How to Collect Cameo Glass

Note that for about 30 years, brothers George and Thomas Woodall were respected cameo glass artists who worked for the leading, British glass company, Thomas Webb and Sons. The company created pieces that used as much as seven different layers of glass. Signed pieces made by the Woodall brothers can be pricey. However, even mass-produced Webb cameo glass can be an appealing collectible.

Consider that Emile Galle and Antonin Daum were leading nineteenth century, cameo-glass makers in Nancy, France. Their early pieces were made of clear glass with colored enamel and adorned with traditional or patriotic motifs of the region. Galle was known to consistently sign his work; however, pieces produced for ten years after his death in 1904 have a star next to his name. Daum included the cross of Lorraine with his signature.

Know that French artists often created cameo-glass designs in a flowing, Art Nouveau style. British artists' nineteenth-century designs were typically classical.

Look out for forgeries of Galle's and Daum's work. Forgeries will lack the freeform and detail that the artists' designs displayed. For example, Galle favored flower and landscape motifs. The foliage and flower petals depicted on his pieces are noted for their superior detail.