This is a rare antique piece of British Nailsea Ware Glass dating to the mid-19th century.
The Nailsea Glassworks was established by John Robert Lucas in 1788. He chose the Nailsea Basin due to the high number of coal furnaces around the Elms colliery and other local mines of the Bristol Coalfield, and its proximity to the Grand Western Canal.
Lucas initially traded as Nailsea Crown Glass and Glass Bottle Manufactures. In 1812 John Hartley began working with Robert Lucas Chance, the eldest son of the founder. By 1835 the works were the fourth largest in the UK, mostly producing low-grade bottles.
The works closed in 1873 - so my flask would have been produced before this date.
These decorative and ‘latticino’ glass pieces were mostly made by workers at the end of their shifts, They are highly decorative and personal work and are now keenly sought after by antique glass collectors.
You more usually see these as flat flasks that are laid down on tabletops. These tall bottles were used to hold perfumed waters or fragrances in a lady's boudoir. They are called Bellows-Shaped Bottles or Flasks.
This is a more unusual piece in that it is a bottle-shaped frigger. It is on a clear glass stand with a glass ball knop short stem and two glass lozenge shape additions to resemble the handles on bellows.
This is certainly a most stunning large piece that measures 14 1/4 inches in height (36 cm) and with a width of about 5 inches on the main body section. The clear foot (which has lots of evidence of wear suggesting that it is indeed a very old piece) has a diameter of 5 inches.
It is in excellent antique condition with no damages, cracks, or chips. It is a fine and most eye-catching piece to add to your collection of fine 19th Century British glass.
It has a beautiful light cranberry colour with lots of decorative white loops on the main body section, I personally think that this candy pink colour is one of the most attractive shades on Nailsea pieces. There is the frilling down the side of the bottle - which is applied as clear glass fancy decorations - and for a piece over 150 years old - it is amazing that it has no damage of any kind.
Sadly, due to a combination of weight and fragility - I would be unable to send this outside of the UK. It would have to be posted in the UK with Parcelforce24 - very carefully packed and insured. I am capping the postage at £10 for this service. This would be applied to your order at the checkout stage.