Topic: Sommerso? Bird PW?

[Bernard C]

See http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-19766 for image No. 3 — you should find five further images linked.   Click main image to enlarge.

Pretty little novelty, about 5" (12cm) long.   I think this is what is called sommerso.   When I bought it I thought it was just three layers, blue, ruby, and flint, but the photographs bring out a fourth layer under the flint — a pale golden amber.   It is very clever the way the sommerso effect propagates as rings up the tail at certain angles.   Is it a paperweight?

I would appreciate possible attribution, date, and any correction to my terminology.

Thanks for looking,

Bernard C. 

[glassobsessed]

Those colours are often associated with Flavio Poli, no idea if that would be the case here or not Bernard. Sommerso is correct, perhaps strictly speaking not a paperweight, do glass animals in general come under the heading of novelty item?

John

[Bernard C]

John — Thanks for your reply.   Isn't the range of colours practicable for sommerso fairly restricted?   ... leading to my thought that any sommerso is likely to look like a Poli/Seguso combination.

I was hoping for some idea as to whether this novelty was made on Murano or was a lookalike from China or elsewhere.

Bernard C. 

[Lustrousstone]

Sommerso comes in a wide range of colours Bernard

[David E]

... but it can be limited as certain colours cannot be adjacent due to the different rates they cool when being annealed, which often leads to internal cracks. Incalmo also has similar problems.

[Lustrousstone]

It's more likely the colour combinations are limited

[flying free]

What is the base like Bernard?
Is it highly polished?
m

[Bernard C]

Yes, the base was ground flat and polished — you can see the inside of the piece clearly through it on image 6.

Bernard C. 

[rosieposie]

I believe this bird may be made by a Lithuanian company called Svaja who make several different styles of glass. 
Their first birds to be produced were in the Sommerso style,  but now are a more simple coloured combination,  so it is difficult to find an example to prove this.  They have a website:

http://www.e-svaja.com/    who may be able to confirm this if you write to their address,  which coincidentally is in Surry, 5 minutes from where I used to live! (Before I started to collect glass!)

I hope this is useful, and you can see the range if glass they produce, including many pieces which do appear to be Sommerso technique.

[Lustrousstone]

If it is Svaja, the question of where it was made remains , as it is a design company, not a manufacturer