adorn'd with flowers,
Attended by the smiling hours,
'Tis thine to dress the rosy bowers
In colours gay
"The Return of May," Felicia Dorothea Browne, 1808
This enchanting fairy, framed by delicate flowers, foliage, and flittering butterflies, is an example of elegant enameled glassware that became popular in the late 1800s. Against the soft rosy background of cranberry glass, an artist skillfully painted layers of white enamel, creating the effect of a carved cameo. In fact this style of enameled glass was produced to compete with the more costly cameo glass. Cameo glass was typically made of two fused layers of glass, a lighter (usually white) outer layer over a contrasting darker shell; the piece was then cut and etched to create a cameo-like design.
The subtle shading and layering gives the images a three-dimensional effect.
Underneath, the vase is faintly acid-etched "FLORENTINE ART CAMEO." This was one of the lines registered by Lazarus and Rosenfeld, a British company that specialized in high-end glassware, china, and pottery. In 1883, they established their glass refinery in Kamenické Šenov in Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic). The refinery ceased operations in 1934.
All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!
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