Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => USA => Topic started by: Barb B. on January 30, 2014, 12:51:37 AM
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Hi - I'm new here and am hoping for some help. I tried to post this before, but it didn't work. I am a neophyte with art glass, so please forgive my ignorance.
I've just acquired a really spectacular art glass vase that I have very little information on. The vase is executed masterfully. The piece is signed, but I can't read the signature. It is, what appears to me to be a "pocket" vase, hand blown, with a yellowish base color. About 10" square, with a brilliant multi-color applied pattern that is reminiscent of an impressionistic Summer garden. The colors are magnificent and rival any I've ever seen in art glass for sheer brilliance. There are waves of subtle fumed iridescence over the entire piece. The gentleman that I got the vase from had very little information. It belonged to his parents and he had the vague idea that they bought it in Utah in the 1960's. Any help you can be would be greatly appreciated. I love this vase with my whole heart and can't stop looking at it, so any information would be a gift. Thank you in advance. I've attached a picture of the vase (which does it zero justice) and the signature, which is located on the punty button.
Barb
Washington, DC
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:o That is just beautiful PS welcome to the board
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reminds me a lot of Peter Layton's landscape vases - but I can't work out whether the sig is right or not.
http://www.masterpieceonline.com/title.php?ititlenum=2390&galleryId=1EDE-FCCH-6E59
m
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It is absolutely fabulous. :o
I think it looks very, very like a piece of Phoenician glass. They did do a range very like this.
(Christine/Lustrousstone, you have a disc shaped pwt.)
But it strikes me that it would not have been in Utah in the '60s. Phoenician wasn't set up until a good while later.
To be honest, I would very much doubt the date of '60s. The Studio Glass Movement didn't start until '62, and the work was all very crude and experimental (but gorgeous, I love it).
This is a far more sophisticated piece than was being produced at that time, unless it turns out to be an individual piece from one of the bigger companies.
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(Christine/Lustrousstone, you have a disc shaped pwt.)
K thought was what it was when he saw me looking this am
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It's not an easy design to find at all. There was a tall, elongated disc bottle on ebay a while ago.
I had been watching it for some time, but nobody bid. Nobody knew much about Phoenician then, and the start price was £30 odds. I decided to go for it on the third listing, but had to put my bid on early as I wasn't able to be at a pc to bid at the last second.
Clearly, it had had a lot of watchers, and as soon as I had put a bid on, folk searched my buying history (pretty much all Maltese - and some very good bits) and it went for a fair bit. I've never found another.
I was very pleased indeed when you bought that weight, Christine. :-*
I knew it was a real goodie and probably quite scarce, even if not properly recognised at the time.
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would it help to powder the signature to bring it out? - I'm having great difficulty seeing it
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It doesn't look as if it would read either Phoenician OR Peter Layton.
Peter Layton would not surprise me as the origin of this piece. I find a lot of his work looks very "Maltese in inspiration", the biggest differentiation is that PL uses bought in colours, while (at least earlier) Maltese make some of their colours using metal salts as well.
Barb B. (sorry, I didn't say "welcome"! I was just enchanted by the glass and forgot. :-[ )
We are discussing European makers here, not American, and there is every liklihood it could be by an American maker we don't know about. Glass does travel surprisingly far though. :-\
I have taken the liberty of going through Christine's images and tracked down the weight.
There is the caveat that a paperweight will not neccessarily reflect a complete design that is used on a larger vessel.
http://lustrousstone.co.uk/cpg/displayimage.php?album=17&pid=38#top_display_media
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This is a (lousy) image of a purple Perfume bottle in a similar design - one with blobs at the bottom.
http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/phoenician-glass-hand-blown-perfume-bottle-from
(I was searching for an image of a large bottle-y piece, rather than little PBs or PWts, for which designs are often altered to accommodate the small size. No luck. :'( )
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OP Here - Wow, you guys! Thanks! I'm really learning a bunch here. I wish my pictures were better. Today, I'm having no luck taking clear pictures at all. I did try the powder idea, which seems to have brought the signature out some, but I can't get a good close-up with my lousy camera. It looks to me like the first and last names both start with a large cursive "F", but don't quote me on that. I'm going to try to track down a magnifying glass. The signature is really small.
The applied "garden" on the bottom of the vase is actually pretty textural, not melted flat - if that helps. There might also be some subtle carving, to bring out the texture of the "flowers." The Peter Layton pieces looked pretty similar, with a more flat look to the finish. The Phoenician pieces also have some similarity. It's all very confusing. This Layton vase is somewhat similar, but without the textural aspect and the extravagant use of color:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanjaras/102252480/
I felt from the start that the piece seemed to be more contemporary in sophistication than if it had actually been from the 1960's. I'm glad you agree.
I think it's a pretty exceptional work, no matter the date of creation. :) I wish you guys could see the colors. The picture really mutes them. They are nearly circus bright, but done with such an elevated understanding of color that they aren't jarring. It really is beautiful.
