1890s Mary Gregory Cranberry Glass
Beautiful 2” tall Mary Gregory Glass
The distinguishing feature of Mary Gregory glass is the stylised white enamel painting usually of a child in an outdoor setting, playing with such things as butterfly nets, bubbles, fishing rods, or hoops. The trees and foliage often have a typical "feathered" style, the figure is oddly old-fashioned in its proportions, and the enamel is fired onto the glass.
This kind of decoration developed from the "painted cameo" glass produced in Europe after about 1870 which itself was developed to compete with the very popular carved cameo from England. Some very beautiful classical scenes in white enamel on Victorian glass are sometimes called "Mary Gregory" glass as the alternative "painted cameo" is not a popular name.
Old Mary Gregory glass is often in the characteristic Victorian colours of cranberry, or bottle green (like the two examples on the left) or clear. The quality of the painting is often higher than modern versions, with "double fired" highlights on key features and around the edges of the clothing. The quality of the glass may be thinner and poorer than some of today's Mary Gregory glass, and it is almost always mouth blown. There is rarely any colour other than white in the painting, although some post-war Mary Gregory pieces have crude dark lines to emphasise mouth, nose and eyes, and dark hair. There are even Mary Gregory pieces with flesh-coloured faces.
For a long time it was believed that Mary Gregory glass was produced by the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company, USA, and painted by a decorator called Mary Gregory who was employed by the company in the 1880's. This story began in the 1920's when the name Mary Gregory Glass was first coined. Extensive research has revealed that although there was a decorator of this name working for the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company at that time, Mary Gregory glass was never made by that company.
The "Mary Gregory" designs originated in Europe, probably in Bohemia some time before 1880. Old catalogues of some Bohemian and German glassworks show these designs.
Beautiful 2” tall Mary Gregory Glass
The distinguishing feature of Mary Gregory glass is the stylised white enamel painting usually of a child in an outdoor setting, playing with such things as butterfly nets, bubbles, fishing rods, or hoops. The trees and foliage often have a typical "feathered" style, the figure is oddly old-fashioned in its proportions, and the enamel is fired onto the glass.
This kind of decoration developed from the "painted cameo" glass produced in Europe after about 1870 which itself was developed to compete with the very popular carved cameo from England. Some very beautiful classical scenes in white enamel on Victorian glass are sometimes called "Mary Gregory" glass as the alternative "painted cameo" is not a popular name.
Old Mary Gregory glass is often in the characteristic Victorian colours of cranberry, or bottle green (like the two examples on the left) or clear. The quality of the painting is often higher than modern versions, with "double fired" highlights on key features and around the edges of the clothing. The quality of the glass may be thinner and poorer than some of today's Mary Gregory glass, and it is almost always mouth blown. There is rarely any colour other than white in the painting, although some post-war Mary Gregory pieces have crude dark lines to emphasise mouth, nose and eyes, and dark hair. There are even Mary Gregory pieces with flesh-coloured faces.
For a long time it was believed that Mary Gregory glass was produced by the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company, USA, and painted by a decorator called Mary Gregory who was employed by the company in the 1880's. This story began in the 1920's when the name Mary Gregory Glass was first coined. Extensive research has revealed that although there was a decorator of this name working for the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company at that time, Mary Gregory glass was never made by that company.
The "Mary Gregory" designs originated in Europe, probably in Bohemia some time before 1880. Old catalogues of some Bohemian and German glassworks show these designs.
Beautiful 2” tall Mary Gregory Glass
The distinguishing feature of Mary Gregory glass is the stylised white enamel painting usually of a child in an outdoor setting, playing with such things as butterfly nets, bubbles, fishing rods, or hoops. The trees and foliage often have a typical "feathered" style, the figure is oddly old-fashioned in its proportions, and the enamel is fired onto the glass.
This kind of decoration developed from the "painted cameo" glass produced in Europe after about 1870 which itself was developed to compete with the very popular carved cameo from England. Some very beautiful classical scenes in white enamel on Victorian glass are sometimes called "Mary Gregory" glass as the alternative "painted cameo" is not a popular name.
Old Mary Gregory glass is often in the characteristic Victorian colours of cranberry, or bottle green (like the two examples on the left) or clear. The quality of the painting is often higher than modern versions, with "double fired" highlights on key features and around the edges of the clothing. The quality of the glass may be thinner and poorer than some of today's Mary Gregory glass, and it is almost always mouth blown. There is rarely any colour other than white in the painting, although some post-war Mary Gregory pieces have crude dark lines to emphasise mouth, nose and eyes, and dark hair. There are even Mary Gregory pieces with flesh-coloured faces.
For a long time it was believed that Mary Gregory glass was produced by the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company, USA, and painted by a decorator called Mary Gregory who was employed by the company in the 1880's. This story began in the 1920's when the name Mary Gregory Glass was first coined. Extensive research has revealed that although there was a decorator of this name working for the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company at that time, Mary Gregory glass was never made by that company.
The "Mary Gregory" designs originated in Europe, probably in Bohemia some time before 1880. Old catalogues of some Bohemian and German glassworks show these designs.