Exquisite 19th century Moser glass ewer, of baluster form, with a pinched spout and loop handle, in Amberina glass, with polychrome enamelled insect and oak leaves and applied acorn decoration, on a tapered circular foot, with gilt accents, height 12.01 in.
- Ewer / Pitcher - A type of jug with a narrow neck bulbous body and wide spout, originally used for carrying and storing liquids such as water or wine. In medieval times they were the source of water to wash ones hands during and after a meal. later the shape was used for vessels in silver, gold, glass and ceramics.
In Victorian times they were made in ceramics and occasionally glass with a matching basin, and sometimes other accessories such as a soap holder or toothbrush holder. Their purpose was to provide facilities for personal washing In the early 19th century were often enclosed in purpose built stands, and later resided on a washstand..
Sometimes the words "ewer" and "pitcher" are used interchangably, but a pitcher is generally considered to be a jug, and would have a wide mouth, and a gently tapering body.
- Amberina Glass - Amberina glass is a type of art glass that is known for its distinctive two-tone colouration. It is typically made from a mixture of amber and red glass and appears to be orange at the top and red at the bottom. The colour change is achieved by using different amounts of gold in the glass mixture at different points in the manufacturing process. Amberina glass was first developed in the late 19th century by the New England Glass Company, and was later manufactured by other American and European glass manufacturers. It was popular in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was used to make a variety of decorative objects, including vases, bowls, and figurines.
- Baluster (glass) - An architectural term for a column in a balustrade or staircase.
When used to describe glass, it can either refer to the shape of the stem of a wine glass, being slender above and pear shaped below, or the shape of the whole vessel, usually a vase. In fact the baluster shape is often described as being vase-like.
The description of a vase as being of baluster shape covers a wide variety of shapes that often bear no resemblance to the original architectural form.
- Oak - Native to Europe and England, oak has been used for joinery, furniture and building since the beginning of the medieval civilisation. It is a pale yellow in colour when freshly cut and darkens with age to a mid brown colour.
Oak as a furniture timber was superceded by walnut in the 17th century, and in the 18th century by mahogany,
Semi-fossilised bog oak is black in colour, and is found in peat bogs where the trees have fallen and been preserved from decay by the bog. It is used for jewellery and small carved trinkets.
Pollard oak is taken from an oak that has been regularly pollarded, that is the upper branches have been removed at the top of the trunk, result that new branches would appear, and over time the top would become ball-like. . When harvested and sawn, the timber displays a continuous surface of knotty circles. The timber was scarce and expensive and was used in more expensive pieces of furniture in the Regency and Victorian periods.
- Polychrome - Made or finished in many colours. For furniture, it is used to indicated a painted finish.
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