with a tiny little fleabite sitting atop the scalloped rim. The vase measures 9 3/4″ tall and 4 3/4″ wide. The blank is perfectly clear. It’s obvious this is a true rarity and should get snatched up immediately – this patterns popularity never fades and on a shape as unusual as this really drives the value.
This bowl is cut in Egginton’s rendition of the Persian design. Persian is similar to Russian, but the hobs have more detail, with hobstars on each one. This bowl, like some of Egginton’s best work is extremely sharp and clear. It’s signed Egginton in the center.
The pictures speak for themselves – this is an extremely complicated design with what seems to be a never-ending supply of miters intersecting. Where the intersections finally open up, there is a hobstar. It’s remarkable that any pieces in these types of designs ever survived -with all the cuts, you’d think that at some point in their 100+ year lifespan, they’d just pop after being knocked slightly.
This bowl is in phenomenal condition – with just a few tiny fleabites that blend into the cutting. It measures 8 1/2″ wide and 4″ tall. When Egginton wanted to, they produced some of the finest cut glass of all the glass houses – this piece exemplifies what they were capable of.
Fishtail trays are some of the most unusual shapes in Brilliant Cut Glass. This one is exceptional with an unusual crimped edge the is shaped to the pattern. I have seen this pattern before and it’s always very well done – see this bowl for another exceptional example. Some people have seem to believe this is a Hoare pattern, but I have not seen any documented information to prove that.
The identifying portion of this pattern consists of four vesicas of hobnail surrounding a hobstar. This motif is similar to Blackmer’s Nordica pattern. There is another vesica which features three stacked hobstars surrounding on every crosscut with crosshatching and fans. The most impressive part of this bowl however, is the cutting at the center. Four small hobstars are in cross formation, in the center of them lies a tiny, perfectly cut hobstar. I particularly love how this piece stretches to fit the blank – with the large hobnail vesicase extending all the way into the corners of the “fishtail.”
I see absolutely no damage to this piece and there’s hardly a scratch to the surface. The blank is wonderfully clear and measures 16 1/2″ long, 9 1/2″ wide and 3 1/4″ tall. An identical piece to this one was for sale at the ACGA annual convention in New Orleans this year in excess of $3500. This is over $1000 less expensive – a true value for someone looking for an unusual tray.
The original purpose for this shape is unclear, though I would be it was used as a large centerpiece filled with fruit (for obvious reasons). It is signed in the center by Sinclaire and exemplifies some of their best intaglio work.
The engraving on this piece is first rate and makes the fruit really come to life. There are grapes with vines, pears, and perhaps peaches or a type of melon. The rim is finished in a technique Sinclaire often used with unpolished circles and dividing notches.
This piece is in excellent condition with just some minor surface scratching. It’s quite large, measuring 14 1/2″ long, 10″ wide and 3 1/4″ deep. Sinclaire produced some of the best realistic work of the period and this centerpiece exemplifies what they were best at.
This piece is undoubtedly made by J. Hoare – one of the masters of the weaving pattern. I’ve had this pattern on two other Hoare blanks excluding this one. Hoare made this same blank in Wheat with the same, old-Hoare style hobstar on the base. Even the handle treatment is one Hoare commonly used.
One thing that’s so particularly incredible about this piece is the three levels of weaving design. The top and the bottom actually continue around the entire piece, even above and under the handle. The two main ribbons of cutting here include fine crosshatching and two parallel bands of notching. Each of these undulate to create the framework for a clear button hobstar. This is repeated in three levels and gives a captivating effect as your eye traces them around the entire piece. The rim has fans and the base is finished the old Hoare-style hobstar.
The pitcher is in perfect condition with no flaws and measures 10 3/4″ tall and 3 3/4″ wide. It’s on a water-white blank which is entirely wood-wheel polished to a gorgeous radiance. You’ll be hard pressed to find a pitcher this nice in this price range.
