Vintage Strawberry Glass Dessert Set, Serving Bowl and Six Bowls

Strawberries and cream, in glass form. This pretty dessert set brings together one large serving bowl and six smaller matching bowls, each hand decorated with a cluster of red and orange strawberries and gilded leaves that curl across the clear glass. The gold catches the light where the berries do not, giving the whole set a warm, summery glow when it is laid out on a table.

The strawberry motif makes this feel made for exactly what it is, ice cream, trifle, summer fruits or a proper strawberries and cream on a warm afternoon. The serving bowl measures 21.5 x 6.5 cm and each individual bowl 13 x 5 cm, a comfortable size for a good helping. Hand painted and gilded glass like this was popular through the middle of the twentieth century, made for special occasions and Sunday teas, and a complete set of seven surviving together is far less common than odd singles.

Some of the gilding has worn with use, as gold decoration on glass almost always does over the years, and there is a small smooth chip to the serving bowl, both shown closely in the photographs so you can see exactly what you are getting. The six smaller bowls are the stars and show beautifully.

A set like this is very useful as well as decorative. Bring it out for a summer dinner party, use the serving bowl alone as a centrepiece filled with fruit, or display a few of the little bowls along a shelf where the strawberries and gold can be seen. It mixes happily with other coloured and decorated glass, and looks especially good on a table dressed with fresh flowers and linen. A charming, useable piece of vintage summer.