Topic: ID please: heavy & coloured round abstract glass sculpture? = Dartington Studio

[twistergbs]

I bought this at an antiques fair last Sunday. The seller believed it to be Pukeberg. It's massively heavy. 6 1/2 inches in diameter and 2 inches thick!
Any help would be appreciated!

[Max]

Welcome to the GMB!

This scupture/disc thing is ringing a bell somewhere for me...I think we might have had one on here before, but I can't find it in Search.  Anyhoo, I've altered your title a bit so that hopefully more people come and have a look. 

[glassobsessed]

Dartington Studio, take a look here http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,25850.msg142828/topicseen.html#msg142828

John.

[twistergbs]

Thanks John...however not what I wanted to hear..... as an avid collector of retro Scandinavian glass! Still it's a lovely piece I suppose. Not a great admirer of Dartington I'm afraid!

Thanks again

Geoff

[glassobsessed]

Hi Geoff, I am not sure that Dartington Studio is the right description, in the other thread Bryn said his had a paper label "Innovate, the art of glass" and it was bought in a "Dartington outlet shop". Maybe I am just confusing myself.

As to Dartington Glass itself, I think Frank Thrower is somewhat underestimated as a designer. He may not have designed anything that revolutionary but he was prolific and Dartington Glass produced a lot of both practical and decorative glass.

I now regret selling a face vase (FT52) in kingfisher that I found, although often thought of as quite ugly (reminds me of Bart Simpson) it does have character. Here is a photo for anyone who has not had the misfortune/good fortune to see one.

John.

[twistergbs]

John, I hope I haven't offended you! I do have quite a few Frank Thrower pieces and  appreciate his artistic flair and designs. I would dearly love one of his large floor vases!
It's just that I am building a considerable collection of Scandinavian 60's and 70's architectural designs and I was totally convinced that my sculpture was Swedish. Of course, having said that, it could have easliy been designed by a Scandinavian judging by it's form and colouration so you never know! Thanks so much for all your help in identifying my piece and track down another FT52. (reminds me of a Wiktor Berndt piece!)

Best Regards

Geoff

[glassobsessed]

Geoff, no offence taken at all, recently I have come to regard much of Dartington's output with a little more respect.

I can be opinionated, dense, clumsy and often incorrect. Luckily I am not easily offended (it helps if bald, big nosed people learn to roll with it), after all everone is entitled to their opinions even when they are obviously delusional and wrong.

Big nose bald head looking for FT52 in clear.

[Max]

Re: Dartington face vase

David Encill had a Dartington face vase a while ago and we met up with Kim Thrower so that Kim could look it over, as they're pretty scarce items.  I couldn't think exactly what Kim said about this vase, so I'll let David tell you what he remembers: (although Kim would be the person to ask for definite confirmation):


David Encill says:

It went something along the lines that a Dartington worker used the moulds  
to produce his own version of the Face vase, at the factory, and not with  
permission! Kim believes the moulds eventually found their way to Spain,  
where reproductions were manufactured. Now, I can't remember if I have  
this right, but I think the heavier ones are genuine face vases, and the  
lighter ones (soda glass?) are copies.

I believe it was only the clear ones that were reproduced and I've  
attached my photo of the one that Kim now owns, which he confirmed as genuine.  
The greenish tinge is a little over-emphasised due to the lighting.

T

Face vase in question shown below:

[glassobsessed]

I did not know that there were copies, the glass was thick 5-8mm (from memory) and that the vase was heavy. I had seen and handled the blue face vase in a Charity shop several times over a period of months before I realised one evening what it was. Needless to say I was at their door at 9am the following morning.

The vase that Kim Thrower bought was also found in South Wales, not sure what this might say about the taste or aesthetic values of people here, when they were made (1968-70).

John.

[aa]

There is quite a lot of info on the face vase in "I'm forever blowing bubbles" which is on Sky on Sunday 8th August see here:

http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,27769.new.html#new