Lamp Base

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Object Name: 
Lamp Base
Maker(s): 
Place Made: 
England, Amblecote
Accession Number: 
82.2.16
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 45.9 cm, Diam: 23.2 cm
Location: 
On Display
Date: 
1889
Credit Line: 
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Leonard S. Rakow
Web Description: 
With its three layers of purplish brown, white, and yellow glass, as well as its decoration, this object is reminiscent of Islamic tiles. The central ornament, the endless knot, is a Chinese symbol for long life and happiness. (see cameo glass in Stourbridge, 89.2.11).

More Info

Department: 
Modern
Provenance: 
Rakow Estate, Juliette K. (Mrs. Leonard S.) (d. 1992), Source
1982-11-30
Rakow, Leonard S., Source
1982-11-30
Color: 
Yellow, Opaque White, Translucent Dark Purplish-Brown
yellow
Technique: 
Blown, Overlay, Cameo-Carved, Ground, Acid-Etched
overlays
ground glass
Inscription: 
THOS. WEBB & SONS / CAMEO
Mark
COLLECTION OF DR. & MRS. LEONARD S. RAKOW / CG / 122
Paper Label

Description

Primary Description: 
Yellow, white and purplish-brown lead glass; blown, overlay, cameo-carved. Baluster shape, long, spreading neck flowing into a large, bulbous body; flared foot rim; yellow overlay on opaque white on translucent dark purplish-brown, cameo-carved in an Oriental pattern; formal lappet band at the rim, stylized flowers above a formal border of stylized leaves; the body with an open, busy pattern of stylized flowers (lotus?) and foliage, incorporating the endless knot symbolic of "Long Life and Happiness" and the character for "longevity" lappet border at the base filled with formal foliage; the foot rim with a formal floral and scrollwork border; the underside of the base open; the foot rim ground flat, with an acid-etched circular mark inscribed "THOS WEBB & SONS / . CAMEO ."; printed circular paper label inscribed "COLLECTION OF DR. & MRS. LEONARD S. RAKOW" and, typed in center, "CG / 122".

Exhibitions (1)

Cameo Glass: Masterpieces from 2000 Years of Glassmaking
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass 1982-05-01 through 1982-10-31
Cameo glass, one of the most costly and difficult decorating techniques since first century B.C., is documented and illustrated in this catalog. Included are examples from Rome, Islam, and China, as well as English 19th-century masterpieces by John Northwood and George Woodall among others. For the purposes of this catalog, the term “cameo glass” is used to refer to cased glass objects with two or more differently colored layers. The outer layer is usually an opaque or opalescent white, and the outer layer or layers have been carved in to leave the decoration standing in relief against a body of contrasting color. Shading is produced by thinning down the carved layer; highlights are created where the glass is left thickest. Both this catalog, and the exhibition for which it was created, documents the 2000-year cameo glass tradition.

Publications (4)

English Cameo Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass (1994) illustrated, pp. 9, 52, 62, fig. 48; BIB# 35913
The Corning Museum of Glass Annual Report 1982 (1983) illustrated, pp. 4, 7; BIB# AI97140
Recent Important Acquisitions, 25 (1983) illustrated, pp. 266-267, #32; BIB# AI98084
Cameo Glass: Masterpieces from 2000 Years of Glassmaking (1982) illustrated, p. 51 (fig. 27), pp. 54, 80, 116, #76; BIB# 30609