Topic: Mdina textured bark vase flared rim

[chriscooper]

Not seen this one before 8.5" tall 5" diameter flared rim not sure of the correct description Suzy describes it 'bark' in a cylinder version the only other example I could find in her and Johns albums.
Denver describes it as basket weave. Quite thick glass with lots of bubbles at least one burst.
Weighs a hefty 1.5 kg presume these were blown into a textured mould Whitefriars style? could there be a Boffo influence in the style.

[chriscooper]

Notice the odd mark where there is a loss of texture it's not a crack, oval shaped inside the vase a deep ridge can be felt at the bottom inside of the vase but runs out to smooth at the top some sort of tooling mark?
The base is the normal flat ground and polished no Mdina mark.

[NMott]

The oval looks like a bubble. Maybe a collapsed bubble if you can feel a ridge.

[Lustrousstone]

The shape is unusual, the texture not so much and Boffo didn't invent/discover bark marks
Here'a mine
http://lustrousstone.co.uk/cpg/displayimage.php?pid=1536

This thread is worth a read
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,29883.10.html

[Nemmie]

This finish is different to the bark examples I have. It does look more like a woven basket effect to me than any bark I have seen.

Just personal opinion though and it works for me to differentiate between the styles.

[chriscooper]

I have seen Mdina 'bark' style vases before but thought the texture on this seemed different? I don't think it looks the same as the bottle vase in the link or the square ones at all IMHO.
 The oval disc (tooling mark) ? in the last photo if it is a bubble if it is it's a big one it's 5" long and 2" wide also a smaller one directly opposite. Could it have been  made in a cylinder mould and the flare in the rim pulled out after it came out of the mould maybe and the marks are from holding it with a tool.
Not suggesting Boffo made it or invented the technique indeed a lot of W/f stuff was 'influenced' by the Scandinavians anyway. Though he was skilled enough to make pieces like this so would have maybe brought some ideas with him.

[chopin-liszt]

It's a short/small large textured cylinder vase. 

The texture is exactly the same as the normal 8" textured cylider vases that come in blue with silver chloride or in Tortoiseshell, but it's not very bark-y, not in the same way as the other textures, but it's still moulded.

There were a few really big cylinders made, 5" in diameter, but they're normally at least 9" tall, I have one but it's packed away in the attic, I can't remember if it has a flared rim or not - I suspect not.
Flared rims tend to be later...

[chriscooper]

It's neither short nor small at over 8.5" and 5" diameter it's green and I will eat my hat if it's later did you read ALL the thread Sue


Chris

[chopin-liszt]

It's short for a 9.5" tall 5" diameter cylinder. A whole inch short.

That's the height of most of these large (5" diameter) cylinders I've seen, the short version is normally 7.5" tall.

It's only green in some places because the silverchloride has turned some clear glass amber over blue.
Mdina did NOT have green glass melted in a pot in the earlier days.
Mark's book does refer to it, but that was before it was discovered that the green things are MDG.
Yes I read all the thread, I do know these pieces quite well.
Flared rims came in after MH left, flared rims are late, as far as I'm concerned. I don't like them.

[Lustrousstone]

It would have been blown in a straight bark mould, which may or may not have been 5 in wide, possibly blown out and then transferred to a pontil rod for cutting and then  flaring with callipers. It's not an overly skilful item. The main skill is in getting the silver chloride on nicely before the moulding