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Art Deco Bohemian Glass (or crystal?) Decanter - Karl Palda?

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antoinebegcou:
Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum but my passion for Art deco glass isn't. :)  Still, it's the first time I post something on the web about it.

I have this decanter that I believe is from Karl Palda (Novy Bor) factory. It's black enameled and the cuts are precise and sharp. It surely fits the Art Deco standards. Still, I can't find an absolute way of linking that particular piece to Karl Palda, other than the numerous comparison that i made with ''Palda'' decanter available at the moment. Also, it's unsigned.

Is it a Palda? Is it from the '20s-'30s?

And, as a second question, do you know if it's made of glass or lead-crystal? Since it's a decanter, i would like to know if there's a risk of lead-poisoning myself with an alcool that would have been stored in it.

Thanks a lot, ;D
Antoine

ahremck:
The easiest way to determine if it is glass or crystal is to determine the Density of the glass.

This can be done as follows - you will need some strong cotton, a device that weighs a hanging object - like a luggage scales, and a pot large enough to submerge the object in water.

Tie the cotton around the neck of the decanter and weigh it, record that weight.  Carefully lower the decanter into the water making sure it is completely covered and no air is left inside.  Record the new weight which will be less.

Divide the original weight by the amount it was reduced by, after lowering it into the water.  If it is crystal this should give a value over over 3.  Normal soda glass gives a value of about 2.4.


Ross

Paul S.:
Hi Antoine  -  welcome to the GMB

Regret I'm unable to answer your query regarding origin, but feel confident that any alcohol you consume from this decanter will not give you lead poisoning.             Alcohol has been stored in decanters made from glass containing lead oxide for centuries, and since they are made specifically for this purpose - and are still being made using lead crystal - there doesn't appear any historic reason for thinking otherwise.
You will need to follow Ross' method for determining density to decide whether or not your decanter contains lead  -  but as a general rule if it appears heavy for its size then it will have been made with some lead content.           Also, if the refractive qualities (the ability of the cut surfaces to disperse and magnify the light) are good, then this will indicate the use of lead oxide - glass containing lead oxide often appears to have a greyish or lead coloured hue.
Am sure you know that this oxide is present to improve the working open time of the plastic glass, and apparently it makes the cutting easier.
Rarely does the lead oxide content in table glass exceed 34/35%, but I think there are regulations stating it must be something like a minimum of 24%.

Attractive decanter by the way  -  hope someone is able to help you with attribution, although have a feeling that a lot of 'deco style' geometric pieces with black enamelling has been made over the years, so perhaps not so easy to pin down a maker.

antoinebegcou:
Thanks for the answer guys.

Ross: I'm not equiped to do that kind of weighting, but i can easily calculate the density of the stopper in a graduated cylinder. Following archimedes principle, i'll be able to determine the volume of the stopper and since i have a cooking (numeric) balance, i'm gonna be able to determine the weight precisely. Using this formula, i'm gonna get the density: Density= Mass/Volume

Paul S: thanks for the greeting. Still, i'm a bit unsure about using the decanter without knowing how it's made. I understand it was made for that specific purpose but, since i read this: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/prod/crystal-cristal-eng.php ...i feel like I need to be sure of the composition of the glass...  :(

Stay tuned!

antoinebegcou:
Soooo, after some calculations, it seems like the stopper of my decanter has a density of 2.12 g/cm3. (volume: 0.075L, mass: 159g)

Wikipedia states that lead glass is around 3.1 g/cm3 (or even up to 5,9 g/cm3 in some cases) while soda glass is around 2,4 g/cm3 or below.

It seems like my decanter is made of glass. Good to know!

Here comes the Chartreuse. :)

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