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Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic, Austria => Topic started by: Anne E.B. on March 07, 2007, 08:04:35 PM

Title: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket? Czech?
Post by: Anne E.B. on March 07, 2007, 08:04:35 PM
Mod:  Photos uploaded to GlassGallery:
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-5518
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-5516

This weird looking bowl glows yellow under a UV light, where green can be seen on the picture, and dusky pink around the rim edge.  Does it contain both uranium and selenium, or something else?  I'm really confused ???

Any ideas as to its origins would also be much appreciated.

TIA  ;)
Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket ???
Post by: Max on March 07, 2007, 09:27:17 PM
Here I go with nothing really to back this up.  ;) For me, it has a whiff of Czech glass from the 1950's.  It's hard to find information on that era though.  The 'stuck together' arms of the basket style have been used by Emanuel Beranek as seen on page 67 of Modern Bohemian Glass, but of course that style has been used by other countries too.  It's just the general attention to detail, the ribbed/vortexed appearance of the  sides that make me think Czech, plus the unusual colouring.

Quite probably it's by another designer from a different country altogether, but that's my ten penneth worth.  I think it looks pretty interesting, hope you find out more about it Anne.   :)

Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket ???
Post by: Andy on March 07, 2007, 10:48:57 PM
My first thought, Czech, similar to Skrdlovice, Marcus may know
Andy :)
Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket ???
Post by: Andy on March 07, 2007, 11:40:21 PM
Anne,
how about this one :D
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-5499
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-5498

Not far off ;) ive had it for several years, and never checked it under UV until reading
this, and Hey Presto, it glows ;D
Its got a Gold Skrdlovice sticker which i think is 70s give or take a decade ;)
Cheers
Andy  8)
Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket ???
Post by: Anne E.B. on March 08, 2007, 01:50:35 PM
Thanks Max ;D  My thoughts too on it poss. being Czech.  The colours seemed all wrong for Murano and the shape quite different, not really being organic, but I just wasn't certain.

Andy - there's something very similar about your bowl and mine with the ribbing and colouring.  Glad you checked yours out with a UV light ;D  I only checked on mine having seen it in bright sunlight, where it came alive, but was really surprised to see the dusky pink also under UV. :o

Hopefully Marcus will look in 8)
Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket ???
Post by: David E on March 08, 2007, 03:47:57 PM
Quite possible to have both elements included - perhaps a technologist can back me up, but both uranium and selenium are used as decolorants, so both together may have proved more effective.

Edit: Anne, I've added 'Czech' to the title so Marcus can identify the post.
Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket? Czech?
Post by: Lustrousstone on March 08, 2007, 04:50:49 PM
I think you mean colorants, not decolorants. Manganese is a decolorant
Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket? Czech?
Post by: David E on March 08, 2007, 05:02:41 PM
Not necessarily. I always thought manganese was the older way to decolor glass, but selenium was used later. Found on Great Glass (http://1st.glassman.com/articles/glasscolouring.html)

Quote
The oxidation of iron is known as chemical decolourising whilst by masking the green with red or blue is called physical decolourising and is achieved by the addition of cobalt and selenium oxide.
Probably not copyright that so-called "author", despite what it says on the web page!

I think the same applies to uranium, particularly when used with other elements, although the side effect is the glowing, of course. Edit:  In this case, it is used as a colorant, of course! 8)
Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket? Czech?
Post by: Frank on March 08, 2007, 06:01:11 PM
Probably not copyright that so-called "author", despite what it says on the web page!

Might be, but is it never says who the author is when he sells their work.

p.s. Not on Great Glass...
Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket? Czech?
Post by: glasswizard on March 08, 2007, 08:16:07 PM
Anne, your piece is lovely and then Andy really grabbed my attention with his.
I have this piece, the color I would describe as either lime or apple green.
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-5515
Its 15 inches long, 7 1/2 inches wide, and 4 1/4 inches high. Mine has a lable that is black and gold and reads "Coyne's Made in Czechoslovakia"  Being a Beranek and Skrdlovice lover, this thread has made me wonder about what exactly I have. Terry
Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket? Czech?
Post by: Andy on March 08, 2007, 09:02:02 PM
Terry,
i hope we are not hijacking the topic, im sure Anne will agree we are on the right track ;)
I have a couple of these bowls, in different colours, and another, the best one, i gave to my Sister as a present, ( all my family and friends now know they will get a piece of glass for a bday or Xmas pressie,
and in my defence they are getting better over the years)
I'm sure yours is Skrdlovice, probably 60s-80s maybe Marcus will confirm :o
Coynes, i presume , the importer, have you googled it?
Ive never thought about the UV effect, why not try yours!
I'm sure Annes piece is probably Skrdlovice, in my opinion, a great investment for the future ;D
Andy
Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket? Czech?
Post by: Sklounion on March 08, 2007, 10:42:29 PM
Hi,

