John Sandon
Consultant
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Lot 84
An exceptional and unrecorded English Glass bottle, early 18th century
15 November 2017, 10:30 GMT
London, Knightsbridge£10,000 - £15,000
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An exceptional and unrecorded English Glass bottle, early 18th century
Made as a novelty in the form of a popular brass candlestick of the period, in dark green bottle glass, the spreading base rising as a tapering-cylindrical stem, the trailed rim at the neck applied with a pincered 'hook' for hanging the candlestick, two angular rings trailed around the centre and near the neck and with a further pincered 'handle' applied on the side of the bottle to simulate the ejector or push-up button found on candlesticks of this type, 16.6cm high
Footnotes
A glass bottle maker has created a most extraordinary object. The shape derives from a form of brass candlestick popular in England during the reign of Queen Anne. The chronology of the brass candlestick is well illustrated by Rupert Gentle and Rachael Feild in Domestic metalwork 1640-1820 (1994). On pp.132-133 a number of English brass examples are shown, all dated to circa 1710-15.
The brass candlesticks (figs.38-41) all feature an applied loop on the top, used to hang the candlesticks for storage when not in use. This distinctive applied loop developed into a feature that became known as a 'hog-scraper' and this remained a feature of iron candlesticks up to a century later. The Queen Ann period brass candlesticks also feature a so-called 'ejector mechanism' used to remove the stump of wax left after a candle has burnt down. The mechanism includes a 'push-up button' or handle attached on the side of the candlestick and this button slides up and down.
The glass bottle maker has faithfully copied the hanging loop or hog-scraper at the top and he has also applied a mock ejector button on the side of his bottle. In addition he has applied two rings of glass to simulate a decorative feature found on earlier brass candlesticks. While a central knop or loop remained as a popular feature around the stems of 18th century brass candlesticks, additional loops or turned rings are only seen on earlier examples. These decorative rings would also have served as a strengthener for the neck of the brass candlesticks, a device that a bottle maker would well have understood.