Beschreibung:

Set of Twelve Modern Steuben Wheel Engraved Glass Ornithological Plates From the Audubon Plate series, designed by Sydney Waugh Each of circular form, depicting various species of birds, including a snowy owl, wild turkey, swallow-tailed kite, barred owl, Canada goose, etc. Diameter 10 inches. A set of plates from the Audubon Plate series was provided by Arthur A. Houghton, president of the Steuben Glass Works to the United States ambassador at the embassy in London and subsequently presented to Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) on the occasion of her forthcoming marriage to Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1947. Simultaneously, another of Sydney Waugh's designs, the Merry-Go-Round bowl, with its engraved carousel figures and tent-like cover with a crown-like finial, was purchased by President Truman as the official American gift of state for the royal wedding. Subsequently, a duplicate of the Merry-Go-Round bowl together with the selected Audubon plates were exhibited to a receptive public at the company's flagship store on Fifth Avenue. C Estate of Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl
Each appears to be in generally good condition; no apparent rim chips or hairlines, etc.; approximately half of the plates have light superficial scratch marks to the underside and two or three plates have a bit more scratching to their surfaces than others; the plate with the owl has what appears to be a small bit of black overpaint splatter to the top side of the rim; this material should be able to come off with careful attention; eleven plates are signed "Steuben"; one plate is signed "S."