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Author Topic: Mdina amethyst vase, Boffo made? polished pontil mark  (Read 3663 times)

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Offline flying free

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Mdina amethyst vase, Boffo made? polished pontil mark
« on: February 14, 2011, 11:50:41 AM »
given recent discussion I just wondered whether or  not this would be a piece made by one of the Boffos?  it has a rounded base and a polished pontil mark.

many thanks
m

Offline chopin-liszt

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Re: Mdina amethyst vase, Boffo made? polished pontil mark
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2011, 12:39:55 PM »
NO!!!!!!

It might be by a Boffo, but there is no way of telling at all. It is from that period - a gorgeous ink bottle, but it is in classic early Mdina colours.

There is a particular style of earthtones at mdina, also found in MDG, those are the bits that can be potentially attributed to a Boffo, but until we know all the exact dates and time periods of Vicente perhaps staying on at Mdina for a while after MH left, and the start and end of MDG, nothing can be said for sure.
Cheers, Sue M. (she/her)

‘For every problem there is a solution: neat, plausible and wrong’. H.L.Mencken

Offline flying free

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Re: Mdina amethyst vase, Boffo made? polished pontil mark
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2011, 08:09:55 PM »
thanks Sue sorry to have made you shout :)  Actually it is me getting confused.  I thought I'd read somewhere that those pieces with polished pontil marks were made by the Boffos.  But in fact having looked again, there are pieces in Mark Hills book made by Michael Harris with a polished pontil mark.  And having had a reread, also of course this is amethyst and according to the book amethyst and cobalt blue were only used as a final colour in the first year of production which would have been prior to the Boffos joining Mdina anyway if they started production in 1968 and the Boffos joined at the end of 1969.  I guess my piece would be classed as amethyst as a final colour would it  even though it has the streaks in?
m

Offline chopin-liszt

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Re: Mdina amethyst vase, Boffo made? polished pontil mark
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2011, 08:28:22 PM »
The Boffos introduced the method of making neat, round, polished pontil marks to the factory production.
Polished pontil marks signify early production, Harris/Boffo period, because after Michael Harris left, they weren't used any more - or perhaps it was after Vicente Boffo left, whatever, it was deemed to be too time consuming and costly to continue with doing it.
 :pb: Sorry for shouting.  :-*

And absolutely, it is amethyst - the streaks are effects from the use of silver chloride and are perfectly right.
Cheers, Sue M. (she/her)

‘For every problem there is a solution: neat, plausible and wrong’. H.L.Mencken

Offline flying free

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Re: Mdina amethyst vase, Boffo made? polished pontil mark
« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2011, 09:02:50 PM »
No, don't apologise  :fwr: but I have realised why I am confused.  
-  I've assumed Mdina glassmaking started 1/3rd quarter  1968 It says the furnaces were lit late summer
-  The book says amethyst was only used  during the first year of production, so that would mean say Sep 1968 to Sep 1969.
-  I've reread the book re pontil marks page 132 and it says 'For a short period from around late 1969, a concave polished mark, similar to that used by Whitefriars, was used....... This coincides with the arrival of the Boffos (my words -this was in Oct 1969) from Whitefriars, and they may have had some influence on this, although other companies also used this type of mark'.  

So my confusion arises because if this is amethyst and has a polished pontil mark, then either amethyst was used for longer than the first year of production or polished pontil marks were used prior to the arrival of the Boffos.
I guess it is splitting hairs, but I'm just curious because my jug, which I thought may have been made by the Boffos  has a flat polished base and is also amethyst.   I'm curious because I'm trying to find out who made the pieces I guess, but having said all this they could just as well have been made by someone else at the factory I suppose?
m

Offline glassobsessed

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Re: Mdina amethyst vase, Boffo made? polished pontil mark
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2011, 01:18:18 AM »
Amethyst coloured glass was used through the 1970s at Mdina, probably into the 80s.
The amethyst and cobalt blue (mentioned at the top of page 22) used for a short time were in "unmodified form" i.e. without the addition of silver chloride or other added colours (silver chloride makes the amethyst coloured glass turn yellow - as in your ink bottle Michelle). Examples are likely to be early versions of designs and may lack some of the finesse of those made later. For me, these are by far the most interesting pieces.

Here are two:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Johnmj100/EarlyMdinaGlass#5473340076203262786
https://picasaweb.google.com/Johnmj100/EarlyMdinaGlass#5473340087649283154

John

Offline flying free

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Re: Mdina amethyst vase, Boffo made? polished pontil mark
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2011, 09:24:44 AM »
OK thanks so much John and Sue.  Now I'm totally with it.
m

Offline chopin-liszt

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Re: Mdina amethyst vase, Boffo made? polished pontil mark
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2011, 01:20:11 PM »
Ah-ha - you say jug.
Jugs were made by the Boffos, not as standard production, but in their own time. These were sold in a different outlet - in Valetta, not the Mdina shop.

A good bit later, a deep purple glass was used, often to give an appearance of black. The deep bluey sort of purple is a completely different shade to the browny amethyst.

(John, the silver chloride turns the clear casing yellow, not the amethyst. :-* )
Cheers, Sue M. (she/her)

‘For every problem there is a solution: neat, plausible and wrong’. H.L.Mencken

 

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