A VERY RARE ACORN KNOPPED LEMON GLASS
REF: FA1619
A elliptical pan topped bowl, finely engraved with a baroque border of anthemions issuing foliate scrollwork, sprays of fruiting vine and flowers suspended beneath. The stem with an acorn knop between shoulder and basal knops, on a domed foot.
- Height 16.5 cm / 6 "
- Width 10 cm / 4"
- Depth 8.5 cm / 3 "
- Period 1700-1749
- Year 1735
- Country England
- Provenance Francis Berry Collection Donald Beves Collection, Sotheby's, 11 May 1964, lot 84 Sotheby's, 17 April 1978, lot 44 Stephen Pohlmann Collection
- Literature Sometimes known as 'lemon' glasses, these exceedingly rare dessert glasses are traditionally thought to have served as centrepieces atop a pyramid of tazzas, with the unusually shaped bowl holding a lemon. The incorporation of vine into the engraving suggests that they may have instead been used for grapes or wine. The present glass would appear to be one of an original set, all with virtually identical engraving. One is illustrated by L M Bickerton, Eighteenth Century English Drinking Glasses (1986), p.97, no.179
