Topic: Amethyst Geometric Optical Bowl i.d Webb?

[I love all Glass]

Amethyst Geometric Optical Bowl i.d Webb?

Hi to all, I have this beautiful bowl, no markings and full polished pontil,  geometric shape with little "scoops" inside and outside of bowl which match up, giving a lovely optical rffect.  Seen something similar in the past, I think was Webb, any ideas or info please. Measures 25cm rim diameter by 8.5cm tall p.s sounds like a bell when flicked, so maybe crystal :thup:

[flying free]

Richardson? possibly although I know the one I saw was marked.
Charles Hajdamach's 20th century british Glass page 142 there is a similar colour bowl slightly different shape though and it is lensed rather than dimples .    I could be wrong
m

[keith]

Think it might be Webbs,didn't some one post a yellow/amber bowl recently?

[Anne]

I thought these were Webb as well... haven't we had them on the board before? <puts thinking cap on>

[agincourt17]

2 images of my Webb green uranium glass optic moulded bowl with etched mark for 1936-40 for comparison.

[Paul S.]

looking at m's ref. of page 142 in Hajdamach, the top picture shows an example of Webb's and the lower one an example of Richardson's - both in 'purple'.    Must admit I tend to think of Webb as being more amethyst and Richardson as purple  - which is borne out by the shades of colour on that page.         This may have some confirmation in the fact that the piece showing here is described as amethyst  -  and the difference can be seen more clearly in the picture I've added  of my two pieces.        The flared vase is marked Richardson, and although the Webb's vase is unmarked, I don't have any problem attributing it to that factory.
Of course I guess you'd need to examine a lot of pieces of this colour -  from both factories  -  to be able to say with absolute certainty that this difference was constant, but my humble opinion would be that this geometric optical bowl is Webb.
The text in Hajdamach (for the Richardson piece) says. ..........'purple cased over clear and blown into a dip mould etc.' 

[flying free]

Paul, as an aside, that's curious, I didn't read that description but I have seen a marked Richardson purple vase exactly like that and I don't remember it being purple cased over clear - I probably didn't look carefully enough.  Is that what yours is?  Is the Webb's amethyst version just amethyst glass rather than amethyst cased in clear?
m

[Paul S.]

ahhh....well, there you have me          Speaking generally, I am not that thick that I can't see clear casing over colour, usually  -  but for the life of me I can't detect casing on MY piece - either colour over clear or vice versa.      As for the Webb's, that really does appear as just a single colour glass.         As for the Richardson piece in Hajdamach  -  we have to take the author's word that it is indeed purple cased over clear.
As I understand it, the point about the dip mould (a single piece mould), is that it is used to create moulded effects (like these lenses/windows)  -  the piece being subsequently removed from the mould and blown to accentuate/improve the moulding effect and bring the glass to it's final size/shape.    Of course, you can't create complex shapes in dip moulds (you'd never get the glass out of the mould) - so things like feet need to be attached afterwards (as with my Richardson vase).
The optical effect of seeing the lenses as paler colour is simply because the glass is thinner in those areas.    There is no doubt in my mind that there is a colour difference here, with the Webb's being more amethyst.
My apologies that the original post has been slightly :hj:

[keith]

Must admit I hadn't read the caption for the picture and presumed it was Webbs ,sorry m,Paul I agree I've always thought of this type of Webb glass as amethyst,where as the other is purple,more pic's....

[flying free]

gosh no not at all Keith, I probably inadvertently put a red herring in here with the Richardson question. 
m