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Mid-Century 1950s Waterford Large Leaded Crystal Decorative Centerpiece

Name: Mid-Century 1950s Waterford Large Leaded Crystal Decorative Centerpiece
Brand: Waterford Crystal
Price: 1375 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

A stunning and large Mid-Century Waterford decorative leaded crystal piece for dining table, hall or coffee table. The container has a matching leaded crystal lid. This is a rare-to-find piece for its size and style from the late 1950s, made in Ireland. It's beautifully faceted, and was a hallmark piece for Waterford, when it was produced, and was inspired by the original Waterford patterns from the 18th century. It's in excellent condition, with one very small nick on the rim of the piece under the lid that is only perceptible by touch. You cannot see it. The final picture attached here points it out. The original House of Waterford was established in Waterford, Ireland, in 1783 by George and William Penrose. Their vision was to “create the finest quality crystal for drinking vessels and objects of beauty for the home.” The factory closed in 1851. Production of glass in the city of Waterford ceased until after the Second World War, when a small factory was re-established, and glassblowers studied the pattern books of the Waterford Glassworks from the previous century. By the 1960's Waterford Crystal was selling directly to stores worldwide. This crystal bowl from the late 1950s represents one of the patterns established after the factory reopened following World War II.

Creator:

Waterford Crystal (Manufacturer)

Dimensions:

Height: 4.75 in (12.07 cm)Diameter: 12 in (30.48 cm)

Style:

Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Crystal

Place of Origin:

Ireland, Republic of

Period:

Mid-20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

circa 1950

Condition:

This piece is in excellent condition. There is one small imperceptible nick on the rim of the container that is covered by the lid. It is only detectable by touch.

Seller Location:

Austin, TX

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU6309230545972

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Shop All Waterford Crystal

Waterford Crystal

Among glassware aficionados, the name Waterford has earned a place of eminence — both for antique crystal made by the original Irish company in the 18th and 19th centuries, and for new versions of the firm’s classic patterns produced after its rebirth in the 1940s. With either iteration, Waterford is a byword for traditional elegance.

Waterford crystal was born of a tax loophole. In 1783, business-minded brothers George and William Penrose founded the Waterford Glass House in southeastern Ireland because Irish glass was exempt from steep British import duties. The two wanted to make fine-quality wares and hired artisans from England, including master glassmaker John Hill. The factory’s flint glass — a precursor to lead crystal — soon won a clientele among British and continental aristocrats. One of Hill’s aesthetic innovations was to polish glassware after a pattern was cut, to buff off the resulting frosted surface. The look became a Waterford trademark. Through the fame of its wine goblets, claret jugs and decanters, the firm continued to win honors at the many industrial expositions of the early Victorian era. But over those years, higher and higher luxury excise taxes were placed on fine crystal. Waterford products became prohibitively expensive, and the company closed in 1851.

The brand’s renown was still intact when it was revived in 1947 by a Czech glass manufacturer named Charles Bacik, who moved to Ireland after the Communist takeover of his country. For centuries, the region now called the Czech Republic had been the great glassware center of Middle Europe — source of crystal to great Viennese glass design firms such as Lobmeyr and Bakalowits. So Bacik brought with him the master glassblower and designer Miroslav Havel. In Dublin, Havel studied the old Waterford style book archives kept in the National Museum. He used these classic patterns as the basis for new ones such as Lismore, with its crosshatching and flame-like vertical cuts, and Alana, with its heavily textured diamond cuts. Past and present are thus linked at Waterford. As you will see on 1stDibs, antique or recently made, Waterford crystal is the essence of refinement.