The Marquess of Bute Bowl and Stand
Blown, moulded and cut glass
Dublin or Cork Glasshouse
c.1790
Height 50cm
Purchased 1996
This massive canoe shaped bowl and stand is from the collection of the fourth Marquess of Bute (1881-1947). The Marquess built up a large and renowned collection of Irish glass with the help of Dudley Westropp who was Keeper of Art at the National Museum of Ireland from 1930 to 1936. The growth of the Bute glass collection is well documented in both the Bute archives and the correspondence between Westropp and the Marquess.
The Bute bowl and stand, which is one of the most famous pieces of Irish glass, dates from 1790 and was made at either the Cork or Dublin glasshouse. The bowl which sits on a detachable stand is beautifully decorated with typical flat cut diamonds, hollow flutes and a bevelled fan cut Vandyck rim. The stand which is similarly decorated shows signs of how difficult it was to make such a large piece. Below the urn shaped stem there is a flaw caused by the glassmaker trying to join the moulded base to the urn. This flaw adds character to the piece rather than detracting from it.
The size and beauty of the piece, together with its condition and provenance, makes it one of the most celebrated pieces of glass made in Ireland. The bowl and stand was exhibited in Limerick at the 1971 R.O.S.C. exhibition. It has also been used as the frontispiece of Westropp's seminal and still standard book 'Irish Glass', as well as being used as the cover illustration of Phelps Warren's 'Irish Glass'.
The purchase of this piece was supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Belfast based Esme Mitchell Trust and the National Art Collections Fund also provided support.