Irish Glass. 5 5 



Most of the salad bowls, salt cellars, pickle urns, and some of 

 the celery bowls have plain, roughly moulded, oval, rectangular, 

 or diamond shaped bases. These appear rather out of place 

 when compared with the finely cut bowls to which they are 

 attached. Many of the later pieces have circular bases which are 

 often star-cut underneath. Presides cut glass a large amount of 

 engraved glass was also made in Ireland, chiefly decorated with 

 fine lines, stars, vine leaves and bunches of grapes, corn, etc- 

 This engraved, or flowered glass as it was called, appears to have 

 been made in all the factoiies. 



Many of the decanters, water jugs, and finger glasses bear 

 fine upright mould marks extending about an inch and a half to 

 two inches from the base, which are caused by slightly blowing 

 the gathering of glass and then pressing it into a circular ridged 

 iron mould. These moulded pieces are usually rather thin, and 

 are either left quite plain or are decorated with shallow cutting or 

 engraving. Some pieces appear to have been blown into a mould 

 having a diamond pattern, flutings, etc. 



The old tall stemmed drinking glasses must have been made 

 in large quantities in Ireland during the seventeenth and eigh- 

 teenth centuries, but it is very difficult to distinguish these from 

 English specimens. Comparatively very few of the old drinking 

 glasses are to be found in Ireland at the present day, but some 

 with tall stems, often enclosing air or white twists, and having 

 unusually small bowls, appear to be peculiar to the country. 



Coloured glass appears to have been made in Ireland in 

 small quantities during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries ; 

 probably that used as framing to mirrors may have been made in 

 the Dublin and south of Ireland glass-houses. No coloured glass, 

 however, is mentioned in any of the advertisements of the various 

 factories, with the two exceptions, that in 1773 William Williams 

 stated that at his glass factory in Abbey Street, Dublin, "he made 

 any article and of any colour that is made of glass," and in the 

 Royal Dublin Society's exhibition of 1850 George Gatchell, of 

 Waterford, exhibited specimens of opaque blue and white glass on 

 crystal glass. 



