Topic: ID Help w/ signed abstract PW

[Mike Morgan]

I picked this weight up on eBay a couple weeks ago, and have had no luck deciphering the signature, or even finding an artist with a similar style.

My take on the signature:

a first initial of P

first letter of the last name is likely a B, but coworkers can see a K or an R

the next three peaks, I think, are a U, and an I or E. {I think this because if you look at the bottom of what think is the I or E, the stroke changes direction purposefully, as if defining a separate letter -- versus the letter before it, which has "curves" rather than "points".}

the tall letter, I think, is almost definitely an F. It's nearly invisible in the photo, but that letter extends nearly twice as far below as it does above (almost to the bottom of the date), and then loops away from the date and begins heading upward and toward the next letter -- it would trace like an elongated figure-8.

I think the last letter is an R, and the next-to-last may be an A

Alas, all the (bizarre) names that resulted from my amateur sig-detective impressions produced nothing when paired with "glass" or with "paperweight" in Google.

I'm stumped & stymied. Any help you folks can provide is appreciated. Thanks.

[RAY]

looks like P BUCKMAN

[shandiane78]

P Budmar?

[KevinH]

P Kudurus? For first letter after the P, the upper "loop" looks more like an intended retrace of the right-hand upstroke for a K but which has developed with natural movement into a slight loop. The lower right "loop" of that letter looks much like a natural sweep from the downstroke of the K into the following letter, which, from the flow of the script, I see a a "u". The letter before the last one could be an "o" rather than a "u" - which which gives "Kuduros".

Or ... none of the above

Edited to add:
I forgot to say that the basic design concept of the weight reminds me of some (recent) work from Romania.

[Mike Morgan]

Thank you the help. I'm still stuck, though, and not quite convinced that tall letter is a "d". A part of the sig didn't photograph well and I don't think I explained it well, either. So, I tried to paintbrush in the missing portion with the touchpad on my laptop.

Thanks for the Romanian tip, I'll start looking for similar eastern European works and artists to see if that brings me any closer. It's a really odd piece -- ugly at first glance, but then kind of grows on you.

If I find the artist, I'll be sure to post it here for future reference. Which make me wonder: is there and online repository for samples or scans of PW artists' signatures?

Any ideas how it might've been made? The design portion, judging from the bottom view, seems to be a tube of off-white. Perhaps various colors were repeatedly layered upon each other and cut down somehow?

Anyway, here's the modified sig...

[karelm]

Mike,
make a rubbing of the signature and post that, it might be clearer.  (Pencil, piece of paper and rub the pencil across the signature until you get a imprint of the signature)
Kind regards,
KarelM

[Lustrousstone]

Or apply talc to the base and blow it off so it sticks in the signature

[KevinH]

Just for additional info, here's the Romanian weight that I have which I was reminded of when I saw the style of design in Mike's piece:

The weight.
The full signature (using the talc highlight method).
Can you decipher that signature without first looking at the image of the label? Have a go.
To make it a bit easier (?) here's the three parts individually ...
Part one
Part two
Part three
Any ideas yet?

OK, here's the label. [Note the spelling of "Colection"]

I find it fascinating to try to decipher script signatures, and then see that much of what I thought was way off the mark! By the way, the first part of the signature line actually says "Design".

Now, I'm not saying that Mike's piece is by the same maker as mine, but the working is similar in some respects. I think Mike's was formed by first covering a white core with coloured frit then forming it into a sort of spiral or screw thread. Next a couple of thick lengths of multi-coloured twist canes, enclosed in clear, were shaped into a rectangular tube and then laid over the core, up one side, over the top and down the oppsite side. The whole is then covered in clear and finsihed to the dome shape.

My weight was based on an art glass sculpture which used the two intertwined twists but was not covered in clear. The weight was an extension of this but adding a clear dome around the sculpture - which is where the large air bubble came in near the base (not easy to avoid when encasing that design).

Another point about my weight is that I bought it as an example of that Romanian work, which was sold in the UK through the TK Maxx store (the weight still has the store label and price on the base). However, at the time, another weight of this form was sold through the now infamous "Chris M" eBay sales and was falsely signed as being from a "more collectable" source.

[antiquerose123]

I too will give a try.....P. Bucfinar....or P. Bucfmar   :huh:   

While hunting, I found this site.....BUT may help for something else... 
http://seekersglass.com/artists/a-b_photos.htm

Maybe you guys (and gals) know about this site already...sorry if I have re-posted something... :spls:

[Mike Morgan]

Still no luck. I've tried hundreds of (or nearly a hundred) combinations of letters for last names beginning with B, K, and R.  :hb1:

I've also not been able to find any other weights similar-enough to it to provide more info to search with. Is there a common name for the "giant watermelon seed" shape? "Truncated oval discoid" just doesn't seem right!

I've since acquired two more unusual weights -- think my collection theme has chosen me rather than the other way around -- that I'll post as soon as I snap some pics.