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Lot Essay
In the 19th century Birmingham was renowned for its manufacture of metal and glass goods. The firm of F. & C. Osler was established in 1807 by Thomas Osler in Broad Street and was a principal manufacturer of light fittings and glass furniture, much of which was exported to the Indian sub-continent. These sparkling tables of multi-faceted glass are pre-eminent examples of Osler's output at the peak of its production during the late 19th century. Their display of a massive crystal fountain at the 1851 Great Exhibition attracted an international audience, not least the princes of India, to whom Osler marketed ever more imaginative cut glass designs through its Calcutta showroom.
The heavy cut glass stems and mirrored top with thumb-cut borders to these tables are all hallmarks of Osler's production. An identical glass table, lacking its hanging pendants and drops, is illustrated alongside a group of glass furniture by Osler in Mallett, London, 2001, pp. 76-77. There is a table with an identical baluster cut glass stem and socle, but unusually in blue glass, formerly belonging to the Comtesse de Vogüé, in the Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass, New York.
The heavy cut glass stems and mirrored top with thumb-cut borders to these tables are all hallmarks of Osler's production. An identical glass table, lacking its hanging pendants and drops, is illustrated alongside a group of glass furniture by Osler in Mallett, London, 2001, pp. 76-77. There is a table with an identical baluster cut glass stem and socle, but unusually in blue glass, formerly belonging to the Comtesse de Vogüé, in the Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass, New York.