Tall Contemporary Glass Vase by Waterford Glass Evolution Line England
About the Item
- Creator:Waterford Crystal (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 11.5 in (29.21 cm)Diameter: 7.5 in (19.05 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1990's
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:San Diego, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU936643621272
Waterford Crystal
Among glassware aficionados, the name Waterford has earned a place of eminence — both for antique crystal vases, glasses, chandeliers and serveware 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 — the source of crystal to legendary 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.
Introduced in 1991, the Marquis by Waterford range of vases, bowls and other wares were priced for everyday use and were intended for use in modern homes. It was the first new brand debuted by the company in what was then its more than two-century history.
As you will see on 1stDibs, antique or recently made, Waterford crystal is the essence of refinement.
Find Waterford crystal vases, serveware and other collectibles for sale on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: San Diego, CA
- Return Policy
More From This Seller
View All20th Century Czech American Classical Vases
Crystal
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Blown Glass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vases
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Vases
Art Glass
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vases
Art Glass
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Blown Glass
You May Also Like
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vases
Glass
Vintage 1950s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vases
Crystal
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vases
Crystal
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vases
Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Vases
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary British Art Deco Vases
Crystal
