This work was published by Apsley Pellatt, a 2^nd generation glass manufacturer, to advertise his newly patented technique for decorating glass. Pellatt’s father, Apsley Pellatt senior (d.1826) owned the Falcon Glass House in Blackfriars, which had been making glass since the late 17^th century. Pellatt junior joined the firm in 1811 and took it over completely at Pellatt senior’s death in 1826.

Pellatt’s chief interest was in the chemistry of glass making, and in 1819 he patented a new technique, which he named crystallo ceramie, or cameo incrustations. The process allowed him to embed figurines, usually portraits or coats of arms, into the sides of paperweights, pendants, scent bottles etc and encase them in glass. There are several examples of his work in the Royal Collection (eg RCIN 3654, 3657).