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Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => Murano & Italy Glass => Topic started by: kennyg on February 22, 2011, 03:01:02 PM

Title: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: kennyg on February 22, 2011, 03:01:02 PM
Hey folks.. anyone recognise the maker of this vase?..thank you in advance!  ;D

/Ken

Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: Wayne on February 22, 2011, 03:26:58 PM
Hi Ken, that's a fantastic vase you have!  My guess would be Barovier + Toso, the use of the gold leaf and white stripes remind me of their Zebrati range, a couple of which are shown here: [link (http://www.20thcenturyglass.com/glass_encyclopedia/murano_glass/baroviertoso_glass/baroviertosoglass_home.htm)]
Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: kennyg on February 22, 2011, 03:30:36 PM
Thank You Wayne...is it typical to have the pontil finished as shown in the picture?

/Ken
Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: Wayne on February 22, 2011, 03:35:59 PM
Hmm to be honest I'd say no, but I'll let someone more knowledgeable on Murano glass than me answer that one as I could be wrong.
Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: Wayne on February 22, 2011, 03:37:59 PM
Just found this after a google image search for "Barovier Zebrati": [link (http://www.antiquehelper.com/item/346793)]
Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: antiquerose123 on February 22, 2011, 06:34:06 PM
Just found this after a google image search for "Barovier Zebrati": [link (http://www.antiquehelper.com/item/346793)]

Looks like a match to me, but what do I know (LOL)  :spls:  -- and these are Gorgeous Vases  :hiclp: :hiclp:
Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: ardy on February 22, 2011, 07:43:58 PM
Absolutely gorgeous vase. WHat size is it?
Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: obscurities on February 23, 2011, 04:48:36 AM
I would need to see a larger image of it, but the bottom looks more like an impact to me. There also appears to be a broken point on the top left front corner in the first image. Could be they are both related.....

Craig
Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: Wayne on February 23, 2011, 08:01:21 AM
the bottom looks more like an impact to me

That's what I was thinking too to be honest, but a clearer pic of the base is definitely needed to be sure.
Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: johnphilip on February 23, 2011, 08:07:30 AM
Looks like the bottom has been flat polished and gone thru the pink  showing the under colour , thats not unusual with Murano glass , nice piece .   i am due at Specsaver tho ...!
Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: kennyg on February 23, 2011, 02:01:30 PM
Any value in a piece like this with one of the points broken off??  :huh:

/ken
Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: obscurities on February 23, 2011, 02:47:11 PM
There would be value, but it is greatly diminished by the damage, especially if the bottom is an impact fracture....

My experience is that the bottom of a piece such as this would generally be ground flat and polished, and not have a pontil scar that is localized such as this appears to be.  The frosty appearance of it also leads me to believe that it is not a pontil, but damage.

Craig
Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: ardy on February 23, 2011, 06:25:56 PM
The value in something like this is to place it with the broken point at the back and admire it. You will be unlikely to come across another.
Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: langhaugh on February 23, 2011, 07:28:27 PM
I've been thinking about this piece for a couple of days. I guess I have some concerns about a Barovier and Toso attribution for it, although I'm a reluctant to dampen everyone's enthusiasm.

My first reaction on seeing the piece was, "Is this really 'Zebrati'?" The main source of my doubt is the lattimo line that leads to to the 'Zebrati' attribution. It just looks too white and too defined compared to what I expect from 'Zebrati.'   Also, it looked to me like rough pontil, although Craig makes a good case for it being  an impact fracture. So I went to look for 'Zebrati' in books. Pina has one on page 33 which has broad, dark stripes. She correctly states that the technique was developed by B & T in 1949 (confirmed in Ricke 'Italian Glass'). But I couldn't find any pictures in any of the other art glass books I have, including Marina Barovier's 'Barovier.'  There are plenty examples on eBay, the common element being a thread of varying colour round the piece. Googling adds some auctions, but none of them I saw gave references for their attributions, and no piece had a label or was marked "Barovier and Toso."

So, given the fact there are many pieces called 'Zebrati' out there, and the lack of  well documented examples, particularly in the high end books, I wonder if 'Zebrati' has become another Cordonato Oro. By that I mean that the name was originally used by B & T as a propriety name, which they applied to high end glass, but the term is now used more generically to describe any piece of glass with lines on it produced by anyone in Murano. We know that commercially successful techniques were copied by other furnaces., Cordonato Oro being a prime example. However, that doesn't mean that any piece that looks like 'Zebrati' was made by Barovier and Toso.

I'm not saying that this pieces isn't Murano, or that it isn't well made. I just wonder if it's Barovier and Toso. Fundamentally, that won't affect anyone's appreciation of it, although it would affect resell value.

Barovier and Toso are still very active in Murano and maintain an excellent museum of their products. I wonder if an email to them with a photograph would clarify matters.  Or does anyone have a photograph or a definition of what 'Zebrati' should look like?

David



Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: antiquerose123 on February 24, 2011, 06:11:29 AM
???

Not sure If this is any help...or not  :spls2:

But for whatever it is worth, still a good pic at the very, very bottom of this link   *HERE  (http://theendofhistoryshop.blogspot.com/)
Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: langhaugh on February 24, 2011, 06:25:16 AM
It's gorgeous, Rose. I'd call this Cordonato Oro, though, not 'Zebrati."

David
Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: ardy on February 24, 2011, 06:56:33 PM
Great collection Rose the and the lamp is most impressive. Wondered what they used those fifties robots for that sell on antiques roadshow - now I know!
Title: Re: Need help identifying this vase...
Post by: langhaugh on March 03, 2011, 08:01:26 PM
I finally stumbled across a reliable picture of a Zebrati piece. It's in Marino Barovier "Venetian Glass" on p. 146. The piece is labeled 'Zebrato bicolore" and the caption reads, "Ribbed bowl in light blue transparent glass with fine threads of gold-leaf wrapped round in a spiral." That is, the stripes, the zebra effect, are the spirals of gold leaf. In other words, it looks like a forerunner of Cordonota Oro.

I think this supports my idea that all pieces with spirals of whatever colour are not 'Zebtrati' as it was used by Barovier and Toso.

David

PS  Just a reminder. I still think this is a lovely piece of Murano glass.