{"product_id":"vintage-ribbed-pressed-glass-square-ashtray-four-rests-c-1950-1975","title":"Vintage Ribbed Pressed Glass Square Ashtray, Four Rests, c. 1950–1975","description":"\u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA square ashtray in heavy pressed glass, the four outer walls cut into deep vertical ribs that run the full height and break over the rim, so the piece throws light in vertical bars from every angle. Four cigarette rests are moulded into the rim, one to a side, each a smooth saddle interrupting the ribbing. The well is a plain polished square, left undecorated, which is what lets the walls do the work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is a substantial thing rather than a token one. The glass is thick at the corners, the base sits flat and heavy, and the ribbing is sharp enough to read as pattern rather than texture. Clear and uncoloured throughout, with no gilding, transfer or applied decoration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe large domestic glass ashtray was a standard piece of household equipment for most of the twentieth century, made in enormous numbers by the American pressed glass houses and their European counterparts and sold through every hardware store, department store and premium catalogue. It sat on the coffee table whether or not anyone in the house smoked, in the way a bowl does now. The category shrank steadily from the 1970s onward and has effectively ended as mass production, which is why these turn up as survivors rather than as current stock.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis one carries no maker's mark on any surface photographed. The vertical rib with integral rests is a pattern several houses ran, and without a mark on the base the attribution stays open rather than being assigned on the strength of the pattern alone. What the piece does show is a working life: the flat of the well carries the fine scratching that comes from use, not from storage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ec. 1950–1975, the period when the heavy domestic pressed glass ashtray was in full mass production before the category contracted. Offered as a range rather than a year because the piece carries no maker's mark\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePressed glass, clear and uncoloured\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eForm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSquare, deep vertical ribbing to all four outer walls, four moulded cigarette rests, plain square well\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMarks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eNone found\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDimensions\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eApproximately 5.5 in. square by 1.5 in. high\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eVery good. No chips, cracks or bruises found on inspection. Fine surface scratching across the flat of the well consistent with use. Ribbing crisp throughout and the glass bright.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost people buying this will never put a cigarette in it. It works as a catchall by a door for keys and coins, as a desk tray for clips and pins, as a soap dish, or on a bar holding citrus peel and a knife. The ribbing is the reason to choose it over a plain dish: under a lamp it breaks the light into vertical bars and reads as something designed rather than something merely useful, and clear glass sits against any surface and any palette without asking anything of the room.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50416742367337,"sku":"VE-1703","price":226.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/ve-1703-01.jpg?v=1790360199","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/vintage-ribbed-pressed-glass-square-ashtray-four-rests-c-1950-1975","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}