Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => British & Irish Glass => Topic started by: palo400 on May 20, 2011, 08:17:18 AM
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Hello
Is this a fish or axe vase?
Unsigned on the base standing 10 1/4 inches high 9 inches long weighs nearly 3 kg.
Sorry I get confused on these shapes.
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As I understand it, they're ALL Fish vases! They were never called 'Axe' or 'Axe Head' vases my anyone at Mdina!
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Leni is correct, it's called a fish vase and yours is in the Earthtones colourway. I would guess it dates to the mid to late 70s or perhaps the 80s.
There is plenty of confusion regarding the shapes and names, not helped by mistakes in Mark Hill's book on Michael Harris. Fish vases always have each side dipped so that heavy 'wings' are created usually (but not always) with the horizontal trails of glass across the centre.
Here is an early one without the trails: https://picasaweb.google.com/Johnmj100/EarlyMdinaGlass#5473340087649283154
I was mistaken for years in thinking this was a fish vase, it is not, it is Lollipop vase (this one is facet cut): https://picasaweb.google.com/Johnmj100/EarlyMdinaGlass#5429986536823925058
Here is another lollipop vase: https://picasaweb.google.com/Johnmj100/LaterMdinaGlass#5433694090777692514
Some were facet cut and some were shaped by pressing them onto the marver while still hot. If I remember correctly Keith owns this one now. ;D
John
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The faceted ones are known as "Ice-cut Lollipops".
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Thank you.
Sorry but you see them called Axe vase, thanks for putting me right.
Not something I collect, but I thought this was a nice lump.
Cheers.
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The axe thing was a term coined by Mark, before he found out the proper name.
When I started collecting Mdina, there was virtually no info. about it at all, and when discussing things with other folk who were interested (quite often just with my brother) I coined a few terms myself - just to be able to describe the glass so we knew we were talking about the same thing.
Once Mark started working on the book, in consultation with Elizabeth and Tim, the proper terms were learned and we are now still working to rid the "vocabulary" of wrong terms.
The axe thing needs buried! :smg: