For Sale is a hard to find piece of Art Glass made by The Steuben Glass Company of Corning, New York. The Item is a hand blown and engraved "Cruet" and it is done in the Verre de Soie Style of Art Glass. This was Frederick Carder's Favorite Glass. "Verre de Soie" literally means "Glass of Silk". The Cruet has some size to it as it stands 7 1/4" tall to the top of the Stopper and it is 3 1/4" in diameter at the bottom.

The Cruet depicts a Milky Translucent White Glass throughout. Both pieces have a wonderful iridescence sheen to it. You can see beautiful hues of Fuchsia, Purples and Blues. When you rub this piece of glass across your face it has a very silky feel to it, thus the name "Verre de Soie" Glass of Silk. The Cruet is Wheel Engraved by Hawkes with the words "Oil" towards the top of the Bottle and "Vinegar" at the bottom. This is only on one side of the bottle. There is a Garland of Flowers and Leaves that are also wheel etched or engraved. There is a set of Flowers on the front and back. These are separated by the long Vine of wheel cut leaves. The stopper is also engraved on the top with the Floral Pattern.

The Cruet is considered to be in very good to excellent condition. There are are no cracks, nicks, chips or dings to the bottom and the bottom of the bottle stopper has a very tiny flea nick. There are a scratches on the bottom of the bottle and this is typical of wear. The Cruet does display a counter sunk polished Pontil. This is the sign of a quality piece of Art Glass. The Cruet is signed in an Acid Etched Signature mark that reads "Hawkes". The bottom of the stopper also bears this signature as well. There appear to be some other writing below the bottle signature mark but I cannot make out what it says.

I believe this to be similar in shape to number 3063 in the Steuben Catalog of shapes. This should be a new shape for the Steuben Club to index. It is not quite the same as shape number 3063 but is very close. I will attach a link to the Steuben Club Website of shapes to show this below.

http://www.cardersteubenclub.org/shapes/item-view.cfm?category=ShapeIndex&recordID=20455&back=1 Click on or copy and paste into browser to access Steuben Picture Archive

This is an early piece of Steuben. Frederick Carder came over from England to Corning, NY and formed a partnership with Thomas Hawkes in 1903. Their new company was called "Steuben" after the county Coring was in. Hawkes did the engraving on the Glass and Steuben made the Glass blanks. Steuben Aurene Glass is some the Highest Quality Glass you can own. At the turn of the Century LCT Tiffany Studio's Favrile line was their main competitor and their fared equally as well creating some of the nicest Art Glass Vases the World has ever seen.

These Cruets were used and most of them did not make it through. This Style of Bottle is very hard to find without damage. I am happy to report that this has only a Flea Nick and is considered insignificant! Those of you who collect Verre de Soie and want an excellent example do not let this one slip by you!! This piece was early in Steuben's Production as it was made, Circa 1903-1915.

Antique Glass
Antique Art Glass