Given that I am not an expert on Skrdlovice/Beranek, my views are:

These are probably 1950s, and show signs, of being designed by the Beraneks themselves, or by one of the 10 members of the design team, mostly unknowns, with the exception of Jan Kotik, working under Veliskova, who was put in charge of the works, following the decision to keep the works, rather than liquidate it.

Now, before people get too worked up over value and collectability, the 1950's period, with the exception of items by Kotik, (such as his "propeller" vases), saw the production of items, strongly influenced by Murano, and the Scandinavian countries. This started to change late in the 1950s. Much of this work was produced in large quantities, and if Glassexport had a run on demand, these were frequently made elsewhere, for example Chribska.

Whilst it is true that during the 1960s and 70s, Skrdlovice gained a reputation for fine, innovative designs, from the newer generation of glass artists, it was also used as a place to trial designs, which would then be put into mass-production elsewhere.

Skrdlovice is known to have used several levels of production.

Unikat: Under Czech law, this term can be used for any edition of 10 or less items. These were mainly sold through the Art Centrum and Dilo gallery system in Czechoslovakia.

Small series: This, depending, on which sources you read, is generally seen as editions of under 500 pieces, or 250 pieces.

Large series: concensus is an edition of no greater than 1250 pieces.

However, and this is the major caveat, many items have been in production for MANY years. It would be unrealistic to assume that if an item went into production in 1968, for example, that in 2007, they will only now have reached 900 of 1250 pieces. The earlier the initial production date, the less likely it is to be important, if it still appears in the current Beranek catalogue, then it is not likely to become scarce, rare, or necessarily even valuable.

Even the fact of a major named designer, ie Vizner, does not help, as many Vizner designed items have been in continuous production since the late 1960s and early 70s.

This is an area, full of potential pitfalls, for the glass investor. If you buy the item because you like it, all to the good. If you buy it as an investment.... make sure you know precisely what you are buying.

Regards,

Marcus

Text © M. Newhall 2007




Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket? Czech?
Post by: Andy on March 09, 2007, 02:39:26 PM
Marcus,
i bow to your knowledge ;D
Can i just check, really on Annes behalf, i presume you do agree that her piece
is probably Skrdlovice? You werent just talking about the bowls that followed?
Thanks a lot,
Andy
 8)
Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket? Czech?
Post by: Sklounion on March 09, 2007, 03:36:50 PM
I feel it probably to be Czech, possibly the design originating from Skrdlovice, but given my note above, it could feasably have been made at a different factory. That is as good as it gets, as, though I have a large amount of original Beranek related material, this specific item does not appear there.
Regards,
Marcus
Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket? Czech?
Post by: Anne E.B. on March 09, 2007, 08:40:08 PM
Thank you everyone for your comments and help.  It's great seeing other similar pieces so thanks for that Andy and Terry :).  I'm sure they are related.  Mine has some of that same lime green that is seen so beautifully on Terry's.

Marcus - what can I say?  A big thank you once more for sharing your knowledge :hug:

p.s. Andy - I've started giving glass as pressies too ;)  but I'll be hanging on to this one I think and it will be added to my growing collection of Czech glass.
Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket? Czech?
Post by: Adam on March 09, 2007, 10:32:44 PM
Both manganese and selenium, the latter usually with cobalt, can be used as decolourisers depending on melting conditions.  I can't imagine uranium being any use for this although, as I keep saying, I am hardly up to date!

Adam D.
Title: Re: Both uranium and selenium in a weird glass basket? Czech?
Post by: Paul ADK on March 10, 2007, 01:15:45 AM
I would not be that surprised to find strange combinations in any country's glass.  Historically, at least here in the states, if a batch of glass was a little short, factory workers have been known to throw in a batch of cullet to bring the measurement up to specs.  Since they were not so careful about colors, all sorts of strange combinations show up.   End users apparently did not particularly care if a canning jar came out citron or apple green instead of the "true Ball Blue" or if a whiskey bottle was lemon yellow as opposed to the more normal honey amber.  If the product served it's intended purpose, both buyers and sellers were happy.   

My guess is the thinking would be glass is glass.  If it looks OK under normal light on a store shelf, that is all that counts.