Tumbler thumbnail 1
Tumbler thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 125, Edwin and Susan Davies Gallery

Tumbler

ca. 1859 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
This straight-sided, cylindrical form is standard for a tumbler of this period and typically it would have been used for water. By this date tumblers were invariably made of glass despite their earlier history as a form made in ceramic or metal which could take a tumble during a convivial meal. Glass as thinly-blown as this example would stand few if any falls. The designer, probably Philip Webb, has had the forethought to give the straight-sided form an anti-slip bulge around the body, much like present-day beer glasses.

People
Webb designed a set of table glass by 1860. It was intended for the personal use of William Morris at Red House, to be made by James Powell & Sons. That first set, for which drawings only survive, was elaborately historicist in style, influenced as it was by Roman glass, 17th-century enamelled German glasses and 18th-century English drinking glasses. This wide range of historic influences show how eclectic Morris's own interests were. By 1862, the more elaborate designs were being converted into a plainer range, probably by Webb, for multiple production by James Powell & Sons. This plainer range was subsequently added to by the glassworks. This tumbler was presented to the Museum by Mrs J. Mackail, daughter of William Morris's great friend, the painter Edward Burne-Jones, and the widow of William Morris's biographer.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Clear, mould-blown glass
Brief description
Tumbler, England (London), possibly designed by Philip Webb and made by J. Powell and Sons, 1855-1860
Physical description
Table glass
Dimensions
  • Maximum height: 9.4cm
  • Maximum diameter: 7.8cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 07/07/1999 by Terry
Style
Gallery label
  • These tumblers are very much in the style of Philip Webb, and are possibly designs by him done for William Morris's shop.
  • British Galleries: TABLE GLASSES
    In January 1860, Philip Webb designed enamel-painted glassware in historical style for William Morris's own use at the Red House. These were made by James Powell & Sons. By 1862, without the painting and with the shape simplified for commercial production, the glassware was sold through Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. Two of these examples were used at the Morris family's country home, Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Given by Mrs J. W. Mackail, daughter of Edward Burne-Jones
Object history
Made by James Powell & Sons at their Whitefriars Glass Works, London, after a design by Philip Webb (born in Oxford, 1831, died in Worth, West Sussex, 1915)
Production
Possibly made 1862-1863
Summary
Object Type
This straight-sided, cylindrical form is standard for a tumbler of this period and typically it would have been used for water. By this date tumblers were invariably made of glass despite their earlier history as a form made in ceramic or metal which could take a tumble during a convivial meal. Glass as thinly-blown as this example would stand few if any falls. The designer, probably Philip Webb, has had the forethought to give the straight-sided form an anti-slip bulge around the body, much like present-day beer glasses.

People
Webb designed a set of table glass by 1860. It was intended for the personal use of William Morris at Red House, to be made by James Powell & Sons. That first set, for which drawings only survive, was elaborately historicist in style, influenced as it was by Roman glass, 17th-century enamelled German glasses and 18th-century English drinking glasses. This wide range of historic influences show how eclectic Morris's own interests were. By 1862, the more elaborate designs were being converted into a plainer range, probably by Webb, for multiple production by James Powell & Sons. This plainer range was subsequently added to by the glassworks. This tumbler was presented to the Museum by Mrs J. Mackail, daughter of William Morris's great friend, the painter Edward Burne-Jones, and the widow of William Morris's biographer.
Other number
Collection
Accession number
C.261-1926

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Record createdDecember 13, 1997
Record URL
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