Antique English Cameo glass cup and saucer with butterfly/Chinoisiere decoration. Late 19th to very early 20th century, unmarked. Saucer is 4 7/8"
wide, cup 3.25" wide. No damage or restorations.
Cameo glass is a luxury form of glass art produced by cameo glass engraving or
etching and carving through fused layers of differently colored glass to produce
designs, usually with white opaque glass figures and motifs on a dark-colored
background. The technique is first seen in ancient Roman art of about 30 BC,
where it was an alternative to the more luxurious engraved gem vessels in cameo
style that used naturally layered semi-precious gemstones such as onyx and
agate. Glass allowed consistent and predictable colored layers, even for round
objects.
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