Antique carafe with guilloché spiral decoration – pantograph chemical engraving, circa 1900

This antique decanter is made of crystal and decorated with a guilloché frieze. The pantograph decoration is elegant: a guilloché pattern of spirals and zigzags. The Baccarat, Saint-Louis, and Portieux crystalworks used this type of decoration in the early 1900s. This guilloché technique was widespread in the 19th and early 20th centuries: the crystal was coated with wax, and the design was drawn with a needle using the pantograph technique in the wax. The object was then immersed in an acid bath, which etched the bare crystal. In good condition, it measures 31.5 cm high x 13 cm in diameter. I note a slight deposit inside.