Topic: Oblong bubble vase / biscuit jar?

[Gilead]

Hello All
           I found this today in Barnardo's shop just could not resit it, this piece of glass stands 10ins high 5.5 in width and 4ins in depth, it slightly tapers in towards the top looking at it you can see ripples and feel them on the out side, there are also lot of little bubbles, in the glass, any ideas please,
          Regards
           Gilead.

[Andy]

Hi Gilead,
its a nice vase, but my instincts are that its fairly recent, and of a type that are sold regularly
in Charity shops( British Heart foundation) and T K Maxx, Ikea etc, its of a Whitefriars style/feel, and a nice
decorative piece of glass

Someone will now prove me wrong and tell you its a very rare item,
but i am a novice after years of collecting and know little

Good luck,
Andy

[shandiane78]

I agree with Andy. I'm seeing this kind of pontil finish on lots of newly imported Asian glass. The pontil marks are often ground out with an indent, but not ground particularly well, and with a slightly matte look, rather than a truly high polish.

[Frank]

Tut-tut. My first thought was that this was Monart, but on closer look not. They certainly made a few pieces that were free blown and squared with paddles and this appears to have been made that way. Cheaper modern ones are mould blown. I would like to see some larger pictures which you could email using the envelope icon to the left of this post.

Pontil treatment is similar to that on such Monart pieces too.

[Gilead]

Hi Frank
             will take some now and send them to you, and may i thank Andy, Sahandiane for your contribute's to this post it is all a learning curve for me and whom better to learn from than peeps who are in the know, with your experience, over the years, hope im going to fit all this glass on the units i also got and of cause from a local charity shop, who can resist bargain's

[Frank]

Thanks, a lot clearer. I am fairly show this was free blown and hand shaped. The grinding of the pontil scar has been done with a small wheel. The piece seems to be made from clear coloured glass that has had the enamels marvered into the surface before shaping. The bubbles, are some open on the surface?, are mostly in this enamel layer possibly contaminants in the enamel (powdered/ground coloured glass) but there are some found in the body too.

Shaping such a large lump by hand perfectly takes a lot of experience and clearly this is not the case here, however to even achieve this result does require some experience. It is possibly a student graduation piece, studio piece or perhaps a tourist piece. What it does do well is show up a lot of different skills that a glass-blower needs to do something out of the ordinary and if you want to create a collection of free-blown glass a great basis for learning about the way they are made. I also think the rim was left clear deliberately.

That it has a similarity to some Monart, also free blown, is coincidental.

An interesting piece.

The cheap imports will mostly have been blown into a mould and tend to be a bit more regular although an apprentice could make a mess of things by not blowing enough I suppose.

And of course I could be wrong 

[Ivo]

Seconded. This is a contemporary flower vase from Poland or India & very effective with a large irregular flower arrangement in it.

[Gilead]

Frank
       thanks very much for the interesting insight to how this vase could have been made, when you say some bubbles are open do you mean to the touch if so. none every bubble is smooth to touch, i sent some other pics to the email address hope you got them again cheers look's like it's going to be one of those that as no concluding answer to,
                                                                              Gilead

[Gilead]

Hi Ivo
            You could be right because some one mentioned Maraku a polish company to me today but yet again Frank could be right? more investigating i think for me to do, before i can be sure,

[Ivo]

that would be http://www.makora.com/