Hand Blown Needle Etch Glass Underplates Fostoria Ground Pontil

This is a needle-etched, thin-walled, hand-blown glass 5 3/4 inch (15 cm) diameter underplate. The pattern features abstract sunflowers and ribbons. They have a ground are on the base from the removal of the pontil. It probably date to the 1920s when the needle etch technique was most widely used. Both Bryce and Fostoria were important makers of this glass, but there were many others, and we were not able to identify this pattern.

Needle etched glass was an acid etching technique applied to thin usually hand-blown glass. In the needle etching process, a glass blank was coated with wax. A skilled setter used a complex machine to carve a repeating pattern in the glass. The glass was set in place and slowly rotated while the machines needle traced the pattern into the wax. Once the pattern was complete, a second worker repaired any spots where the wax coating had been damaged by handling. Then the piece was placed in an acid dip to create the pattern.

The price shown is for a single underplate, and we have a number available while they last. These plates are in good shape with no chips, cracks, or repairs. They have slight evidence of use, mostly in the form of slight wear marks on the base. Because they are handmade, there is some variation among the pieces we have, particularly in the ground pontil area which vary in size from 1 inch to several inches. They vary very slightly in size and thickness, and they may have a few bits of debris in the glass. Overall they look nice and have good workmanship. As shown by one of the photos, they fit the compotes and small bowls which are sold separately.