Featured Steven and Williams - Please Confirm

Ever since our discussion of Victorian applied flower glass vases from Stourbridge, England, as well as other countries, I have been searching for them. A reseller, who I am friends with, allowed me to purchase several things from a massive accumulation of pieces that he kept from years running and going to estate sales, etc. He is now moving. He called these two handled vases/pitchers that are 7 inches tall - Stevens and Williams. They are cased glass with a pink swirled glass exterior and a white interior. They have clear glass handles with a kind of thorny leafy motif. The pontil scars are very rough. I'm sure hoping that they are as advertised. Any comments gratefully appreciated.

 

whatever they are, they're pretty nice!

 

I used to deal with quite a lot of this type of glass 20 years ago when the US market was strong. While they are in the style of S&W imo they are not quite right, there is something about the rims and handles which don't seem to work for S&W. If you look at some S&W pieces at noted dealers you should be able to see what I mean. Also if it is a Verre de Soie piece the bases of the S&W examples are usually of a very high quality of finish.

They are still nice pieces though and they are probably fairly contemporary to S&W and attempting to copy the Verre de Soie form.

 

I'd think Bohemian rather than S&W. Might be Welz. Stick it on the Bohemian Glass FAcebook page, see what they think.

 

I would have bought them anyway. They are just kind of thing that I like. Thank you.

 

Drat! I paid a Steven and Williams price. Oh well. His collection was huge, and from every aspect of collecting world, so I expect he was told this and believed it. He had rooms full of paintings, rugs, ceramics, glass, bronze, photographs, jewelry, silver, lamps, etc. He can't possibly be an expert on everything. Thanks for the Verre de Soie information. I will do some research on that form. Most appreciated.

 

Thanks for weighing in. I'll post it there and tell you what I find out. I'm seeing this labelled Pompeian swirl glass. I'll go a hunting.

 

If they were genuine S&W verre de soie they would be North of $1000 each, hopefully you didn't pay that much!

 

I found this on Worthpoint. It is labelled Stevens and Williams and has the same type of clear glass handle. Not that I believe the attribution is correct, but that others thought so also. Or these could be real and mine are copies.



Antique Victorian Stevens & Williams Ribbon Swirl Cased Art Glass Vase Set NICE | #796280539 (worthpoint.com)

 

OMG No. He is a friend and priced his stuff accordingly. He knew I wanted some Stevens and Williams, so he charged me much more for these pieces and a verified Hawkes than the other things.

 

I see what you mean.



Pair c1890 art glass vases, Pompeian Swirl, rose, 10t For Sale | Antiques.com | Classifieds

 

To close the loop, I asked Will Farmer, of Fieldings Auctioneers and he confirmed continental

"So, I’ve had a look at the images and I’m sorry to say but these are also continental. They are most likely Harrach or similar utilising an air trap technique which was also used here in the UK. The form however with that base and frill neck combined with the rustic form handle and rough struck pontil indicate a continental example.

They are still very pretty however and collectable but sadly not S&W."

 

HAH!

Will is excellent on glass.

 

I thought you were right, but I am always gathering information and Will is very lovely and willing to help.

 

Hey, I love the fact that A Real Expert like Will agreed.

 

You are a real expert in my eyes. At least far more expert than I am, but that's not saying much!

 

They finally approved me on the Bohemian Glass Facebook page and they confirmed:

"Yes, I would concur with the origin being Bohemian. Circa.1890-1915."

 

Excellent!

 

They think they might have a maker - Harrach - They are looking for a blue one.