Jim Peake
Head of Department
Lot 41
A fine Nelson engraved opaque twist portrait wine glass, circa 1765, the engraving circa 1805
19 November 2025, 10:30 GMT
London, Knightsbridge£2,000 - £3,000
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A fine Nelson engraved opaque twist portrait wine glass, circa 1765, the engraving circa 1805
The ogee bowl later decorated with a profile portrait of Admiral Lord Nelson within a circular frame titled 'TRAFALGAR', flanked by tied palm fronds, the reverse with a seascape depicting three three-masted ships on the ocean, the largest probably representing HMS Victory, on a double-series stem with a pair of opaque white five-ply spiral bands outside a lace twist, over a conical foot, 14.5cm high
Footnotes
Provenance
With Maureen Thompson, December 1985
The Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805 was one of Nelson's greatest victories and a number of glasses, particularly rummers, were engraved to commemorate the event. The engraving on the present glass, which was made several decades earlier, is particularly fine and reflects how earlier glasses were sometimes updated to depict celebrities of the day. Compare for example with the opaque twist wine glass later engraved with a portrait of Sarah Siddons, sold by Bonhams as part of the Stephen Pohlmann Collection on 30 November 2022, lot 71.