Topic: Amber Glass Float Bowl - Help needed please ID = Crown Crystal, "Six Swirls"

[Mosquito]

The heavy coarse frosting is, I believe, a result of early sandblasting from a time when acid frosting had stopped being used because it was expensive, dangerous and labour intensive. I suspect the "sand" used initially was quite coarse and that was what gave this rough finish. You see it on some of the later Bagley pieces. Nowadays the "sand" used is very fine and gives a result almost as silky smooth as acid did/does.

With sandblasting the texture of the finish simply depends on the fineness of the abrasive used. while it's true that some firms changed from the use of acid to sandblasting after the war (I think I remember Adam saying Sowerby didn't use acid frosting during his time there), sandblasting was used extensively pre-war by many firms. Jobling certainly sandblasted some of their art glass range, the finishes available can vary from a very smooth fine effect, hard to distinguish from their acid finishing, to a much coarser finish, as is seen on their smaller rose bowls & 2602 bird bowl for example. I have finely sandblasted examples of Fir Cone & Flower bowls with Regn. Applied For marks, so they must date from around late 1932.

[Cathy B]

Interesting info on the sand-blasting technique, Christine. There's an effect they used on Australian glass that ends up sort of whiter and more powdery which I suspect might be the sand blasting.

As for this glass, it's definitely the same sort of thing as Matthey Crinkles. The earliest date for the Matthey effect was the late 1930s, so that would fit, just, but given the import duties, and Crown's tendency to make everything themselves (including expanding the company to make the cardboard boxes to carry their glass, and then branching into plastics and metal as Australian Consolidated Industries, at about this time), it could have been an inhouse version.

It's quite uneven. Were Matthey Crinkles available in transfers that could be cut to shape?

[auliya]

Good morning and thanks to you all! this is very interesting - I am learning a lot about glass I had no clue about before. I thought I would take some more pics of the "frosted" panels on this bow, in close up for you look at, and hopefully help with identifying the process involved in this particular piece at least.

     

cheers
auliya

[Lustrousstone]

Yes, the Matthey Crinkles were transfers and probably large sheets. I need to check in David's book for how they worked. Unless Crown had specialised printing presses. DIY seems unlikely. Johnson Matthey were one of the world's largest manufacturers of transfers.