Topic: archer w/dog vase intaglio/etched/engraved? all three?

[azelismia]

yay, it's all dry now. completely sparkly and not sick!! it's a real stunner. what's the best method to photograph something like this?

[krsilber]

Ideally I suppose in a light tent, but I don't have one so I'll tell you how I do it very low-tech.  Grey cuttings usually show up best against a dark background.  I use black or dark-colored posterboard curved up against a wall.  Then I light the piece from above and slightly behind.  The lamp I use has a long handle and a shade, and I try to angle it so the shade lights the piece but leaves the background dark.  I just discovered that some engraved pieces photograph very nicely when filled with water (right after you've gotten yours dry!).  It tends to diffuse the light and avoid glare, at least in the pieces I tried it with.  Here's one example:
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pid=10903&fullsize=1without water
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pid=10943&fullsize=1 with water

Here's another two that show a little better how I try to light engraved glass:
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pid=10876&fullsize=1
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pid=9415&fullsize=1

Sometimes I light from the side, instead.  You want the light to cast good shadows in the engraving, so you try to light it along more or less the same plane as the glass, while trying to keep the background in darkness.

That's how I do it, anyway.  This doesn't work for polished engraved glass, in which case a light background is usually necessary.  Oh, another little engraved glass photo tip - when there's engraving on both the near and far side of the glass sometimes you can focus on the near and have the far side blurry, which you want in order to separate it visually.  To do that you open the aperture wide and take the photo from fairly close (within a couple feet). 

Good luck!  I look forward to seeing your photos.

[krsilber]

A Moser version of Diana where there's no doubt as to gender:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Incredible-Engraved-Moser-Vase-Diana-the-Huntress_W0QQitemZ190264631512QQihZ009QQcategoryZ29556QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Engraved or pressed?  What do you think?

[azelismia]

did they do pressed work like that? didn't harrach did pressed AND engraved glass work. maybe it's a combination of the two.

[krsilber]

At first I thought it might be pressed based on the design and the difficulty of engraving some of the shapes in it, but now I'm thinking I was probably wrong.  It's quite an extraordinary piece.

[azelismia]

well I think I've got a few better pics.








I think this is better. Opinions? ( I am trying to improve my photography skills. this piece is very hard to do)

[KevinH]

Does the foot have a folded rim, with the fold being "up and over" rather than "down and under"? If so, this might be an Italian item.

[azelismia]

I wasn't exactly sure what you meant by that so I took a couple quick pics of the base in black and white.

[KevinH]

Thanks for the extra pics. I was interpreting something as a "ridge" or evidence of a "lip" of some kind above or below the outer edge of the foot. But perhaps it was just an illusion of shadow or similar.

However, it would be useful to see one more photo - of the edge of the foot, directly side on. In other words, to see the profile shape of the outer part of the foot.

[krsilber]

Looks like a Bohemian-style foot to me, if there is such a thing; it was used a lot elsewhere, too, but typical for Bohemia.  In some photos it looks folded, but I don't think so.  The Italians aren't known for their engraved wares.  My guess at the moment is Bohemian, early-mid 20th C.

Your photos are better, the engraving shows up nicely and it's not distorted-looking like it was before.  The lighting seems better.  The background is a little distracting I find.  Nice color, though - maybe with a little ironing?

It is always good to show a profile shot of the whole thing.  Often photos taken from the side get distorted a lot, with a sort of fish-eye effect.  For example, in the one at the very top of the thread the camera is looking more or less directly across the top, but it's looking down at the base.  The easiest way to correct for this is to take a large photo from far away and crop it, or use the zoom.

And don't despair!  Taking good photos of engraving is difficult.  I've been doing it for years, and still can't get good ones of some pieces.