Barb
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The bottom part will just be what is called surface decorated.
The hot gather of glass will have been rolled over the small coloured pieces of enamel which would have been laid out on the marver, to pick them up. You will end up with a surface texture exactly as you describe, just as long as they are not fully rolled into the gather, or futher cased.
I'm very green here. I'm completely in love with it, and very glad it's owned by somebody who appreciates it so much. But finding the maker would be the icing on the cake!
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Reading a signature on a higly patterned piece like this is hard if the photo is taken "Straight on" like you have. I suggest you try to get a shallow angle so the glass surface reflects light and the signature will appear black, the pattern wil not appear at all. Here are two photos of a Kosta Boda base I own that illustrate what I mean.
Ross
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We have been trying for two days to get a better picture of the signature. Unfortunately we are having an issue getting a clear shot. We will try the oblique view tonight to see if that helps. The signature is very small, on an uneven punty button that is also highly colored, the combination of which makes it a real challenge. Sorry for the delay! I really want to get some help with this, so I hope people stick around until I manage a decent shot. Even if I get a good picture, the signature doesn't seem very clear. I'm dying to know who crafted this gem!!! :)
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Sometimes you will get a better result for clarity if you use a telephoto lens and take from a bigger distance rather than trying to get too close. This is because the depth of field is wider and therefore the chance of a sharp photo is better. Another fact to remember (especially if you are focussing manually) is that the depth of field for 'sharpness' is approximately 3 times greater beyond the object than it is in front.
You can then crop the photo and save the result. Then resixze the cropped bit to fit on the GMB as close as you can to 124.99Kb so we oldies can see it more clearly.
Ross
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The vase reminds me a lot of Peter Layton's work (landscape/blossom for example), but having looked at numerous sigs, it doesn't match.
Also the base of the vases often have a flat ground base, not a pontil mark.
The sig seems to read Faith ..... to me with the second name starting with an F or a T or J. But I've not been able to find a match sorry.
m
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It's nothing like Peter Layton's signature. (I have 2)
Pehpas it could have been made by somebody working in his studio - who signed it, rather than Mr. Layton himself.
But he normally signs his designs (which are made by the glassmakers anyway). I can't see him letting somebody else sign it, but I may be wrong.
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Try John and Heather Fields - this link has a vase very similar to yours. And they are US based .
http://www.childhoods-end-gallery.com/Fields_and_%20Fields113.html (http://www.childhoods-end-gallery.com/Fields_and_%20Fields113.html)
Looks very like it to me. ?? What do you think??
Found it accidentally - was reminded of a Cathy Richardson piece and googled images of her work - she does paperweights exclusively it seems. Because I'd added vase to her name this came up in the images.
It is beautiful by the way!
regards from Oz
JAK
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Fields and Fields website
http://www.fieldsandfieldsblownglass.com/photo-gallery/ (http://www.fieldsandfieldsblownglass.com/photo-gallery/)
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Fantastic sleuthing JAK!
m
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Great job Jackie.
Ross
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You've cracked it, Jak! Brilliant. :)
But I can't see how to buy one for myself from their site...
I may just contact them and ask, when I've saved up a bit. 8)
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Thanks - just got lucky googling :)
The first link is to a gallery - they seem to sell the artists work . The one similar to the original one in this post sold for $350. The others still on sale are priced between $600 and $750 US.
I would need some serious saving up!
JAK
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I did see the $350 bit, I didn't see the rest. Perhaps well out of my league then.
I do try to avoid contemporary American Studio glass - there is so much of it, it is so fabulous, it is nothing more than torture drooling over stuff I cannot ever afford. :'( :'( :'(
Best just not to know about it in the first place. ::)
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Well done JAK. I have been following this all the way through and am so pleased it has been resolved.
I am ashamed to say I saw this link:
http://www.pinterest.com/lindakay916/china-and-glass-vases/
and despite scrolling down the beautiful vases did not spot the John and Heather Fields piece as being significant! :(
I guess I had better stick to my birds and animals. :-[
Added: I hope Barb B. sees that the maker of her vase now has been identified. :)
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What an amazing link Rosie. Absolutely stunning glass. Thank you for sharing it 😃
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Thank you JAK, that makes me feel a little better.... certainly fits your 'and anything gorgeous' quote!
I have bookmarked it because I think it is added to frequently. :)
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OP Here! WOWOWOWOWOWWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!! You DID IT! I'm so excited. This HAS to be it! Must do more research today. YOU ROCK!!!
Barb
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I am just losing my mind, over here in Washington, DC. I can't believe you tracked this down, JAK! What a boon! Their body of work is so amazing. I feel very fortunate to have a piece of their glass. What a find. Thank you ALL, so very much for helping me solve this mystery. I knew, when I saw how active and passionate this board was, that you guys would be the ones that would help me and I was so right. I am indebted to you all.
spinning off into gorgeous glass insanity,
Barb
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Hey - don't spin off entirely!
This could be just the start of a glorious jouney for you. ;)