DOROTHY THORPE GLASSWARE

Original Dorothy Thorpe glass ware set with sterling silver rim.

Please note all items are sold separately, read description carefully before you place your order to avoid any confusion regarding quantity and pricing.

Roly poly whiskey tumblers: Set of 2, 8cm x 6cm, in good condition. Stamped France, the original OGs glasses, favoured by Dan Draper in Mad Men. 

Coffee/tea cup and matching saucer: Price is for one set, in good condition, stamped France.

Cake plate: price per unit, 18cm diameter, stamped France.

Dinner plate: price per unit, 23cm diameter, stamped France.

Bowl: price per unit, 15cm x 13cm, stamped France.

Born in Salt Lake City in 1901, Dorothy Thorpe was a mid-century American artist who designed beautiful glassware and ceramic pieces out of her Los Angeles studio. Like many of her mid-century contemporaries, such as Georges Briard and Fred Press, she was a designer, not a manufacturer, of glassware. She purchased simple blank glassware, mostly crystal, from U.S. and European manufacturers and decorated them with her personal designs. In 1945, Thorpe wrote to a collector that many of her floral motifs, which included eucalyptus, irises, roses and narcissus flowers, were inspired by flora and fauna that surrounded her on trips she took to Hawaii. She created these breathtaking designs by using a sandblasting technique. She was also known for her silver overlay and paint speckled glass pieces which included all types of glassware and punchbowl sets.

While some are signed with a large “T” and a smaller “D”, many of her pieces found today do not carry her signature or her original logo sticker on them. Her sandblasted pieces are undeniably Thorpe as most, if not all, have her trademark signature. This is also true of her paint speckled pieces, which include designs in gold fleck and pastel speckled colors.