Topic: Royo ? Anyone seen anything like this ?

[TxSilver]

Well, to add a bit more confusion...

Pieces that looked like Royo style glass were said to be imported by Ardalt from the Gordiola glassworks in Mallorca to the US in 1960-61. That seems very easy, BUT there was no mention that the pieces were signed Royo or Cire** (Cirere? Cirese?). From what a friend in Spain told me, the enamel on this 1960 glass was not as thick as the enamel we typically see on the Royo glass. So maybe the 1960 glass was a reproduction of an earlier Spanish glass? or maybe there were different qualities of glass exported to the different markets? It is hard to know for sure, because no one is 'fessing up.

One thing I think we can say with some degree of certainty is that the glass probably is from Spain. Maybe soon we can pin it all to Mallorca. The Arte Catalan we see on labels may simply refer to the style. (I think there was also a fine arts show of that name in Barcelona, wasn't there?)

Anita

[Ivo]

amazing that it does not occur to anyone to check out the status of the Balearic islands, which are part of Cataluña. The fact that the language there is Catalá should tell you something. What Gordiola confirmed to me is that Royo was a Catalan decorator who worked in the Mudejar style, but they could not say when the Royo and Cire glass has been in production. Circa 1960 onward had been my guess - in any case the production stopped long time ago and is completely out of the shops - though the regular Gordiola staple can still be found. With a little imagination you can assume circa 1960-1990 as production dates.

[Pip]

You're quite right Ivo, what a dunce I am.  I just never associate the Balearics with Catalunya or the Catalan language.

[lyndhurst44]

Hi,
Just to put a slightly different aspect on this. I have sold a number of these Royo items over the years, both when all the evidence was that they were made by Moser for the wealthy Spanish in the 1920's and in the period since that evidence was almost totally disproved. I have found there is still a real market out there for these attractive pieces, Moser or not. The last 3 pieces I sold were actually all purchased by an Antique dealer in Barcelona and went for between £25 and £30.  Good prices I think, but surely true Moser enamelled items would  have fetched treble this price at least. Having just seen this elephant I realised that an identical piece has been sitting in my mother-in-law's glass cabinet for donkey's years.

Bryn

[Ivo]

I think the Moser myth is so old and has been repeated in so many places that it will be a while before it is accepted. Now if you check the catalogue raisonné for Legras you will find Royo pieces which the writers attribute to Legras but which Legras carelessly forgot to document...

[Frank]

if you check the catalogue raisonné for Legras you will find Royo pieces which the writers attribute to Legras but which Legras carelessly forgot to document...

[TxSilver]

I believe that the Royo pieces will hold their value even if the cord to Moser is cut. I have sold quite a few of these pieces. I was never comfortable with the Moser semi-attribution, but I put it in the listings until I knew better. Most of the people I sold to were ardent Royo-style collectors, so it didn't matter if there was a Moser connection or not.

I do not think the name Cire is correct. Very few of the sigs I see look like Cire. They look like Cirere or Cirese (or Eirese). I think the name is another inaccuracy.

Many sellers are on this board, so what we write in our descriptions changes what people know. On eBay I think it is best to list the glass as Royo-style Spanish in the "Other Countries" art glass category. People who are looking for Royo will find it. People who are looking for Moser won't be disappointed down the line when they learn Moser had nothing to do with the glass. People adapt quickly when they want to buy something.

Now if we can only get past this economy problem. Personally my Royo and other business has gone to zero.

Empty pockets,
Anita

[Ivo]

I I think it is best to list the glass as Royo-style Spanish

as there is a full 100% reliable attribution I think you can safely use that.

[TxSilver]

Before letting this thread rest, I wanted to add something about some Royo-type candle lantern chimneys that are popping up on eBay. They have a small, very good Moser etched onto the glass. The signature has been judged to be a forgery by an expert in Spain. I included a picture of one of the whole lanterns that I recently sold to a Royo collector. The sig on this lamp was used to determine that the sig was forged. I now consider any Moser sig on a Royo piece to be a scratch! (I also had a vase that had an acid-etched sig on bottom that looked very real. People are very clever when there are a few dollars to be made.)

Anita

[Pip]

Do you scratch a line through the dodgy signature or leave it be?  I had a Bagley vase with a fake Tapio Wirkkala signature on it - I sold the vase correctly IDd but before I did I scratched a line through the 'signature'.  I wonder if this is something that we should all be doing with fake sigs?