A little glass bowl with history

Yesterday saw the listing of a small oval shaped open glass bowl and it was surprising how it felt to put this seeming inconsequential item on the website. This was something I bought at auction about 15 years ago and its understated elegance led me to hold on to it for considerable time. The Greek Key design is perfectly balanced against a frosted glass panel which surrounds it and both are offset by the central star radiating out across the base. A little research on the “registration lozenge” led to discoveries of not only what day the design was registered but included the parcel it had been part of and the maker. Molineaux and Webb set up in 1827 and over the next few years underwent name changes until it was controlled by the Webb family from the 1860’s.

The company was based in Ancoats, Manchester and thrived until 1929 when it was liquidated. There doesn’t appear to be a link to the Webb family of Stourbridge, but this by no means demeans the quality of the pieces that Molineaux, Webb & Co produced. This particular design appeared in circular form as well as oval, decorating items such as plates, comports and Tazza’s and proved to be a popular design. For anyone interested, I would recommend logging into

https://sites.google.com/site/molwebbhistory/Home

and then scrolling down and opening Registered Designs.

Do you have any interesting pieces that you would like to discuss – we have a forum page and who knows, we may be able to add some little insight beyond what you already know, or vice versa.

Kind regards