Antique cut glass has been manufactured for thousands of years already and had reached a peak of popularity during the late nineteenth century during the ostensible “Brilliant” era which lasted until the early part of 1900s.
Brilliant are cut glass, a very popular wedding present during that time, was weighty leaded glass, elaborately cut with geometric prisms and patterns. Cut glass turned out to be very desirable among individuals as it reflected the light across the dinner table. During the American Brilliant era, it was referred to as the “rich cut glass”. It was very expensive and revealed the social status of the owners.
A lot of companies specialized in either manufacturing or cutting glass, and only a few did both of them. Some of the most prominent antique cut glass companies during that time were the Hawkes, Strauss, Dorflinger Glass Company, Libby Glass Company, J. Hoare and Company, H.C. Fry and Company and Libby Glass Company.
Every manufacturer had their own patented patterns made from a series of motifs like the strawberry diamond, Hobstar and punty cut. The rarest or the priciest patterns were the Panel, trellis and the Aztec. Cut glass usually came in sets. Say for instance, decanters came with tumblers and goblets, candlesticks came in set of 2 or 4 and berry bowls cam with 6 tinier bowls.
Other antique cut glass collectibles include the casserole dishes, fingerbowls, ice cream trays and cake plates. Throughout the Edwardian era, cut glass became thinner, lighter and carved. The Brilliant cut glass was no longer as stylish or popular.
Cur glass reduced in popularity during the World War I and with Prohibition, a lot of companies including Dorflinger went out of business. A lot of perfume bottle creations during the 1800s as well as the late 1900s were made out of hand cut glass. These small bottles were usually designed to appear as lovely as their contents smelled. These bottles can range from a few to thousand dollars depending on some factors.
Antique cut glass is very delicate and susceptible to heat and collectors of it must be wary of fake cut glass which started to come up in the 1980s – genuineness can usually be determined through the black light test.