A large Richardsons clear crystal glass goblet in two parts created for the 1851 Great Exhibition. The ovoid bowl falling to a slice cut base above a facet cut knop and peg fitting into a base with petal edged collar above a slice cut baluster stem and slice cut domed foot. The bowl finely engraved by William Jabez Muckley with a humming bird and flying insects amongst various flowers and foliage.

Richardson Glass at the Great Exhibition - The Richardsons display at the Crystal Palace exhibition was one of great note and much admired by both visitors and the trade press of the day. Two pages of the Art Journal Illustrated catalogue to the exhibition show some of the Richardson pieces. One of the many catalogues to the exhibition summarised their display. 'Cut crystal glass; Jugs, decanters, butter stands and covers, sugar basins, oval dishes, celery glasses, goblet and claret bottle etc' Using two pages of illustrations of Richardson glass from the Art Journal catalogue, plus the rather vague listing of their display, it is possible to find and identify some of those glasses or ones which at least come very close to the published drawings. Two very exciting and important glasses have survived from the exhibition and are treasured as Richardson family heirlooms, one being this goblet. This goblet along with the surviving vase are both illustrated within the catalogue and provide first hand evidence of the quality of the Richardsons exhibits and show why they were awarded a Prize Medal.

Apart from proving the accuracy of the line illustrations in the catalogues, the vase and goblet illustrated another phase of the naturalistic theories of design which went hand in hand with a growing interest in gardening. The three dimensional flowers carved deeply into the bowl of the goblet could be found in equal profusion on carpets and furnishings and in the Staffordshire earthenware dishes inspired by Bernard Palissy with every manner of flora and fauna depicted in vivid and lifelike detail.

The engraved glass on the Richardson stand, including this surviving goblet, was primarily the work of William Jabez Muckley who was described as the firms 'principle designer and engraver'. This floral goblet, illustrated in the catalogue is unusual in that it comes apart, the bowl and cut knop fitting by a peg into the stem where it curves over in the cut petal formation.

Ref - British Glass 1800 - 1914 Charles R. Hajdamach

Provenance - Richardson family and then by descent

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