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Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => Murano & Italy Glass => Topic started by: Pinkspoons on August 27, 2009, 12:37:02 PM

Title: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf ID = Salviati
Post by: Pinkspoons on August 27, 2009, 12:37:02 PM
A little bit out of my comfort zone, this.

It's a beautiful miniature opaline drinking glass, just 42mm tall and 38mm across (1.65" x 1.49" in old money) with dented sides. The gather was rolled in gold leaf before blowing, which would have resulted in a crackled surface - unfortunately most of this has rubbed off, but it has left a pitted surface behind where it once was, and also there is gold leaf trapped under remnants of glass from the snapped-off punty to the base, which shows it wasn't applied later.

The glass is very light and fairly coarse, with quite a few small bubbles and pieces of frit. the circumference of the rim is also very uneven

Absolutely no idea of who/when/what, but I suspect pre-C20... I just don't know by how much.

Apologies for the poor photos - not had time to set my lighting up today.
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf
Post by: Ivo on August 27, 2009, 12:52:11 PM
Salviati, or so it seems.
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf
Post by: Pinkspoons on August 27, 2009, 12:54:09 PM
Oh, excellent. Do you know approximately when they were produced?
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf
Post by: Ivo on August 27, 2009, 12:58:07 PM
Twenties I guess - but I could be off by a few decades.
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf
Post by: Pinkspoons on August 27, 2009, 12:58:49 PM
A quick bit of Googling brings up a date of c.1870 with a Salviati attribution for a similar piece on the Great Glass website:

http://www.great-glass.co.uk/library/lib4aa.htm (second row)

No idea how reliable these date attributions are.
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf
Post by: johnphilip on August 27, 2009, 02:26:52 PM
I agree Salviati c1900 they are in most early italian glass books they come in many sizes colours and types of glass, Powell copied them and just lately several have turned up on ebay  listed as  Powell  ,  ~IMHO ~ incorrectly ,last time i looked i had 17 various but i believe all of mine are Venetian . i suppose i could lie and make more money , Nahhh .
PS  The Granular ones like Ivos seem more collectable .
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf
Post by: Pinkspoons on August 27, 2009, 02:34:48 PM
Ah, I've only one book dedicated to Venetian glass - I could do with more, but it's down to the old issues of finances and shelf-space.

I believe Powell was producing similar dented forms from around the 1870s-80s onwards. They were also produced by Walsh Walsh and a number of other Stourbridge makers. See: http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,23930.msg133914.html#msg133914
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf
Post by: TxSilver on August 28, 2009, 01:27:17 AM
From the color of the glass, I would say Salviati late 19th-early 20th Century. Salviati did many things in this color. I've read that this style of vase also appears in the Testolini catalogs, which is understandable given that Testolini continued many of the CVM patterns. (Salviati started CVM. I won't go into the history because it is convoluted). The gold that is on the blue vase looks like it has been oxidized after being applied.

I usually see these pieces called posy vases.
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf
Post by: Pinkspoons on August 28, 2009, 07:37:55 AM
Thanks for the additional input - although I can't imagine anyone calling one of these a posy vase! They're far too SMALL and LIGHT to hold anything, except perhaps a couple of daisies.  :D

I'd just assumed given its similarity of shape to Walsh Walsh glass that I own, and also its size, that it was a drinking glass of sorts. But it could quite easily be a miniature novelty vase also.

Has the covering of the gather in gold leaf a specific technique name, does anyone know?
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf
Post by: johnphilip on August 28, 2009, 07:56:14 AM
Some sellers list them as tooth pick holders but they are so light they would probably fall over .Could be Lilliputian beer glasses ? ;D :-\ :thup:
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf
Post by: Pinkspoons on August 28, 2009, 08:11:10 AM
At this size.... possibly better for distributing absinthe. I'll have to put it to the test over the weekend!  >:D
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf
Post by: Pinkspoons on November 08, 2009, 12:43:42 PM
Since this thread I've gone on a little Salviati-acquiring quest (little being the operative word), and have built up a modest collection of seven other vases that seem to conform more with the shape that Ivo provides.

As illustrated below, the vase that started the thread is a little bit of an odd sock, shape-wise, against my other purchases. The glass also feels a little heavier and more 'rustic' than the others.
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf
Post by: Ivo on November 08, 2009, 01:25:38 PM
Isn't it wonderful - here you have 5 top pieces and they fit into the palm of your hand!
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf
Post by: Pinkspoons on November 08, 2009, 02:25:29 PM
I did have to move some of them recently, and found out the easiest way to do it was to pop them on the ends of my fingers, like thimbles.  ;D
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf
Post by: Cathy B on August 17, 2010, 03:23:30 AM
I've just bought a near-set of what look like five of these, and the little old lady who transported them from the cabinet to the counter for me stuck a finger in each and clanked them together in the process.

Will post pictures for comparison soon.
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf
Post by: Cathy B on August 17, 2010, 10:59:06 PM
And here they are. Very tiny little things (about 3 or 4 cm high, but I'm away from a ruler at the moment), very thin, very fragile and with a rough pontil scar on the base.

Would these also be Salviati?
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf ID = Salviati
Post by: Ivo on August 18, 2010, 09:46:05 AM
yes they would.
Title: Re: Miniature dented blue opal glass with gold leaf ID = Salviati
Post by: Cathy B on August 18, 2010, 03:50:45 PM
 :kissy: Thank you! A good buy for about $30 then. :)