Sold for A$210
Small pontilled blue fairy light. Household Fairy Light Rolled lip. Pontil. Cobalt blue, swirls of darker blue throughout. Small. 63 mm. 1850s
Excellent. Looks superb with the dark swirls throughout. Has obviously been hung with a wire, as there is rust around the lower rim. Some possible light dullness, but more likely it is the inner dullness showing through, This dullness is actually wax from the candle that would have been inside. Some grime associated with this internally. The story behind this one is that it was especially made at the Stourbridge Glassworks, Shropshire, to mark the occasion of the visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to the home of Lord and Lady Leigh at Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire, in 1858. The driveway to the house and the gardens were lit by thousands of lamps, which were filled with whale oil and floating tapers. The lamps were then packed away in crates and stored in the stables at Stoneleigh until recently. We have never seen a tiny one like this, and with its fascinating history, it is a lovely piece! Grade: 8.5 Estimate: $150 - 200
