Moorish Bathers

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Object Name: 
Plaque
Title: 
Moorish Bathers
Accession Number: 
92.2.10
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 1.7 cm, Diam (max): 46.3 cm
Location: 
On Display
Date: 
1898
Credit Line: 
Bequest of Juliette K. Rakow. From The Cameo Glass Collection of Leonard S. Rakow and Juliette K. Rakow
Web Description: 
Moorish Bathers is George Woodall's masterpiece. It was started about 1890 and completed in 1898. The plaque was acquired by the Hon. George Brookman of Adelaide, Australia, and it narrowly escaped destruction when Brookman's home was destroyed by fire. George and Thomas Woodall left school at about the age of 12 and became apprentices at the firm of J. & J. Northwood. They also attended evening classes at the local art school, where Thomas later became an instructor. After completing their apprenticeships, they moved to the Dennis Glass Works, where they were employed primarily as designers. The Woodalls made two important innovations. One was their extensive use of the cutting wheel, which greatly accelerated the process of decorating cameo glass. The other was their use of an overlay of white glass. When this overlay was thinned over a base of burgundy or brown glass, a much greater variety of shading was achieved than was possible with other white glasses. (see cameo glass in Stourbridge, 89.2.11).
Department: 
Provenance: 
Rakow, Leonard S., Former Collection
Rakow Estate, Juliette K. (Mrs. Leonard S.) (d. 1992), Former Collection
1992-08-25
Technique: 
Material: 
Inscription: 
Geo. Woodall
Signature
Primary Description: 
Light pink glass cased with opaque white, cameo carved with bathing scene.
Cameo Glass: Masterpieces from 2000 Years of Glassmaking
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass 1982-05-01 through 1982-10-31
Cameo glass, one of the most costly and difficult decorating techniques since first century B.C., is documented and illustrated in this catalog. Included are examples from Rome, Islam, and China, as well as English 19th-century masterpieces by John Northwood and George Woodall among others. For the purposes of this catalog, the term “cameo glass” is used to refer to cased glass objects with two or more differently colored layers. The outer layer is usually an opaque or opalescent white, and the outer layer or layers have been carved in to leave the decoration standing in relief against a body of contrasting color. Shading is produced by thinning down the carved layer; highlights are created where the glass is left thickest. Both this catalog, and the exhibition for which it was created, documents the 2000-year cameo glass tradition.
My Favorite Thing (2016) illustrated, 19; BIB# AI101023
Museum News (2014) illustrated, p. 3 middle; BIB# AI98351
Escort Guide to the Galleries (2013) illustrated, p. 20, top; BIB# 134015
The Fabulous History of Thomas Webb & Sons: Part I: The 19th Century (2013) illustrated, p. 15, fig. 12; BIB# AI92497
Escort Guide to the Galleries [V4/2013] (2013) illustrated, p. 20, top; BIB# 134856
George Woodall and the Art of English Cameo Glass (2013) illustrated, p. 18, fig. 5; BIB# 136420
Glass: A Short History (Smithsonian Books edition) (2012) illustrated, pp. 86-87; BIB# 130360
Glass: A Short History (The British Museum edition) (2012) illustrated, pp. 86-87; BIB# 135965
The 2012 Portland Vase Project: Recreation of a Masterpiece (2012) illustrated, p. 26, bottom right; BIB# 131722
Moorish Bathers (adult) (2011)BIB# 131694
Corning Museum of Glass 60 Years (2011) illustrated, p. 12, bottom center; BIB# 138760
The Corning Museum of Glass (2009-01) illustrated, p. 235, Fig. 6;
Window, mirror, and prism (2009-01) illustrated, p. 124; BIB# AI77118
Corning Museum of Glass (2009-01) illustrated, p. 6-7; BIB# 109342
Layers of Wonder: Majestic and Marvelous Cameo Glass (2003-05) illustrated, p. 55;
Glass in Art, History, and Science at The Corning Museum of Glass (2003) illustrated, p. 70, no. 14; BIB# AI64198
The Cameo Glass of Thomas and George Woodall (2000) illustrated, p. 68; BIB# 64626
An Introduction to The Corning Museum of Glass (1999) pp. 9-12; ill., p. 12; BIB# AI44099
The Golden Age of Cameo Glass (1995) cover; BIB# AI34883
English Cameo Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass (1994) illustrated, cover; pp. 7, 49, 62, fig. 45; BIB# 35913
Important Acquisitions from the Rakow Collection (1993) illustrated, p. 140, #7; BIB# AI32225
The Corning Museum of Glass Annual Report 1992 (1993) illustrated, cover; BIB# AI96377
George Woodall and the Art of English Cameo Glass (1989) illustrated, p. 20, fig. 10; BIB# 33295
George Woodall and the Art of English Cameo Glass (1989) illustrated, p. 18, fig. 5; BIB# 136420
A Passion for Glass (1982-01) p. 66; BIB# AI29846
The Glass Collector (1982) illustrated, p. 49;
Cameo Glass: Masterpieces from 2000 Years of Glassmaking (1982) illustrated, pp. 73, 114, #64; BIB# 30609