Crystal Stemware

I have always loved beautiful stemware, and am constantly amazed by the astounding degree of artistry that goes into many of these pieces.   Myriad  techniques have been used for centuries to create a dizzying variety of highly ornamental, but useful,  stems.   Having said that, I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite style of embellishment as each has its merits.  For instance, in the two stems shown below, the entire appeal of the design is in the cut glass patterns used.  I love the way the cuts catch the light and add texture.

The stems shown below are of a matched pattern, and I believe them to be quite old.

Highly popular amongst today’s collectors is stemware in colored glass.  It truly is beautiful, and can greatly enhance a well appointed dinner table.  That is, of course, if you are willing to use those beautiful pieces and risk some careless accident!  I prefer my pieces to be safely admired from within the confines of a well-lit display cabinet.

Ever vigilant for exceptional pieces to add to my own collection, I was beyond excited when I found these two gorgeous German stems  (shown below) at a local yard sale.  It never fails to amaze me what people will sell . . . someone went to a lot of trouble to safely bring these beautiful pieces all the way back to the U.S., and I am thrilled that I got to be the lucky recipient.

While these stems (as shown in the example below) are probably not of the highest quality, I do think the color is lovely and it is nice to have a few pieces that I don’t mind actually using.

There are many more pieces of stemware that I will be featuring, so be sure to come back soon.  I think you will enjoy them all!

 

Last modified on: October 17th 2012.