Topic: How to tell between Murano vases and Chinese copies?

[Anne]

I asked this question in a thread about another piece of glassware on the main Glass board but no-one picked up on it, so I'll repeat the query here and see if anyone can tell me.

I know this vase and its pair were bought in Italy when my great-uncle went back on a reminiscing trip after being there during WW2 as I remember him bringing them home and telling us about buying them. They would have been bought in the 1960's - I know I wasn't very old when he went.

I know there are Chinese copies of these vases - I didn't know the copies were actually being sold in Italy as genuine Murano though!

So, can anyone tell me how can you tell the difference between the Italian originals and the Chinese copies?

Ray said on the Glass Board that Uncle's are Chinese not genuine Murano. My Mother now has them both - she inherited them when Uncle died in 1987 and has always believed them to be genuine.

 I have a photo of one of them here - the colour is actually much brighter than this - it's a really vibrant orange (I used my small pocket digikam which has no flash).

http://yobunny.org.uk/gallery1/displayimage.php?pos=-108

Any info about the differences between genuine and repros in this design would be welcome. Thanks!

[svazzo]

Hello Anne,
I do know that these are very common, epecially on Ebay, and are newer reproductions... Now, as far as telling what was the first design they were copied after? I really do not know that, and unless there is a vintage catalogue out there with the same vases, that would really be hard to tell.
There have been Chinese pieces sold in Murano stores too, as I think I read in one of the "threads" on the Main board, specially newer paperweights. Dont quote me on that, but I think thts what I read , so if I'm wrong please correct me!

Classic Murano Artists and Glass Houses have a very distinct style, and you can tell most of the time if something is trying to emulate them, or if its the real thing. I find that coloration is sometimes a good way to tell if something is a repro, as well as the details of the piece, how it is built up, how it was finished, stuff like that. All dealing with the skill of the glass artist.

As far as your Vase in specific, I would say Chinese too, just because I have seen so many of them in the market, and the way they are constructed. But again, if you say they were bought in Italy, I dont doubt it, but it could have been that they were there as turist gifts, which were imported, not actually Italian.

Hope I havent confused you. I think I started to confuse myself there for a secod, lol.
Javier

[Anne]

Thanks Javier.  I searched eBay and came up with a load of them, and then had a look at the Chinese Repro page on the Glass Encyclopaedia.

What I did notice is that most of those on sale and those pictured in the Chinese catalogue have the coloured part extending down from the body of the vase so the very tiny stem bit is coloured as well, and just the foot itself is clear.

The picture here shows what I mean... http://www.glass.co.nz/Chinese.html

On Mum's vases the stem and foot is clear, the colour starts above the stem. I wonder if this may help identify it as Murano rather than Chinese?

Does anyone else have any clues as to how to tell them apart? Are the pontil marks different between the Murano and the Chinese versions?

[Max]

Dear Anne

Whilst this might not throw any more light onto the Chinese vs Murano vase debate. I kind of enjoyed bringing these two threads together!  

This link is from the 'About Me' Ebayers site Glen found, re: Fakes in Auctions:


http://www.glass.co.nz/Chinese.html

See the authors name...
 
_________________
Max xx
I'm not a man

[Anne]

Thanks Max, yes, this is the same page I mentioned in my earlier post. It's on Angela's website and has the picture that makes me wonder about the clear glass part being a clue to telling the difference. This looks like being another in my list of unsolved mysteries!!!  :roll: