The Thrill of Finding Beautiful Glassware

Today I wanted to share with you the thrill of finding beautiful glassware!

 

The other day Greg and I headed to several consignment/thrift/vintage/antique stores in search of  furniture for the new office he’s setting up. I’m happy to report that we were successful and picked up four mid-century-style black leather side chairs, two beautiful blue velvet club chairs, and two striking brass floor lamps that will arch over the club chairs. (Photos may come later once we’ve set up the office space. 😉)

What I’m really excited about, though, is the gorgeous glassware I found and brought home! I’m daydreaming about the tablescapes they’ll grace, but I couldn’t wait to share these pieces with you. 

First to be discovered was this striking mid-century vase in lime green that has a wafer-shaped base supporting straight sides that widen at the top. It stands 9.75" tall and I would guess it was made in the 1960's-1970's. 

    

Next up is an example of contemporary mouth-blown artistry with hand-painted metallic gold details. This has straight sides as well, but with a narrower diameter than the vase above. It is also a bit taller at 10.25". Both of these exhibit the clean lines and unfussy details that I love.

  

 

That's not to say that I don't appreciate intricate details!   

 

These heavy crystal vases are both deeply cut to increase the amount of refracted light. The more elaborate design in the vase on the left includes repeating acid-etched squares. It stands somewhat shorter at 8" and was made by Waterford Marquis in the 'Quadrata' pattern from 2002-2012. 

 

The vase on the right has a series of vertical cuts that ascend then descend in three sets. It is 6.75" high, perfect for smaller bouquets in more intimate table settings. This vase was displayed with the Quadrata vase and other vases that were definitely Waterford Marquis patterns so this may be as well. Waterford began producing the Marquis crystal line in 1991.

  

   

As usual, I was looking for something else — ceramic vases that would conceal the stems — when I found all the vases. And I found two others that almost talked me into bringing them home with me!

 

But there was more beautiful crystal waiting for me!

 

On an over-crowded shelf filled with dusty figurines, I glimpsed a bit of sparkle, and discovered a set of four Steuben cranberry optical swirl goblets, with clear wafers between the bowls and the stems. They are in pristine condition, with slight variations in height which hint at their hand-blown origins. The pattern dates to the 1930's, although I'm unclear as to how many years they were in production. Their height suggests they were probably water goblets, though I use them as wine glasses, since contemporary stemware is much taller than vintage and antique counterparts.

 

If they seem familiar, it's because I've used them in a variety of tablescapes such as The Softer Side of Pink. They bring my collection to twelve.

 

Sitting in a booth with no price tags attached were these crystal highball glasses, the same pattern as the Quadrata vase above which I had found in another vendor's booth. It was obviously meant to be! (After the staff tracked down the booth owner for a price — how did they expect them to be sold?)

 

 

The absolute highlight was spotting a set of Saint Louis 'Tommy' wine glasses in pristine condition!  I'm not sure of their age, but the pattern has been in production since 1987 in France in five colorways as well as clear. We got them for less than 1/3 of their current offerings. They are intricately designed cut-to-clear stemware, called this because a vibrant dark blue glass slip is cut to reveal the clear body.

 

My husband and I are fans of cut-to-clear vintage glassware. You may remember the Imperlux hock wine glasses I used on the table for Dreaming of a White (and Blue) Christmas. Those glasses were produced from 1950 to 1990 in what was then known as East Germany, from a long tradition of European crystal.

 

My husband scored a wonderful glass eagle that appears to be landing. Just shy of 8", it is gracefully rendered in a semi-abstract fashion.

    

He plans to display it in either his Elegant Home Office shown below, or perhaps in the new company office along with the glass bookends he has been using.

 

 

Lastly, I nearly tripped over a stack of chargers in a number of boxes. I loved their soft blue color, the interesting pattern of their rims and their price at $3.00 each. I could envision them with any of my blue, green or multi-colored plates so I promptly picked up six.

 

I was thrilled I found so many beautiful glassware pieces in remarkably excellent to apparently new condition! I couldn't believe we had such luck since it has been quite a while since I had come home with anything from my usual haunts.

 

I can't wait to use them throughout my home filled with flowers and set lovely tablescapes with them. Stay tuned for further posts!

 

And I hope I've inspired you to discover the world of beautiful glassware.