Rare 18th Century Mercury Twist Champagne Flute Glass With Folded Foot c1745

Technical Description

A truly exceptional 18th-century mercury twist champagne/wine glass with a long trumpet bowl above a mercury corkscrew. Conical folded foot.

If you would like to learn more about 18th century air twist wine glasses, please have a look at our on line article below

Identification of Antique Drinking Glasses | The English Air Twist

Date & Origin

England, c1750. Period of George II.

Condition

Excellent, no chips cracks or restoration

Dimensions

Height: 19.7cm, Rim diameter: 6.9cm,  Foot diameter: 8cm

Comments

Based on the proportions of the bowl to stem, we would say that this is a champagne flute rather than a wine. The twist is perfect, as is the transition from stem to foot, which is seamless. It is a two-part glass but the join has been done so well that you won't see it. Finally, we have the folded foot. On an air twist glass, the ratio of folded feet is approx 1 in 100. To find a folded foot on a mercury twist...is even rarer. I can't recall having a single example in the last 20 years.

This glass comes from the Michael Wallis collection which took over 45 years to build and contains over 250 drinking glasses, covering all forms from the 18th century, many exceptionally rare. They will all be presented by Exhibit over the coming weeks and months.