Technical Description
A fine pair of ‘Indian club-shaped’ cobalt blue-tinted decanters, c1770, each richly cut with stylised rosettes, lozenges and stars within arched panels and gilded on both sides with a meandering stylised floral garland comprising large and small flowers and leaves, the neck cut with diamond and oval facets and gilded rim, with star-cut base, the flattened disc stopper with faceted and gilded edge.
Produced in a style which may be closer to those of Europe, this rare pair of decanters are nonetheless of English inspiration and are likely to have been decorated in a well-established workshop. The gilding bears a strong resemblance to the work of the studio of James Giles (1718-80) in London. The ‘Indian’ club-shape was popular in England in the second half of the
18th and early 19th centuries and also later on the Continent in France and Bohemia. Indeed, in his momentous and ground-breaking publication on the history of the decanter (2004), Andy McConnell illustrates a very similar example (p.107) with a spire stopper sold by Sotheby’s in the early 1960s which at that time the auction house attributed to France. However, that previous attribution has now been disputed by a leading and well-established
Parisian glass expert. The spire stopper on that example is also an English rather than a Continental favourite.
The consensus of opinion, therefore, is that this pair are English and of a very high quality. We know from published advertisements of the day that James Giles was trying both in porcelain and glass to break into the European market and this pair may be indicative of that attempt. The meandering floral garland is found on other glass attributed to the Giles workshop and the quality of the decoration on this pair is also in line with other examples. Furthermore, elements of the cutting and the style of disc stopper are found on a variety of English cobalt blue glass forms which Giles favoured. Therefore, we have in this pair of decanters, with their finely gilded decoration and typical English cutting, strong evidence to support the attribution to a decorator in the London workshop of James Giles, c1770-80. The glass manufacturer and cutter are also likely to be of London origin.
Date & Origin
England, c1770
Condition
The decanters are in excellent condition with minor loss of gilt. One stopper peg has had some restoration to the base.
Dimensions
Height: 29cm Diameter: 12cm
This item is out of stock.
