A fine and rare Thomas Webb and Sons cameo glass and gilded vase, circa 1885


In the Oriental manner, of bottle shape with a bulbous neck, the surface layers of the glass delicately shaded in pale celadon and caramel colours to imitate jade, carved in low relief with two phoenix or ho-ho birds in flight among stylised clouds, two arabesque-shaped panels with carved plant-scroll ornament on a ground of tiny raised gold stippling, formal leaf borders at the neck and base, 18.5cm high
|ProvenanceLeo Kaplan CollectionThis shape was used at Thomas Webbs for both floral and Oriental decoration. Examples feature regularly in the cameo glass pattern books, see the facsimile published by Richard Dennis, illustrations on pp. 43, 45, 56, 57, 59 and 60. The gentle shading of the different surface layers before carving is a rarely-seen feature. Identical gold stippling can be seen on a Webbs vase exhibited by Tiffany & Co. at the Paris Exhibition in 1889, illustrated by Grover, cl. pl.C288