Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => Murano & Italy Glass => Topic started by: horochar on June 16, 2007, 09:00:21 AM
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Trolling the internet, I found a picture of a penguin that I've owned for a few years. Well, you can imagine my surprise when I saw it listed as "Tobia Scarpa" with a $2-3,000 estimate! Seems too good to be true. Can anyone please help to shed some light on the situation? Is it in fact a Scarpa piece, and if so, who produced it and when? My piece is completely unsigned.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Charles.
http://i12.tinypic.com/4yafnl5.jpg
http://i12.tinypic.com/5ymcv37.jpg
Underside
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Yours looks in better condition ;D
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I don't know about the penguin, OTT, but Lot 92 which is described as a 'Flazzato Hankerchief Vase' looks like part of the Josefina Brown marble collection.
http://www.jozefina.pl/22E.html
What is a Flazzato?
Nice penguin, I've always wanted to P-p-p-pick up a Penguin... sorry. ;D
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there's some on there which are chinese
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That's got to be the most deceitful auction list I've ever seen! The only attributions that have a chance of being correct are the little V. Nason bowl, the Barbini bowl, and a few of the other minor pieces. Most of the items on that page are either cheap Asian imports or generic Murano junk. I mean really - that auction is committing fraud.
I'm sorry that there is little chance that your penguin is Tobia Scarpa. Have you thought about emailing the auction house and asking for a justification for their attribution? I'd bet you wouldn't get much of an answer.
I don't know who made your penguin, but I'd guess that it's circa 1970s, maybe Livio Seguso factory or Zanetti.
Laura
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Thanks Laura-
I guess you can't believe everything you read in an auction catalog. I had a feeling it was too good be true; I guess I won't be retiring and will be forced to keep my day job. :'( Truth told, I'd be pleased as punch if it were Zanetti, L. Seguso or similarly high quality glass, but I fear that too may be wishful thinking. What disturbs me is that the base is not polished and it's hollow, although the quality of execution is otherwise excellent. For what it's worth, I did e-mail the auction house about the piece before I posted my question, but haven't yet heard back. If I learn anything interesting, I'll make sure to post it here.
Charles.
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Here's the response I received from the auctioneer of this item. As they say in Latin-speaking lands, caveat emptor:
It is not signed, but as you probably know, a great deal of the fine Murano glass is not signed. Our collector collected Murano for 20+ years and is considered an authority. They vetted out any questionable items so as not to taint the sale. They are certain, through their many years of research, that it is authentic. It was made in the late 1970's, based on the feel of his other items of that period, but the glass-maker is not identified.
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I'm a little bothered of people so sure of an attribution of pieces like this. I know at least 4-5 skilled master glassmakers who can make a perfect copy of a piece like this. For some kind of glassware is prettyeasy to recognanize the "hand", but for glassware like the penguin in the photo the attribution is very, very weak.
Sincerely
Alex
www.artofvenice.com (http://www.artofvenice.com)
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That is good to know, and a good word of caution. Not to quibble, but until someone is able to attribute the "original" (as it were) to Scarpa, this cannot be said to have been "copied" from anything. If as Laura posits the piece is a "better" contemporary Murano producer, vintage 1970s/1980s, I'm just as happy and it can hold its place in the menagerie on top of my buffet alongside various vintage Murano birds, snails and other creepy crawlers. If it's a $10 Chinese piece, however cute, it goes into the dumpster. :(
I state no opinion about the auctioneer's integrity or possible liability in accepting the attributions of a consignor at face value, but if the consensus view on this board is correct, I do feel sorry for the buyer, an "internet bidder" (i.e., eBay) who paid $400.
Charles.