Topic: Opinions, please on that Inwald float bowl--you know the one

[quill]

It seemed easy enough:  buy one in every colour, make a nice display of those fish float bowls--the ones everyone on eBay is calling Inwald's poisson volante.

Just bought one with what seems to me a grievous fault:  you now how the bowl is pleated and the pleats go all the way from crimp to base rim?  Well, this one has much lighter pleats that get even lighter down the sides of the bowl and peter out altogether before the base.

So here's my question--or a few questions:  a) is this common?  b) does it indicate a mould error, or a different 'run' or c) is it a fake and/or d) has there been a rash of imports of made-in-Taiwan-last-month pieces?

Ancillary to this, someone has recently told me that Jobling made reproductions of this set of a lesser quality, but I asked another knowledgeable collector in the UK and she said no, the other lady is mad, Jobling never made these.    I just asked another fellow, who feels that there were several makers, one of which was Markbhein.

Comments on any aspect of this from you glass legends would be appreciated.  (If this has been 'done to death' already, please just direct me to the thread.  I *did* do a couple of searches with keywords before I started posting, really I did!)

[Anne]

Hi and welcome to the board.

Markhbeinn were importers not manufacturers. There is more about the Poisson Volant pattern here:
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,2710.0.html
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,2897.0.html

[quill]

Thanks Anne.

They don't have the specific answers I was looking for, but I'll keep delving!   

[Mosquito]

The 'Poisson Volant' centrepiece had a very long production run; I don't know the exact dates off hand, but I'd guess at least 30 years or so. Unsurprisingly then there are differences in the bowls, i.e. some have an frog moulded integrally with the bowl, while others (much more common) have a separate, removeable frog. As regards the difference in 'pleats', I cannot say, but certainly the fish figures themselves show differences over the run, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was just due to a mould being replaced or repaired, etc. over time.

The other possibility is that the set is a marriage, i.e someone has paired up a fish figure with a replacement bowl from another maker. A photo of the set is needed really.

There certainly don't appear to be 'fakes' coming from Taiwan or manland China, in fact there'd be little value in faking this set as it's fairly common in the UK and, due to its size & weight, expensive to ship.

To the best of my knowledge there is no evidence whatsoever that Jobling made this pattern. It is not shown in the 1934, 35 or 1937 catalogues, nor is it mentioned anywhere in Baker & Crowe (The definitive text on Jobling). Whilst it is true that there is a gap in our knowldedge post 1937, I've never seen a Poisson Volant centrepiece in a typically Jobling colour. Likewise, there'd be no reason for Jobling production to be of a lesser quality, Jobling's animal figures are superbly modelled and very desireable.

Steven

[quill]

Thanks, Steven, I appreciate your opinion.

I shall try to take a decent photo and figure out how to upload it here.

I shall also look for the book you mention, sounds great.

I knew that the 'two piece version' existed, as it's documented in a book on Australian Household Glass by the Conways, but I don't own one--never seen it in real life.  The pleats, however, surprised me.