Bonhams
Lot 77
A fine Dutch stipple-engraved wine glass by 'Alius', circa 1780The generous round funnel bowl delicately engraved with a gentleman and a lady, he seated with his head tilted back, his arms around her waist, she standing beside him holding a wreath in her left hand, pointing at a small dog jumping up at his lap with her right, an urn on a tall plinth behind them, flanked by gnarled trees, the stem cut with hexagonal facets extending into the base of the bowl, over a conical foot, 19.3cm highFootnotes:Although he never signed any of his engravings, 'Alius' is one of the most important Dutch master engravers of the 18th century specialising in the stipple technique. His work is rated equal to that of his contemporary, David Wolff, and there are close similarities between the designs they chose. The present lot appears to be unrecorded by Frans Smit in his 1993 catalogue of Dutch Stipple-Engraved Glass. However, designs alluding to friendship or love were a favourite subject of 'Alius'. The markedly jagged branches and the way in which stippled hatching has been employed in the background are characteristic of this engraver, as is the use of a glass of this precise size and form - those with four tiers of hexagonal facets to the stem, between 19cm and 20cm in height and with a bowl diameter of almost exactly 8cm such as this, were all engraved by 'Alius' rather than Wolff, see Smit, p.20. Smit records a glass engraved with a comparable scene by 'Alius' at p.152, Eb.49, and another without a dog at Eb.53.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
