Topic: Scottish Inkwell - Now the fun, which part of the Ysart family?

[Gowdod]

Dear All,

sitting 4.5" tall, approx 3.6" wide at base. It doesn't appear to have a signature cane. It has a clear base and stopper with no underlay colour.
The base is ground flat and the pontil partially ground out with some remains showing. The glass has a clear appearance with no hint of blue/greyness to it.

So to the canes.... three concentric rings around a larger central cane. More complex canes than simpler ones. Quite a number of air bubbles around the canes on the more complex canes on the first inner ring.

Initial thoughts were may be Vasart however it could be earlier?  Would anybody be able to confirm?

Alan, I looked in Turner/Clarke/Andrews and the orange particularly points me towards that period however I am not sufficiently knowledgeable on the canes to be absolutely precise.

Either way a fine piece and very happy to have found it.

On my shelf with others from the same family.

With kind regards to you all.

Andrew

[KevinH]

This is most likely a Salvador Ysart bottle from the "Ysart Brothers (Vasart)" period of 1946 to 1955. But there is a chance that it was made pre-war.

Although it has a clear stopper shank and a clear neck, and "well" sections, as opposed to most Salvador bottles (with striped stopper shank, neck and "well") there are several known examples without the stripes.

The canes can be matched to other bottles and weights from the Ysart Brothers (Vasart) period. I do not recall seeing any of those canes in work by Paul Ysart.

Determining the actual period of making from canes (*) and general features is normally not possible. Even uv checks cannot separate pre-war work from the Ysart Brothers period. I have found that the only separation by uv checks for "Ysart" work is between "Vasart Limited" (1956 to 1964) and "Ysart Brothers or earlier".

(*) Some of the canes could have been made pre-war, but used in later work.

[Gowdod]

Dear Kevin,

thank you.

Does the ground pontil point towards a later piece. I have what I consider to be Vasart Brother and Vasart Weights with ground pontils which is quite dissimilar to the unfinished pontils that I have on others.

I appreciate the detail you share and give to others.

Have a super evening.

Kind regards

Andrew

[KevinH]

Does the ground pontil point towards a later piece ...

It is usually thought that rough grinding, and often with the grinding marks in various directions, is a suggestion of Ysart Brothers period items. The finish on your bottle seems to be a fairly tidy overall light grinding (akin to a "frosted" effect) and does not fall into the "rough grinding" category.

But ... there are a variety of types of grinding to the base of Salvador Ysart / Ysart Brothers items and it is not known whether any particular type of grinding could indicate "definite pre-war" or "definite Ysart Brothers".