What does stem type tell you?

It's how the whole category is indexed. Twist, opaque twist, air twist, plain stem and balustroid carry the bulk of the titles, so a buyer reads the stem first and the bowl second. Stem type also tracks date. Balusters and balustroids belong to the earlier decades, twists to the middle of the 18th century, facet cutting to the later part.

Which bowl shapes turn up?

Trumpet, bell, ogee, bucket, cup, pan top and ovoid recur as the bowl descriptor, and dealers pair the bowl with the stem in the title. A folded foot, where the rim is turned under for strength, shows up repeatedly on plain-stem and balustroid glasses.

Are antique wine glasses sold as sets?

Singles and pairs dominate, with pairs named in a large block of titles. Sixes are common, and beyond that come eights, tens, twelves, fourteens and sixteens. Some larger groups are described as harlequin sets, assembled from near-matching glasses rather than made together. Complete larger suites sit well above singles of the same type.

Why is so much coloured glass 19th century?

Colour is the second axis of the category and it sits almost entirely in the 19th century. Green leads by a distance, then blue, then cranberry, with amethyst, amber, turquoise, peacock blue and uranium or vaseline glass recurring. Bristol is used as a colour term in these titles rather than as an attribution to a particular works.

How many are listed each year?

Around 214 wine glasses and related pieces a year on Sellingantiques, spread across 111 dealers. That makes it one of the more widely stocked corners of the glass category, and it means the same stem types come round regularly rather than once.

What unusual pieces appear under this heading?

A boot-shaped stirrup glass, a wine funnel, single- and double-lipped wine rinsers, and a thick-walled deceptive toastmaster's glass of about 1720 all turn up once and nowhere else. Engraved oddities include a glass cut for the 1873 Vienna World Fair and one engraved simply 'Women & Wine'. Rummers, goblets, carafes, decanters and coolers form a steadier fringe alongside the stemmed glasses.