Pair of Bristol Glass Vases

Description

This is a pair of beautiful Bristol glass vases with hand-painted decoration. There is a large reserve painted with an idealized family scene. It is framed by a design of branches with birds on the upper and lower corner. The reserve is surrounded by gold painted foliage. The vase shows wear consistent with the age of the piece.

Bristol Blue Glass

During the late 18th century Richard Champion, a Bristol merchant and potter, making porcelain, was working with a chemist, William Cookworthy. Cookworthy began a search for good quality cobalt oxide to give the blue glaze decoration on the white porcelain and obtained exclusive import rights to all the cobalt oxide from the Royal Saxon Cobalt Works in Saxony. It is uncertain when Bristol blue glass was first made but the quality and beauty of the glass swiftly gained popularity, with seventeen glass houses being set up in the city.