Is it or isn't it by Michael Harris?

[lddlsa]

Hello

I mainly collect Monart and Vasart glass but , as you do, I am occasionally tempted to buy other glass.  I have had a couple of interesting discussions with Ron Wheeler of Artius Glass at glass fairs regarding Isle of Wight (IOW) glass.  Last week I was on holiday on the IOW and just had to visit the IOW glass studio, I bought a lovely perfume bottle and enjoyed watching several vases being made.  I also bored my ever patient husband with the little knowledge I have regarding Michael Harris and IOW glass.

Please be patient with me, I am getting to the point of this story
Later in the week we popped into an antiques and collectables shop for a browse and having scanned for any interesting glass, I was ready to leave.  My husband picked up a paperweight which I hadn't bothered to do because it just had an orange swirl in it and I don't like orange, and I don't collect paperweights.............   Husband called me over "Look at this" he said, on the bottom was engraved "Michael Harris Isle of Wight".  At this point I became interested in the orange paperweight but thought either it is genuine and it's going to be £40/£50 at a guess,or it might be a fake.  The owner said he wanted £5 for it and I negotiated the price down to the princely sum of £4.  At this point I thought oh well it's most probably a fake but then why would you bother for £4?  I just couldn't believe that anyone selling antiques etc on the IOW wouldn't know about Michael Harris.

Now we get to the point of this posting............ I think that it may well be genuine having compared it to other Michael Harris signatures I have located.  Please does anyone know where I can find a good example of his signature on the internet?

Your help would be very much appreciated.

Lynne (LDDLSA)

MOD:  PHOTO'S AVAILABLE LOWER DOWN THREAD
 

[David E]

You could start by contacting Artius Glass

[Lustrousstone]

Why not post a picture of the weight and the signature? Some of have the IOW book, which may offer some clues

[lddlsa]

Thank you both for your replies.  I will try and get a decent photo of the weight and signature, the hard bit for me will be posting them on the board but I will follow the instructions to the letter and who knows I might manage it
I am hoping to go to the Cambridge Glass Fair at the end of the month, Artius Glass are usually there so I will take it along and ask Ron Wheeler if he will give me his opinion. 

Thanks again for your help.

Lynne (LDDLSA)

[Max]

Lynne, if you get stuck trying to upload your photo, please send it to me at  maxeen AT aol DOT com  and I'll sort it out for you.   

[lddlsa]

Hi Max
Thanks for your kind offer, I may well take you up on that.  I haven't had a chance to take the photos yet as I have spent most of the day creating pieces of glass of my own which are in the kiln fusing as I type.  It is always a pain to have to wait for it to cool down enough so I can see if the results are any good.  Hopefully I will be able to get the photos done tomorrow.  Thanks again.
Lynne (LDDLSA)

[David E]

Sounds interesting - you must post photos of your own work

[Max]

Lynne has kindly sent photographs of her paperweight:

http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-8448
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-8449

Hopefully these will help.   

[Pip]

That signature looks absolutely fine to me - compared to the MH signature I've got it's virtually identical.  What a great find - and like you say, how odd that the dealer on the Isle of Wight didn't realise what he had!

[lddlsa]

Thanks for replying Pip, I was fairly sure it was genuine but I am no expert on paperweights.  Hubby will be pleased when I tell him as, after all, it was him that found it.  Now I will be inspecting everything more closely, I have just got to find something for myself.  I know that valuations are not given here but I am guessing it might be worth £30-£40.  Certainly for the forseeable future it is going to sit between two perfume bottles, one each by Timothy and Jonathan Harris.  I still don't like the orange though

Lynne (LDDLSA)

[MarkHill]

Hi all,
Looks okay to me too -- judging by the images posted. However, I'd like to have seen more of the 'Harris' before committing 100%. The 'H' looks a little odd, but these are by far the most commonly found object produced at IOW and signed by MH, and signatures do vary. From what I've seen, these multi-coloured 'plinth' paperweights tend to be very rare unsigned - it seems like he signed almost all of them.
If someone was going to fake an MH signature, I'd think they'd do it on a vase or similar, as that would raise the value more than on a paperweight.
Still, jolly good find for a bargain price! Over the past few years, values have risen to as much as nearly £100 for large and colourful examples (particularly a striking blue and red swirl), but seem to have averaged out at the ranges quoted below right now (as dealer prices). Personally, I rather like the orange!!
Hope this helps,
Mark
www.markhillpublishing.com

[lddlsa]

Hi

Many thanks Mark Hill for your reply and I take note of your comment about the 'H' etc.  Rather than trouble Max with posting more photos I will take it with me next Sunday to the Cambridge Glass Fair as mentioned previously.

David E, thanks for expressing an interest in my fused work.  I have sold 20-25 pieces now, mainly through local galleries, but I am not sure I feel brave enough yet to post photos of my work here yet.  Also, Max kindly posted my photos of the weight for me and had to do strange technical things like resizing what I had emailed to her.  I will ask my 12 year old daughter, she is more likely to understand what to do.
Lynne (LDDLSA)

[David E]

Lynne, we do have a separate 'Slumped' forum here , which also includes fused work - but mainly the output from Chance Brothers. Not much contemporary work, so it would be interested to see some examples

I know Max has also dabbled in this area for her course work [outted, Max!]

[lddlsa]

Hi David, 12 year old daughter is too busy to help at the moment and I have just taken on my first two commissions, not sure if I am excited or nervous at trying to interpret what my clients want rather than making what takes my fancy.

Anyway, come on Max spill the beans, what dabbling are you up to and for what course?   

[lddlsa]

I managed to get to the Cambridge Glass Fair yesterday and really enjoyed it, despite being transported there in my husbands 1968 Triumph TR4A sportscar........with the roof off!
Ron Wheeler of Artius Glass was kind enough to look at the paperweight for me and confirmed that it is genuine.  I just love his enthusiasm for IOW glass and I felt myself being tempted to go off into yet another area of glass collecting.  Thankfully, I got myself under control and bought a very pretty Vasart vase and a fairly boring little Vasart dish which has a wave shape which I haven't seen before.
I also collect Nazeing glass,as I live only a few miles away, and I picked up a leaflet about the new museum which I am really looking forward to visiting when I get the time.  I have just taken on my first two fused glass commissions and so I shall be slaving over a hot kiln for a while.