IAN SIMMONDS

Two rare flasks of brilliant Ohio glass are icons of the '20s - both the 1820s of their manufacture and the 1920s research of Harry Hall White.

Portage County is south of White's home town Cleveland in what was once the Western Reserve of Connecticut. As White scoured the countryside looking for old glass he heard locals talk of Mantua bottles and Kent flasks.

With its prominent band of pointed arches reminiscent of a medieval cathedral, this compote is one of the more spectacular glass objects of the American Gothic Revival.

The Gothic Revival in America was inspired by its counterpart in England where architects and decorative artists joined painters and writers in the Romantic rejection of earlier Classical formality.

Globular bottles from Zanesville and other factories in Ohio shine in gem-like shades of amber, aquamarine and, more rarely, green. Ever so often one stands out from the crowd.

Since most are of similar size, large ones such as the one on the left are particularly admired.

Eighteenth century English cosmetic jars of a form excavated in Philadelphia were the prototype for a small American ribbed vessel.

The earliest ceramics, silver, furniture and glass made in and near Pennsylvania combined English forms and Germanic technique.

Strikingly similar in form, two thistle-shaped vases with knopped stems and round, flat feet represent opposite extremes of 1830s’ decoration.

In the 1830s, cut glass was a highly prized luxury article. Cut decoration required a considerable amount of effort and expense. The extravagant, all-over decoration of this vase was a widely recognized sign of wealth and distinction.

In 1840 a representative of the Meissen porcelain factory in Dresden, Germany, complained that they had received so few "new glass samples since 1838" that the factory may be forced into "the invention of their own designs."

While tableware was usually the product of lead glass manufacturers, a group of rare and highly valued pitchers, decanters and sugar bowls was made at remote window glass factories for local consumption.

This fine pressed vegetable dish is a classic example of America’s first great contribution to glass technology - the invention of machine pressing.

The subtly curving open-handled lid fits neatly into a matching gallery in the equally subtly-shaped base. A closer look at the lid and base reveals many period motifs: scrolls, hearts, thistles, roses, baskets of fruit, foliage and wreaths. Stippling and fine parallel lines fill the background creating the effect of lace, causing the dish and cover to glisten like the finest cut glass.