Collection: Antique Glassware

What to Look For When Buying

The first question with any antique glass is how it was made, because the answer separates hand work from mass production. Cut glass shows crisp, sharp facets with slight variation between them, and the cuts feel defined under a fingertip. Pressed and moulded glass shows mould seams, softer edges and repeating patterns that are identical rather than merely similar. On blown pieces, look at the base for a pontil mark, either rough or polished out, which indicates the piece was worked on the rod rather than pressed. Wear on the base should be irregular, fine and consistent with how a piece sits, and it is worth noting that artificial wear is easy to produce and usually looks too even and too uniformly distributed.

Condition then determines almost everything else. Run a fingertip carefully around every rim and every foot edge, since chips and flakes are most common there and are often difficult to see. Look through the piece against a light for internal cracks and for grinding, where a chip has been polished out, which leaves a rim slightly thinner, a foot slightly smaller or a pattern interrupted. Interior cloudiness is worth understanding: a light haze may be mineral deposit that can be treated, but a permanent milky or iridescent bloom, often called sickness, is chemical deterioration of the glass surface caused by liquid left standing over long periods, and it cannot be reversed. Every piece in the collection is assessed for these things before listing, and we document condition honestly, including restoration where we identify it.

Caring for Your Piece

Wash antique glass by hand, one piece at a time, in lukewarm water with a small amount of mild detergent, in a plastic basin or on a padded surface rather than directly against a metal sink. Never use a dishwasher, which combines heat, harsh detergent and physical contact, and never subject glass to a sudden change in temperature, since thermal shock cracks antique glass far more readily than modern glass. Dry immediately with a soft lint free cloth, supporting the piece by its body rather than its stem or handle. Do not leave water, flowers or any liquid standing in a vase or decanter for extended periods, as this is the direct cause of interior sickness. Store decanters with their stoppers out and both fully dry, since a stopper left in a damp decanter will seize.

Store pieces upright and separately, never stacked or nested, and never hang stemware by the foot in a rack, which puts the load on the weakest point. Gilded and enamelled decoration is applied to the surface and will wear away with abrasion, so those pieces should be wiped rather than scrubbed and kept out of water where the decoration is unstable. Keep coloured glass out of prolonged direct sunlight, which can shift the colour permanently.

Traditions Worth Knowing

Anglo Irish cut glass of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries is the benchmark for deep, hand cut decoration in lead crystal, and its weight and ring are distinctive. Bohemian glass brought colour and skilled engraving through the nineteenth century, including cased pieces cut back to reveal a contrasting layer beneath. English and French cameo glass of the later nineteenth century sits at the technical limit of the craft, with layers carved back by hand to produce relief decoration. Venetian and Murano work runs on a different line entirely, favouring lightness, colour and virtuoso forming over cutting, and twentieth century Murano in particular is among the most actively collected glass in the world.