Topic: Opalescent Dot Vase

[TxSilver]

I bought an unusual vase a few months ago. It is 5.5" tall and reminds me a bit of Fenton's French coin dot. It is hand blown with opalescent rings. The opalescence is not continuous, but the rings seem like they are fitted together in a mosaic pattern. It is not an Scarpa-like occhi vase. The rings are not murrines -- they are like patches of opalescent glass that were fitted together to form the middle layer of the vase. The vase is cased in clear glass that has soft facets. Apparently the vase was pressed against a mold to form the facets. They are similar to battuto, but do not have sharp incised borders.

The vase reminds me of both Murano and Scandinavian glass, but could be from anywhere. I uploaded a couple of pictures.
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-10443
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-10442

I hope someone will have some idea about the vase. Thanks!

Anita

[paradisetrader]

Scarpa-like occhi vase
There's a photo of this in Pina Century 20.
The concept is basically the same but the execution looks very different.
Assuming the normal flat polished base and fire polished rim, Murano looks most likely but a Scarpa attribution is another matter. I think you need the opinion of a Murano specialist.
As far as I know it's almost normal for maestri to attempt versions of an iconic original work by another.
Peter

[TxSilver]

Thanks for looking at the vase, Peter. It's definitely not occhi in the Scarpa sense. I wish it were! The Scarpa pieces have individual murrine "eyes" that are fitted together. My vase has patches that have many of the opalescent eyes. The patches look like they were rolled onto the gather and fitted together. Someone put a good bit of work into the vase, but it falls short of Scarpa, I must admit.

The bottom is not flat. It has an indented pontil area that is not finished as well as the Venini vases. A nice thing about the vase is the softly faceted surface of the walls. Unfortunately, it is difficult to photograph. It reminds me of wet ice.

Anita

[TxSilver]

I found a similar looking vase on eBay. It is item 130252517616. The vase on eBay is signed Barovier-Toso. It was the company I originally thought it might be. So... probably Barovier & Toso. :clap:

Anita

[KevinH]

I have no experience of Barovier & Toso signatures, but the signature on the eBay item looks a bit rough to me. Anyone care to give an opinion of whether it's ok?

[RAY]

i could of signed that vase on Ebay better myself, i have seen these types of vase's in charity shop's i think it was BHF...... Scarpa use piece's of cut glass fused to together in the furnace on a flat plate , then placed onto a marver, then the second stage is with the punti rod loaded with glass from the furnace,.... it's worked a little to get it to the same size of the fused glass, then it's used to roll up the fused glass, then it's worked and blown into the final shape..... hope this make's sense, ......to me this is not by Scarpa and not from any of the great artisan's of Murano

[TxSilver]

Barovier & Toso signed some of their glass, though most was not signed. The signatures were probably put on by different people, because they often look different -- one, two, or three lines. The ones I have seen have all looked scratchy.

Maybe we can transfer this thread over to the Murano board.

Anita

[TxSilver]

i could of signed that vase on Ebay better myself, i have seen these types of vase's in charity shop's i think it was BHF...... Scarpa use piece's of cut glass fused to together in the furnace on a flat plate , then placed onto a marver, then the second stage is with the punti rod loaded with glass from the furnace,.... it's worked a little to get it to the same size of the fused glass, then it's used to roll up the fused glass, then it's worked and blown into the final shape..... hope this make's sense, ......to me this is not by Scarpa and not from any of the great artisan's of Murano

The signatures are rather scratchy. The technique is actually not simple. It is not an occhi vase such as the ones Tobia Scarpa made for Venini. It is good to see that you admire the work of the Muranese masters so much. Some of their things were not so careful. I think it is one of the things I like best about Murano glass. The beauty is in the imperfection.

Anita

[TxSilver]

New info on this vase. It is probably a Crate & Barrel vase. Grr! Another vase for my mistake shelf. I think Crate & Barrel buys its glass from countries such as Poland -- I'm not sure about this.

Anita