Topic: Smoke glass winged vase - any ideas? ID = Leerdam, Meydam

[dirk.]

One of my best finds today was this elegant vase. The colour is hard to describe...
It changes a bit with the lighting: blue-ish smoke colour with a hint of green and
sometimes a reflection of purple. I checked for rare earths, but thereīs no reaction.
Like the rest of it the base shows some quality; a perfectly ground out pontil mark in
the middle of a flat ellipse.
Itīs ca 20cm wide and 10 cm tall.
Any ideas?

[rocco]

Wow, that is stunningly beautiful.

I don't recognize it as one of the usual suspects for this type of glass (Scandi, German, Czech); so I thought perhaps Leerdam? (Ivo will correct me if I am wrong, which is quite probable )

I found these 2 Copier pieces in a very similar colour (>> Link 1, >> Link 2), and >> this ebay link to a Leerdam Meydam piece which has unfortunately disappeared apart from the thumbnail.

Michael

[dirk.]

Youīre brilliant, Michael - many thanks! 
I think youīre spot on with the last link, although the picture is quite small.
Did some googling... Many Meydam pieces have a similar shape and whereever
thereīs a picture included the base looks consistent with my piece.
Now, letīs wait for Ivo... 

[rosieposie]

Hi Dirk! 
I'm sure Michael is correct.

I love Leerdam glass and I would put money on this being Floris Meydam, probably a 'Unica' piece.
 
At first, I thought Holmegaard with that colour, but yours is shorter and and it is very rare for Holmegaard not to be signed.
Rosie.

[Ivo]

this piece is not in the Meydam book, sorry - and I don't recognise it. True that he did many variations on this shape but usually as unica, which are always signed, and almost always clear cased.
It could be an unrecorded serica of course - the bottom treatment is consistent with Leerdam. But confirmation would have to come out of the online Leerdam archives and that is a tall trawl.

[dirk.]

Thank you both!  I did some further searching and - tataaa:
http://www.nationaalglasmuseum.nl/index.php?option=com_memorixbeeld&view=record&Itemid=25&id=gla:col1:dat41245&tstart=
    

[rosieposie]

Dirk, that is wonderful,  well done!! 

It has also restored my faith in the very little knowledge I have of Non-animal glass!!

Is there any way to find out if it was a Unica piece or Serica?

Rosie.

[Ivo]

So did you see this one in the Meydam showcase?

[rosieposie]

No, I didn't spot that one Ivo. 
 
If I was ever going to collect vases, it would have to be Leerdam and Holmegaard....their shapes are so tactile, simple amd flowing.
How ever does a glass blower decide what shape they want to end up with....so that the finished article is so aesthetically pleasing?

I aspire to a Floris Meydam Unica vase in green and blue bands....then I will have a piece of heaven and earth  made of glass.
Very similar in shape to your lovely vase Dirk, which is so elegant.

[dirk.]

Rosie, Iīm really happy this one got IDīd so quickly. It is indeed a lovely vase and though
Iīm trying not to sound stereotypically - it looks even better, when you handle it. 
Quite a nice find for a whole one Euro, innit? 

Ivo, I may have missed it in the showcase - may have been distracted by -err- glass. Itīs
nice to see a relative - thanks! Thereīs really something special about this stahlblauw
colour and the way it subtly changes with lighting or when you turn the piece in your
hands.
Now, Iīll get Dadīs lettering device...