Topic: I thought this perfume bottle was Okra - ID = early Norman Stuart Clarke

[Ducsom]

I bought this perfume bottle in the 1980's and have always thought it was Okra.
It is signed on the coloured glass on the base in script which is dofficult to read.
It looks like Nap SI ? blob PB ? 84. I would think that blob is the shape.
Any information would be brilliant

[Pat]

Well I have an Okra that old and it is signed by Richard Golding the owner. It is also numbered. Saying that not all pieces were signed or numbered. I'm not entirely certain about the colours being Okra from 84 though. No doubt someone better informed than I will appear soon to help out with id.

[johnphilip]

Could it be spb i believe it stood for small perfume bottle at OKRA or pbs perfume bottle small.  I am sure Mike the Okra man will know more .

[scimiman]

Could it be spb i believe it stood for small perfume bottle at OKRA or pbs perfume bottle small.  I am sure Mike the Okra man will know more .

We have emailed at length previously to this appearing on this site.
My opinion is that it isn't Okra for many reasons.
1. The base is flat and not a polished concaved.
2. Signature or Okra marks would appear on the polished base.
3. Richard never signed on the body of the item as he says it would always spoil the piece.
4. The letters that are decipherable mean nothing in Okra terms.
5. I cant imagine Richard calling any of his pieces 'Blob'.
6. The stopper look as though it ground to a point which is something else that Richard would not do.
I shall be speaking to him as soon as he is back off holiday to get a definitive answer on the piece.
Regards Mike www.abfabglass.co.uk

[johnphilip]

Sorry Mike i didnt look at the pictures the text said signed on the base just trying to help,i believe it was you who told me about small perfume bottle or perfume bottle small can you confirm if that was correct.Thanks JP.

[aa]

I didn't want to say anything until Mike had spoken, because he is definitely the expert on Okra. However, I did sell Okra in our shop in Highgate, in the early 80's and I would be very surprised if this turned out to be Okra. It strikes me that it does not have Richard's usual finesse. If it weren't for the signature, which I can't decipher from the image, I would have thought it could be an early piece from Peter Layton's studio. Might be worthwhile emailing there.

[scimiman]

Sorry Mike i didnt look at the pictures the text said signed on the base just trying to help,i believe it was you who told me about small perfume bottle or perfume bottle small can you confirm if that was correct.Thanks JP.

No apologies needed.
If the piece was Okra it would have been signed thus. 'Okra 1984 NBRP' = 1st&2nd letters indicate the design NB=Nebula  3rd, 4th and 5th letter indicate vase, perfume bottle etc. RP=Round Perfume It may or may not have either Richards full signature or just his initials or NJO which stood for Nicola Osbourne his partner, it may not have any of these name signatures. It was always very difficult to get Richard to sign anything he made in the 80's/90's he always felt that people would know it was his work as it was so very individual. It never occurred to Richard that it was a way of stopping forgeries or copies or even that customers just liked to see his signiture on a piece. However these days we have instilled allot more discapline into him and made him aware of how important it is to sign pieces.
Hope all this helps.
Mike www.abfabglass.co.uk
 

[johnphilip]

Thanks Mike i am sure that will help a lot of collectors. JP See you at Cambridge.

[scimiman]

I think we have solved this one
I have it on reliable authority that it is early Norman Stuart Clarke, This makes some of the signature on the body much more sense. Peter Layton wasn't a bad guess as Norman studied with Peter in his early days.
Regards Mike www.abfabglass.co.uk

[aa]

as Norman studied with Peter in his early days.

or the other way around? !!

Peter started LGW in 1976 and soon after that Norman joined him and was a member of the workshop for several years before setting up on his own. I believe Norman had worked for a short period at Nazeing after leaving Middlesex Polytechnic. But my memory is hazy. Certainly when I did my first weekend course with Peter in 1977, Norman was already there, and at that stage Norman's skills were clearly more developed than Peter's. However, they were both learning from each other all the time.