Irish glass

The first glasshouse to manufacture lead glass in Ireland was set up in the late seventeenth century in Dublin by Christopher and Richard Fitz-Simon with Captain Roche and Patrick Simon and remained in the Fitz-Simon family until about 1760. The Huguenots also moved into Ireland and worked in the glass industry in the eighteenth century. Most of the Irish glasshouses were placed near ports where coal could be easily accessed due to the lack of any great coal deposits in Ireland itself.

piggins circa 1810-1825

Early Irish glass tends to be very similar to English glass of the period and it was not until the end of the eighteenth century that an uniquely Irish style began to emerge. Bowls with turn over rims, piggins (tubs for serving cream) pieces blown into moulds and certain cutting and engraving patterns are representative of the Irish style.

tazzas were made in Ireland throughout the 18th century

In around 1780 Ireland began to emerge as a great glass producer. Up until this date, being under British rule, heavy taxes were imposed on glass made here but in 1780 these were relaxed and Ireland could flourish in its production at the same time tax was being increased on glass made in England. Glass was produced at Waterford, Belfast, Dublin and Cork and many workers from England went over there. It was in Ireland that a method of blowing glass into a mould was introduced so that pieces could be made in imitation of cut glass this could be done comparatively quickly and the names of the factories were often moulded onto the bases. Many items were made using this technique most common are decanters but butter dishes, finger bowls and jugs were also made. Names such as Edwards Belfast, Penrose Waterford or the Waterloo Glass Co. may be found. These pieces are now very collectable and are worth much more than cut examples of the period due to the fact that they are now quite rare and can be identified easily as of Irish manufacture. Beware however as due to their desirability copies were made in the early twentieth century so you need to be sure of what you are looking at also with the migration of many Irish people to America in the first half of the nineteenth century similar pieces were made there.

moulded decanters in Sheffield plate stand circa 1810

examples of moulded decanters

It is quite difficult making attributions with cut glass and much debate can go into a decision as although some pieces obviously have an Irish style others are less well defined and could have been made in England. Personally I tend to think that if a piece dates from the 1780 to 1825 period and is heavier than it needs to be then there is a good chance it is Irish. It would be foolish for an English glass maker in this period to add needless weight to a piece as the tax imposed would effectively price it out of the market.

cut glass plate circa 1800

It has been said that Irish glass has a slight blue grey colour but this is not strictly correct some may well have but Irish glass can be found with all sorts of shades from a brownish yellow right through to bright and crystal clear. In fact it was the intention of the glass maker to produce as clear a batch as possible by adding the right quantity of various metallic oxides though it was not an exact science due to variation in the raw materials. Waterford was probably the place that strove hardest to get a regular clear metal and Waterford crystal remains popular to this day though the modern glass cannot compete with the wares of the early nineteenth century both in terms of quality and price. A fine piece from around 1820 is generally more intricately cut than its modern counterpart and can be purchased for a similar price. The connoisseur would generally say that the tone to go for is the bluish grey and I would not disagree as for some reason it has a more attractive look and feel than a completely clear piece sitting well with period furniture and silverware and looking particularly good in candle light or even just catching the sun as it shines through the window on a bright morning. Completely clear glass can look lifeless and cold and the brownish shades are not particularly appealing.

pair of mantle piece vases with turnover rims circa 1810

The turned over rim seems to be an Irish invention it was applied to many items including bowls, vases, salts and jars it was unlikely to have been used on English glass due to the weight it added. “Kettle drum” bowls seem also to have been made just in Ireland these are footed with straight sides coming down to a well where the pedestal joins. Bowls on separate stands are again probably uniquely Irish as are boat shaped bowl on stand, looking rather like large salts, often with a heavy triangular or moulded foot. The heavy square bases often applied to jars, candlesticks, vases and urns can also be assumed to be an Irish feature again due to weight. A complete range of items was being produced including oval, round and square serving dishes, jugs, plates, salts, butter dishes, celery vases etc.

group of salts showing examples of rim cutting in Irish glass

group of salts showing examples of rim cutting in Irish glass

jug cut on hand driven wheel circa 1810 the cutting is irregular

Up until about 1818 glass cutting was a completely manual process, the wheel was turned by hand, probably by a youth, being quite slow and sometimes lacking accuracy with cuts tending to be fairly shallow often using a combination of the bevelled type and the later regency type cutting. Fields of fine diamonds outlined with a shallow cut or vesica were popular as were stars and sunbursts. Rims were cut with scallops, inverted scallops, Vandyke and fan shapes. The cutters skill was to make a piece look as attractive as possible with the minimum of effort and in Ireland he achieved this with great success.

jar circa 1800

When steam power was introduced into Ireland cutting became more efficient with most of the surface of a piece being cut. Whilst very attractive some may say that the later cutting did not have the charm and individuality of the earlier pieces. In fact at this time there was a coming together of styles between England and Ireland with the English beginning to copy the popular Irish techniques and the Irish using machinery which had already been used in England for a little while. In 1825 there was a restriction placed on trade from Ireland he so the glass industry suffered and slowly production reduced until eventually it was no longer viable.

jug cut on steam driven wheel circa 1825