Pair of French Legras ‘Médicis’ Design Liqueur or Cordial Glasses c.1899

This is a pair of highly attractive liqueur or cordial glasses from the ‘Médicis’ suite by Legras of France and dating to the end of the 19th century.

The bucket-shaped bowl is cut with a series of oval panels; one glass has eight and the other has nine. The base of the bowl is thickened and sits on a squat baluster portion. This is followed by a small bladed knop and an inverse baluster portion. The latter widens out and merges with the plain, flat foot. This has a broad central polished pontil.

They are made from soda glass (non-lead).

These glasses can be seen on page 35 of the 1899 Legras catalogue. This catalogue was available to view online on another website for free until recently but sadly is now behind a paywall. 

Each glass has a height of approximately 8.8cm, with a diameter across the rim of about 4.0cm and across the foot of about 4.3cm, although these are not entirely circular. There are minor discrepancies in the dimensions due to the handmade nature of the glasses.

Each glass has a liquid capacity (to the brim) of 22ml.

They have an unwrapped weight of 110g.

They are in excellent condition, with no chips or cracks, although they are very crudely made and are full of tool marks, striations in the glass and bubbles. One of the glasses has a slightly angular stem, which makes it look wonky. This is part of the charm of the piece.