England, London
Thomas Betts (glasscutter); Thomas Heming (silversmith)

This pair of mounted cups represents the collaboration of two very successful English craftsmen: Thomas Heming (1722/3-1801), the Principal Goldsmith to King George III, and the high-end glasscutter Thomas Betts (died 1765). The design depends on the striking appearance of the richly textured, gilded silver mounts against the faceted and polished surface of the deep cobalt blue glass. The pleasing combination appears to have little precedent in England. The elegant swirled flutes decorating the lids required unprecedented control of the cutting wheel. Glass-cutting at the time was dirty and dangerous, since the fine particles thrown off by the process were rich in poisonous lead. 

 

Cobalt-blue lead glass, blown, cut; gilded silver mounts, about 1752-53

Purchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott, 1968.73