Dartington Glass Ship’s Decanter FT239 c.1980

This is a high-quality lead crystal ship’s decanter, designed by Frank Thrower in around 1980 for Dartington Glass.

The decanter has a narrow, everted rim, which sits on a tapering neck. This widens out to merge with the low, broad shoulder. Below this, the body is short and cylindrical and has a thickened base. The latter has a central polished pontil and is unmarked.

The stopper is almost an inverted version of the body, with a thickened discoid upper portion, tapering in to form a short neck. This widens out before merging with the ground glass peg. This ensures close fitting with the neck of the decanter, which is also ground.

This style of ship’s decanter was originally designed by Frank Thrower and introduced under the pattern number FT15 in 1967 and came in the colourways clear, midnight grey and kingfisher blue. This earlier version had a height of 9 inches (230mm). This version, with pattern number FT239, was introduced in 1979/1980 and has an elongated stopper but the height is less at 8 ¾ inches (220mm). The FT239 was only available in the clear colourway. 

The decanter has a height (excluding the stopper) of 17.2cm and a maximum height (including the stopper) of 22.1cm.

According to the Dartington Glass catalogue, the decanter has a liquid capacity of 1100ml (1.1l).

It has an unwrapped weight of 1130g.

It is in excellent condition, with no chips or cracks, although there are some wear and tear scratches to the body and base commensurate with age.