Absolutely gorgeous & rare antique French Moser style 6 5/8" portrait goblet PAIR, each with a unique hand painted portrait miniature style painting in recessed oval medallions with gold enamel framing & rims and very unique "ice" or crackle glass bodies! Not Moser, we think, though it is possible. I've gone through our little Moser book but didn't see anything in a similar style. We also have a French perfume caddy and a leaf or clover shaped condiment dish with this style so believe it to be French. Similar in appearance to crackle glass, yes we've all surely heard of and seen examples. The process here is a bit different, resulting in a textured look on the reverse side with a smooth interior and much thicker than the common crackle glass. Overshot glass had its origin in 16th century Venice, and the ability to make this ware eventually spread to Bohemia, Spain and elsewhere in Europe. Sometime prior to 1800, the production of this glass seems to have stopped. The Englishman Apsley Pellatt, owner of the Falcon Glass Works, is credited with reviving this decorative technique around 1845-1850. He acknowledged the origin of the technique by calling his product "Venetian Frosted Glass" or "Anglo-Venetian Glass". Later it would be called by other names, such as Frosted Glassware, ice Glass or Craquelle Glass. It is important to understand the difference between crackle glass and overshot glass. Two different processes were involved. Crackle glass was produced by dipping a partially blown gob of hot glass in cold water. The sudden temperature change caused fissures or cracks in the glass surface. The gob was then lightly reheated and blown to its full shape. The blowing process enlarged the spaces between fissures to create a labyrinth of channels in varying widths. When cooled in the annealing lehr, the surface of the finished object had a crackled or cracked-ice effect. Overshot glass was made by rolling a partially or fully inflated gob of hot glass on finely ground shards of glass that had been placed on a steel plate called a marver. The gob was then lightly reheated to remove the sharp edges of the ground glass and giving it much more depth and texture. A truly beautiful PAIR of examples here and the miniature paintings are fabulous. A man & woman in period dress, the man holding the stem of what is likely a musical instrument and the woman shown in profile with opulent gown and bow & ribbon in her hair. The interior of each is either a layer of opaque white glass or enamel, giving them the white appearance rather than clear. Rare to find & fabulous condition, don't miss them!
Very good to excellent condition. No chips, cracks or other damage to either though there is some wear/fading here & there to the told enamel around the rims. The paintings are both in great shape, too, with just a hint of flaking or tiny spot losses (visible in the enlarged images). See pictures for measurements.
