Topic: Murano Ribbon scramble????

[glasswizard]

This is one of the first weights I ever bought and it still fascinates me. I have reached the point now of wanting to know more. There is no lable nor signature. The base is ground and polished to a mirror finish. The ribbons twist every which way and toward the bottom are aventurine ribbons as well. A few random bubbles thrown in. Would love to know country of origin and possibly date, thanks Terry
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-2094

[wrightoutlook]

Yes, this is an Italian paperweight from Murano in the Venetian lagoon. This style of weight was made by a specific factory and there are Murano experts in one of the rooms on this board who can tell you which factory made these weights (perhaps an additional post on the Murano glass room might help). I believe these were made in the late 1960s through the 1970s.

[Leni]

Could be Avem  :?

[chuggy]

I've honestly never come across any PW that could be confirmed as made at AVEM and given how well documented most of their work is it would be surprising. I was chatting with an Italian guy today who used to work at Fratelli Toso and he told me that during the last hour of each day all the odds and sods were made into PW's that were never marked with their origin and went to the tourist shops. Might explain quite a lot of the unattributed pieces around.
Paul

[Jackie]

Chuggy I could not agree with you there - ref. your comment that you had not come across any weights that could be specifically identified as AVEM.  They made many superb hollow crowns- of which I have several in my own collection as well as the ones I sell - and many of those are etched A.V.EM on the base.  All of the traders that I have dealt with over the years on Murano and in Venice are quick to identify the A.V.E.M crowns without any label or etching.  It is a great pity they no longer produce them, a view echoed by many dealers over there.  With regard to the ribbon twist end-of-day - well it is exactly that - an end of day weight which could have been made by any number of glassworks.

Jackie

[JP]

That's a really beautiful weight.

Whenever I read about these end of day scrambles, it makes me wonder how many pieces are being made in a day. How many does one artist produce in a typical Murano glassworks? And I wonder how this compare to a Chinese glass artist, or an Indian glass artist, or a Clichy artist?