Pitcher (2) - Manganese - VICTORIAN OVERSHOT RUBY

Elegant, this pair of small Victorian cranberry-glass granulate pitchers illustrates with great finesse the decorative research of glassmaking in the second half of the 19th century. About 16 cm tall, the two pieces are made in “overshot” glass, a decorative technique involving applying small particles of glass to the still-hot parison before fusing them into the surface. Entirely blown and hand-worked, as well as their particularly expressive texture, allow us to date them to around 1880.

Each of the two pitchers features a body in translucent glass of a beautiful ruby-cranberry red, the hue varying with thickness and light incidence. The surface is entirely enriched with small inclusions of molten glass forming an irregular, granulated relief, giving the whole an appearance reminiscent of ice or frost. The handles echo this tactile pursuit with a similarly worked texture, while the bases retain the pontil mark, attest to their blown manufacture and hand finish. The combination of colored glass, rough surface, and simple shapes yields a particularly decorative contrast.

The pair is in good condition considering its age, with good transparency and a remarkably preserved color. For transparency, a few flaws are to be noted: one pitcher has a small chip along the rim near the handle, relatively discreet but present. On the second, a chip also affects the rim; this has, however, been carefully ground so that the area no longer presents a sharp edge. Both pieces also respond to ultraviolet light at 365 nm, fluorescence compatible with the presence of manganese in the glass.

Cranberry glass, whose ruby-red coloration is achieved notably through gold compounds, enjoyed considerable popularity in Victorian decorative glasswork. The “overshot” technique, for its part, allowed the surface of the glass itself to become a decorative element, giving it a deliberately irregular and tactile relief. This pair thus fits into this late 19th-century glassmaking tradition of ornamental glass, where material and texture innovations accompanied the search for light effects. Pontil marks and the irregular character of the granulate are as many testimonies to the artisanal production of these two small pitchers.

Average dimensions are:
- Height: 16.3 centimeters,
- Width: 10.5 centimeters,
- Upper diameter: 2.5 centimeters,
- Base diameter: 4.5 centimeters,
- Total weight of the set: 550 grams.

The two pitchers will be carefully packed and shipped promptly in secure fashion. In-person pickup and combined delivery are available. The photos are part of the description.