Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass Paperweights => Topic started by: saorsa on May 05, 2007, 12:55:30 PM
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weight i picked up today , can be described as a " floating pale green and aventurine slab" , age worn base that thas an indented pontil and fire polished base
Mod: Photo's uploaded to GlassGallery :)
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-6828
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-6829
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-6827
thanks
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Alas, not really. Sometimes identification stays a mystery.
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That base is not fire polished. It is very finely ground. It's a combination of hollow ground and flat ground. I have an old Parabelle with a base like that.
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i'd say made in Italy
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i'd say made in Italy
Can you tell us why you'd say that, Ray?
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This is not a Murano paperweight; or even an Italian paperweight (as glass is made elsewhere in Italy, not just on Murano).
It fits none of the accepted principles of Murano work, not even something contemporary and abstract.
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Looking at it more, I think it looks like someone's experimental weight where they were learning finishing techniques.
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Thanks for everyones help so far , it is very much appreciated .
i was kind of hoping it was possibly scottish , it certainly is an aged weight , bought at a bootsale in Perth Scotland , i have a number of pieces of Monart and the green shade matches perfectly some of the older pieces i have ,that coupled with the black and aventurine got me quite excited lol . it does have a minor imperfection on the outer which although is not a crack it can be described as a bruise that is only visable under certain angles .
Greg
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Sometimes paperweights like this are just one off studio weights using colour that has been left on the marver, from another project. Rather like "end of day" but not necessarily made at the end of the day. Studio glassmakers have to be resourceful and try not to throw anything away. Although I doubt this originated from my studio, it could quite easily have done so.
I can imagine a scenario where I would have been making a series of work, perhaps landscapes, using similar colours. There might be some time between pieces for an assistant to make a paperweight with the excess colour. You can see from the cloudiness below the colour that the glass has been marvered on a less than clean marver. However, the quality of the finishing suggests that it came from a reasonably sized studio or factory, because they had a flat- bed and a lathe and someone experienced in cold work. The punty has been ground out with a carborundum or possibly sandstone wheel, and this requires a degree of skill not always found in smaller studios.
These are some of the tell-tale indicators, but they won't explain where it came from.
While I have always endeavoured to ensure that every piece that leaves my studion is signed, many makers do not sign every piece.
There are lots of reasons for this. In the case of a paperweight like this, it's a bit like home made jam. If you made some jam and give it to the local jumble sale, you never used to label it with a complete provenance and history (although probably nowadays the HSE insist you do!) You just write "strawberry" on it to distinguish it from "raspberry".
While I understand that later on, people are confused as to who the maker is, I do think it is important to keep things in perspective. There are good reasons for signing, but there can be reasons against.
I have had a number of excellent students on my half day courses, who have produced work of this quality, and for obvious reasons, always ensure that they are signed with the student's name!
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Thank you for posting that, Adam. It was just what I was thinking!
And I do have some pieces of your work which are not signed, because you considered them to be less than prefect, whereas I consider them to be quite delightful! :D So I think we need to be aware that sometimes an artist may not sign a piece, simply because they do not consider it a good enough example of their work for them to 'own' it, while a collector may find it a perfectly acceptable piece of art glass (or glass art! ::)) You artists can be such perfectionists! :-* ;)
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Seems I have stirred a hornets nest again with the signature soapbox of mine! 8)
What about the scenario though where a glass artist (or studio for that matter) has a specific mark (maybe an odd implement lying around, like the IOW coach bolt) that can be used to put a mark on less than perfect items that don't merit signature? Maybe an X after their initials? >:D
Because, as Leni says, although the purist collectors may want the specifically signed pieces, for their investment value, others may just find the pieces beautiful in their own right, but like to know who made them and where they came from.
(steps down momentarily)
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Oh, I wasn't implying that the IOW coach bolt implied second quality btw... just as an example of a possible implement for pushing quickly into a bit of glass....
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And I do have some pieces of your work which are not signed, because you considered them to be less than prefect, whereas I consider them to be quite delightful! :D So I think we need to be aware that sometimes an artist may not sign a piece, simply because they do not consider it a good enough example of their work for them to 'own' it, while a collector may find it a perfectly acceptable piece of art glass (or glass art! ::)) You artists can be such perfectionists! :-* ;)
I think I know which pieces you mean! But I have changed my policy since you got those, because I am concerned that unsigned pieces can later be fraudelently signed with another name and mis-represented. So now the pieces you describe are all signed either A Aaronson X, or Aaronson Noon Studio X, or sometimes Adam Aaronson Collection X, or something similar.
The significance of the X has a double-entendre. It could mean the piece is irregular and has something wrong with it, at least from my outlook, but an X is also a kiss and the kiss is to kiss it goodbye and also a kiss for the purchaser to say thank you, because we couldn't survive if people didn't buy those pieces that we perfectionists downgrade!! ;D
These pieces represent incredible value as they are usually priced very keenly. In fact we are planning a mega sale around the end of June, so if anyone needs the dates, I'll have them finalised shortly. We have recently upgraded the presentation in the gallery and just don't have any more room in the shed!! :)
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My goodness! A marketable name for the floor blobs.. the Kiss Kollection...
no don't groan... you KNOW it makes marketing sense to have a horribly kitsch name for them..... >:D
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A marketable name for the floor blobs.. no don't groan... you KNOW it makes marketing sense to have a horribly kitsch name for them..... >:D
Much better idea would be to make some more and sign them Lynne X and call them Lynne's Kisses and then you could sell them for me ;D