Huge Murano ? Seguso? Sommerso vase

[Andy]

Hi all, apologies for quietness recently,
very happy with a purchase at auction of 4 wonderful works of art for less than 3 figures!
i would have paid more, i had to have this first piece! 

Its at least 4kg!(too heavy for scales) 32cm tall gorgeous shape, triple sommerso,
clear body, 4 'wings' of blue.
I think its early, 50s/60s , surely Murano, and having a scan of my books, my best guess is
Seguso Vetri d'arte ??
Anyone have any ideas? (size comparison in photo to my crizzle stone   )
Cheers
Andy

[Andy]

Im wondering whether this may be Mandruzatto colours???
I dont think there can be any doubt about Murano, so maybe it should move to that board.
Cheers
Andy

[tam bam]

It is possible.  I am not too sure about the shape of it either.  I think the size would be though. 

tam bam

[Max]

The South East of England is simply flooded with very good quality, Sommerso vases from China.  They are all exceedingly heavy and measure upwards of 10" in each case.  I'm not saying this is one of them, but it is possible, as there's a vast range of shapes, techniques and styles.

I hope this is Mandruzatto. 

[Andy]

Hi Max,
havent seen the Chinese ones ( i dont think )
Im 99.9% sure this is good c1960s Murano, I just had another look, and it feels 'right'
If its Chinese, its very good indeed, and i will eat my crizzle stone

Cheers
Andy

ps whats that auctioneers name you know thats an expert on 60s glass, whitefriars and the like
 :D

pps edit, Max just found your post with pics of chinese vases, ive seen those in shops and places,
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,22660.msg127719.html#msg127719
Nice stuff, but ,now more convinced than ever that mine is Murano  

ppps Enjoy Cambridge ! You dont need a namebadge, everyone will know you from the telly

[Andy]

Just thought id bump this one up. I saw a similar large vase at a 'posh' antiques fair a few weeks ago,
it was signed by the designer, cant remember name!, but the couple on the stall, who had some
fantastic glass, said to send a photo to them, ive just sent them the link to this page, so i very much hope
they pop in and have a look.  :D
I havent got around to emailing  Mandruzatto yet, i will try today.
Meantime , any other suggestions welcome.
I have no doubt its genuine, circa 60s-80s., and it came with this lovely genuine piece, in the same lot,
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,29035.0.html

Cheers all,
Andy
 

[Andy]

Anyone have Leslie Pina, 'circa Fifties glass' ??
Ive just noticed page 43, attributed to Archimede Seguso,
triple sommeso, body of red, amber,orange,colourless glass, with blue fused edge 14 1/2 inches
looks very close to me,
 

[ardy]

Hi Andy I have LP's 20th Century glass  and the only one that looks close is Seguso VdA cylindrical vase page 62. Unfortunately I dont have the 'circa Fifties glass' but if it turns out to be Archimedes Seguso It will be very interesting to me as I have never seen this form of his. Still having worked with Poli he was very adept at sommerso.

I agree with you that this is not Chinese, the quality of the sommerso is very high and if the Chinese are capable of producing that quality now then we are all stuffed. It could be a Poli piece the only thing that has me concerned is the finish of the top. That could be the photo's of course.

Of course, as Alex says there are many who could have done it and without a confirmation well, we all have opinions dont we?

===================================================================================

Just having a nose around google images and came across this which is not the same but similar style.

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/murano-crystal-purple-vase

[langhaugh]

Andy:

I have the second edition of Fifties Glass and she had dropped that image in the new edition. I don't know if that tells you anything. I can't see a similar vase in her Seguso book either, although Seguso did do vases with strapping on the side. It looks like quality to me, but I find sommerso hard to judge now unless I see a top quality one right in front of me.

I've come back to this thread  a couple of times as I keep expecting to find out it's something pretty good. Or else I'll stumble across a similar piece in totally unexpected place.

Good luck,

david

[Andy]

Thanks ardy and David,
interesting link to the purple vase on worthepedia 'circa 1940'
I have to say mine is quite an 'Art Deco ' shape.

Its not going anywhere, so no hurry to find out,
ive popped a couple of new photos on, top is smooth , i suppose fire polished.
bear it in mind if you see anything, meanwhile i will keep looking
Andy
 

( couldnt see it on this website,
http://www.archimedesegusofoundation.org/index.php?hlangs=
good movies, as i posted in the cafe)

[Cathy B]

I agree with you that this is not Chinese, the quality of the sommerso is very high and if the Chinese are capable of producing that quality now then we are all stuffed.

I've got to say, I've seen some very nice Chinese sommerso pieces in gift shops round here. There's one place in particular that I must sneak my camera along to next time.
 
There are a few Chinese sommerso pieces on this page, although, as you say these don't seem quite the quality. Also not the quality of the ones I've seen.

http://zxglass.free.mingyao.net/1.htm

This seems to be where the old cnexpot.com site has ended up.

Check out the wannabe-Chihuly page. After the fuss he kicked up over one of his old workers making vaguely similar pieces, imagine what he'll do when he sees this.

http://zxglass.free.mingyao.net/art1.htm

[ardy]

Hi Cathy - thanks for those links they are very useful. I have seen many of them for sale on ebay and anything resembling a poli piece needs a good look as they seem to have copied a fair amount of his style.

Whenever I have picked one up (inspection not buying - thank goodness) it doesn't have the quality of the original yet!!!!!!

As David said a shakey photo on ebay and we are mostly capable of making a mistake. About 6 months ago I bought a dreadful piece of glass. I convinced myself it was Seguso due to some characteristics that compared well to the Pina book. Spent $100 on it and Alison reckoned you could see my face hit the floor when I picked it up.

[langhaugh]

Cathy:

Thanks for the great link. I can imagine Chihuly's reaction. The last picture on the first page is almost a straight copy of the Chihuly ceiling on the bridge to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. (Now there's a model for Broadfield House.)

David

[Andy]

But mines NOT Chinese,  :'( :'( :'( :'(                     trust me !

Cathy,
interesting link, Ive had this one,
http://zxglass.free.mingyao.net/3.htm
bcj 1234 2nd row.

I gave it away to my sister, it was signed Barbini, but since found out sold by an ebay rogue,
mentioned on here ,many times Chris somebody ? bought when i was an ebay/glass newbie 5 or 6
years ago. Good experience i suppose, and now i have a positive attribution for it as well  
Its quite a nice decorative object. (a big lump!)

The one in this thread , however, is genuine! Honest!
Cheers
Andy

[Andy]

Thanks to Robert (bOBA) for some good hunting and memory, he sent me this link,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Traum-Murano-Sommerso-Vase-5-Farben-24-5-cm-3-3-kg_W0QQitemZ370317770324QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGlas_Kristall?hash=item5638a8be54

A bit smaller than mine at 24cm, and Robert also transtlated the text, the seller sells some very
nice glass!

"Dreamlike beautiful massive Sommerso vase, but I can attribute to any
designer or glass works, someone knows more about it?
Violet blue glass has 2 different overlays, on clear glass. On all
four edges are fused amber,
above are set down and merge with the body.
The bottom is ground flat.
The vase has an incredibly beautiful play of light through its many
colors!

Good, period, with traces of use, height: 24.5 cm, diameter diagonal:
15 cm."

I will send the seller a link to this page, seems to think its got a good age, but sadly no maker
I'd love it, but cant afford it at present  :'( :'(
Cheers to all and thanks to Robert,
Andy