Pair of pigeon's throat opaline vases, 19th century.

These pink or hydrangea opaline vases are decorated with a white serpent, its scales painted in gilding, coiling upward around the neck. The wide flared upper rim is scalloped and highlighted with a gilt fillet. The bodies rest on a gilt torus. This particular and rare colour, highly sought after by collectors, is known as pigeon's throat or hydrangea; it is achieved through the addition of gold salts to the glass paste.
Circa 1830–1840.
Height 23.5 cm and 22.7 cm