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Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => China & Taiwan => Topic started by: tonyatl on July 18, 2010, 03:22:15 AM

Title: is this vase murano?
Post by: tonyatl on July 18, 2010, 03:22:15 AM
i have a lovely glass vase which evokes an identification with murano but is this indeed correct? there are very small pinpoint indentations in the smooth surface suggestive of handling tools - or perhaps they are due to something else. any ideas on age. it stands about 11". nice thick walls.
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: langhaugh on July 18, 2010, 04:52:01 AM
Doesn't look Murano to me. The base looks unpolished, is that correct?  My first guess would be Chinese. Of course, I could be wrong, again.

David
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: tonyatl on July 18, 2010, 04:55:30 AM
the base is polished....i know the chinese are producing tons of "art glass" and this may well be an example but it is certainly not a chinese style...
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: antiquerose123 on July 18, 2010, 05:12:47 AM
Kinda looks  :or: to me too -- not that I really know much, but it just does not look as fine of work as Murano would be...

 :ooh: 
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: tonyatl on July 18, 2010, 05:40:52 AM
after considering the matter further, i think that chinese is probably correct. my understanding is that murano glass would not have those pinpoint indentations which i mentioned. also there are some bubbles. for some reason i still like it...

on the other hand, i have had some known authentic murano glass in the past and it was not all that impressive - nice - but not impressive. obviously i didn't own any high end murano glass.  :cry:
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: antiquerose123 on July 18, 2010, 05:51:43 AM
after considering the matter further, i think that chinese is probably correct. my understanding is that murano glass would not have those pinpoint indentations which i mentioned. also there are some bubbles. for some reason i still like it...

on the other hand, i have had some known authentic murano glass in the past and it was not all that impressive - nice - but not impressive. obviously i didn't own any high end murano glass.  :cry:

That is OK -- I have some  :or: ones that I just like too.  Pretty sure this is  :or: :or: (I think) See below:
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: kane_u_pain on July 18, 2010, 06:27:56 AM
I agree with chinese. Still a nice piece though. I think everyone here has some chinese pieces among our finer stuff. Nothing wrong with that!
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: tonyatl on July 18, 2010, 07:02:33 AM
i agree that antiquerose's vase is definitely chinese.....

and it is no loss for me on my vase....it was one of those strange compelling pieces i found in a cheap antique mall....

for those of you owning confirmed chinese vases, is the weight of the chinese glass materially differnt than for murano? the murano i have owned typically has considerable heft. i am wondering if the chinese vases have the same feel.....my vase has a good deal of weight to it for its size.
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: kane_u_pain on July 18, 2010, 08:05:50 AM
No...they can be the same...
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: Lustrousstone on July 18, 2010, 09:37:12 AM
Handmade glass is handmade glass where ever it is from. Bubbles and small marks are very difficult to avoid, especially when lots of colour and techniques have been used, and are not necessarily an indicator of origin. Murano glass can range from extremely good quality down to downright dodgy, so can Chinese glass.

I would say your vase is Chinese. The base is finely ground but not polished (shiny), the pattern seems to be trying to be about dozen different things at once and it has what looks like oversized stretched millefiore. It seems to me that Chinese glass is often brasher, more patterned, less careful, slightly off proportion wise, imitative rather than original and larger so that something seems adrift when you look at. For me, your vase ticks most of those boxes.
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: flying free on July 18, 2010, 03:02:24 PM
Hi, I thought your vase may have been from here (see link) but I actually have one of these vases (my OH thinks it is hideous but to be honest, I rather like it ;D) and the base on mine is ground and polished clear.  It is a well made vase, but as I think Christine said, just very slightly 'off' somehow (OH would say totally off, he really hates it).  If I looked at it objectively, there are too many colours, too many patterns, the interior is red and is way to bright and the rim bit is too clunky.  Having said all that everyone who comes in comments on it (gushingly positively I mean ;D) so it definitely has something about it.
I have no idea where these vases on this link come from, or are made but even with the flat ground polished base I do have a few doubts that it is Italy.  However, I could be very wrong.  oh and ps. I LIKE your vase (not totally the shape but I love the colours and patterns).

http://www.luxurylane.com/Hand-Blown-Abstract-Spiral-Art-Glass/M/B0028R3J7E.htm

m
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: tonyatl on July 18, 2010, 08:28:40 PM
oh mon dieu.....i didn't think my vase was that bad....but thanks for the link...it's something to explore... :o
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: flying free on July 18, 2010, 08:52:20 PM
oh mon dieu.....i didn't think my vase was that bad....but thanks for the link...it's something to explore... :o

  :o   I don't think your vase is that bad, and neither do I think the vases in the link are that bad either. I wasn't casting aspersions on your vase  :-[ and my apologies if you thought I may have been.

m
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: tonyatl on July 18, 2010, 09:43:01 PM
no apologies are needed - my comments were tongue in cheek....no one should ever feel inhibited in expressing honest thoughts about the aesthetics of glass...we all have our own tastes....
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: MuranoArtGlassChandeliers on January 05, 2012, 10:06:03 PM
Hi

This is definitely Chinese as the techniques used in its construction are not anything that the Muranese Glass makers have used in the past, nor have they used since.  The base is also unpolished which is another sign.  You can see by the glass itself that it is a mishmash of colours just swirling together, there is no definitive structure.  No Murano Glass other than a rarely produced style know as Agate glass (which this isnt) looks like this.  The way the Chinese do this is to place a bud of glass in many different coloured oxides at once so when it is blown, you get this plethera of colours with no discernable difference or separation lines.

Dean
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: TxSilver on January 06, 2012, 12:10:23 AM
Tony, I located a very similar vase at http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/520096250/Murano_vase.html. Yours is made in China. The Chinese refer to these vases as Murano because of their style. They are not bad vases at all and are very good if you need a splash of color in a corner of your room. Glass from China has been improving in quality. It is much different than the dreadful glass we used to see 10 years ago. Perhaps one day they will recapture their artful history and make better glass than anyone else. They used to make the exceptional glass and ceramics. (Now they just try to feed a billion people the best way they can.)

www.alibaba.com is a good site for finding much of the Chinese glass that was made this year. It is my first stop when I'm trying to figure out if something is Chinese. The numbers of responses to an inquiry can be overwhelming, but the information is still very helpful. Your vase appears to be made at the same place in China as the one in the link. You can see the sources in the right-hand column. The large name is the export company handling the vase.
Title: Re: is this vase murano?
Post by: MuranoArtGlassChandeliers on September 21, 2012, 10:43:51 AM
Hi

This is definitely not Murano as they NEVER saw off the base of a piece. The pontil is always polished to perfection

Dean