Antique Thomas Webb & Sons Cameo Fleur Art Glass Vase - Cranberry & Clear - Lily Design - c.1890 - 1766

Summary

A Thomas Webb & Sons Cameo Fleur art glass vase of waisted form with a broad rim, the stippled ice ground overlaid in cranberry and carved in high relief with lily flowers, signed Webb in cameo to the base, late Victorian c.1890.

Description

Thomas Webb & Sons of Stourbridge were among the foremost producers of cameo glass in Victorian England, their work in the 1880s and 1890s representing the high point of the craft in British manufacture. The Cameo Fleur range - of which this vase is an example - used a distinctive stippled ice ground as the base layer, giving the clear glass a frosted, textured quality that throws the overlaid decoration into sharp relief.

The technique behind cameo glass is laborious by design. A gather of clear glass is first cased in one or more layers of coloured glass - here cranberry - and the resulting blank is then handed to a skilled carver who cuts away the coloured layer by layer using copper wheels, acid etching, or a combination of both, leaving the design standing proud of the ground. On pieces of this quality the relief work is substantial: the lily flowers here are carved fully in the round, their petals undercut to create depth and shadow. The cranberry rim is a further refinement, requiring the coloured glass to be retained at the edge while the body decoration is worked. The Webb signature, itself carved in cameo rather than engraved or painted, confirms the piece left the factory as a signed example - a mark of quality reserved for their better work.

The pontil to the base has been ground and polished out, and the base itself is factory polished - finishing details consistent with Webb's higher grade production.

Condition

Good order for period, wear is very restrained and the interior appears to have had very little use. Some minor production flaws to the underside of the foot, inherent to the manufacturing process and not affecting the piece.

Approximate Measurements

• Height: 22cm [8.75in]
• Width: 19.2cm [7.5in] across rim
• Weight: 1,390 grams

Stock Code: 1766 JL19-2

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