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Author Topic: Identification on millefiori  (Read 2563 times)

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Offline karelm

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Identification on millefiori
« on: February 12, 2007, 12:41:28 PM »
Hi,
I recently went after a lot on ebay targeting a specific weight in the group, it looked like something special and looking at the canes I believe it is ;D.  (As a bonus there was a second weight that also looks special, I may post a similar enquiry on that soon :-[)

http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-5055
The topview shows (believe) close pack millifiori.  The canes are exelent and under a magnifying glass I still cannot make out all the details.  I could find no signature or date cane.

http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-5054
The base shows a clear pontil scar and two accidental bubbles

http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-5053
This close-up shows the pink and blue centre cane in the bottom right of the picture.  This cane is made out of at lease five different "layers" (not sure about correct term). It also shows a maltese cross.  The cross is white on a blue background Inside the cross is at least one, mabe two crosses in a light creen colour.
I know I read somwhere about a maker using maltese crosses (I thought Perthshire but cannot find the reference anywhere).  Murano also came up as maltese cross but these canes do not resemble anything that I have seen from there.

http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-5052
This picture shows another maltese cross, but this time it is a "hollow"cane with what looks like another tiny maltese cross centre.

Anyone want to venture an opinion?
Sorry the cane pics are not better!

Thanks,
karelm
Karel
"Holy cows make the best steaks"

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Offline mjr

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Re: Identification on millefiori
« Reply #1 on: February 12, 2007, 01:20:29 PM »
Hi

It looks like a fairly standard Strathearn closepack from the  late 60s/ early 70s  Designated P14, P15 and P16  depending on the size (small medium and large). There were several base colours - usually blue, red or yelllow.  The canes used were whatever came to hand and I think some of these clospacks have occasionally had the odd very interesting cane in them, but generally it is just the standard canes.

Take a look on Richard More's Smugmug site http://strathearn.smugmug.com/Strathearn%20Paperweights  He has a gallery for  each where you will find plenty to compare
Martin

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Offline KevinH

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Re: Identification on millefiori
« Reply #2 on: February 12, 2007, 02:24:27 PM »
Quote
... a fairly standard Strathearn closepack ...
Yes, but perhaps the use of "fairly" is ever so slighltly misleading ;), given that these closepack weights were made as regular output throughout most, if not all, of the years of Strathearn's existence.

Linked to this subject, I have been kindly given photos of many weights of this type and my intention is, when I get around to it, to produce a catalogue of all the individual canes - just for the fun of it. But also it might highlight something of interest. This was something I mentioned in the GMB a couple of years ago but it has still not made it to the top of my "to do" list. :-[ [And strange as it may seem, with my fascination with canes, I only have one solitary example of a Strathearn closepack in my collection!]
KevinH

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Offline karelm

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Re: Identification on millefiori
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2007, 04:04:22 PM »
Thanks guys,
Looks very much like Strathearn, looking at Richard More's site.  I have been able to find very similar canes but not the exact colours or shape...but it looks like it will be a matter of making time to go through all the pics!
The pattern stil confuses me!
I described it as closepack in my original query but looking at their closepacks I am not so sure.  This one has a clear center cane and the other canes are arranged in a concentric pattern around it.  If you look at the first pic, at 1 o'clock there is a tiny brown cane if you then follow that row around the first row or two actually spiral before the pattern is lost and it reverts to concentric rings. I presume the spiral is more accidental than by design.  However the concentric rings do look deliberate.  I will have a close look at the possible closepacks but have not seen a concentric one yet!
Another thing that bothers me is that the weight is about  2.5 inches or 6 cm, but has more than 80 canes in it.  This seems high in comparison to what is said on the abovementioned site. EDIT: Matches P15 in dimensions and number of canes.
Thanks once again!
karelm
Ps the second weight looks very much as if it will turn out to be Strathearn too ;D
Karel
"Holy cows make the best steaks"

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Offline KevinH

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Re: Identification on millefiori
« Reply #4 on: February 12, 2007, 04:35:16 PM »
karel,

With these weights, you could spend years trying to find exact matches for all canes in any one weight. There were so many weights of this design produced each using a small selection of a vast array of available cane constructs. They were not put together by choosing specific canes - just selections from those at hand at the time. My planned table of Strathearn canes will, I am sure, fall very short of the numbers that are possible.

You are right that the design is not quite the same as a standard closepack, which has canes set without any apparent order. And, for my own purposes, I do refer to ones that have definte rows as "close concentrics" - but only if (as you have spotted is not quite the case with yours) the rows are actually independent and do not merge at some point or have extra "stray" canes set amongst them. For general purposes, Strathearns of this pattern are more easily described just as "closepacks".

The number of canes per weight is not something that I have yet found to be meaningful. It mostly depends on the size of the canes used - if they are all of the same general size, then more can be used to fill the available space than if a sizeable percentage were larger. Also, bear in mind that the canes would have been set out in a circular "former" and it would be natural to fill up the outer edge first then the next "outer", and so on. Each "row" could have "indents" because of the different cane sizes and if those "indents" were not filled with an appropriate size cane in the next "row", the pattern would quickly become non-concentric. [However, I gave not actually seen the canes for a closepack weight being assembled - there could be other ways to do it than the general idea I have suggested.]
KevinH

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Offline karelm

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Re: Identification on millefiori
« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2007, 06:45:53 PM »
KevH,
Thanks for your, once again, insiteful feedback!!!
I have already decided that this weight is a keeper and it would have had to be able to fund a lot of other weights not to have ended up as one!!!!  I will go through the reasearching of this and hopefully be able to date it, but I need a bigger magnifying glass!
The the other weight that I was speaking of in the first post I will try to edit the photo's tomorrow and post them to confirmt that it is Strathearn but it may lead to a bit of debate.  It has a chinese base ???
And it is very badly made, my first thought is that it was a takeaway for one of the staff!!!
Anycase pics have been taken, I will edit tomorrow and then post.
Thanks for all the help,
PS: I also have some Chinese Muranos....but that is another story!!!
karelm
Karel
"Holy cows make the best steaks"

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