Topic: dartington sharon wine glasses BUT etched signed and numbered any ideas??

[jonchellycain]

Hi there
i picked up these 2 Dartington sharon wine glasses.. nothing unusual there i hear you say, but they both have acid etched or sand blasted (not 100% sure which, but i'd guess at acid) flower designs on them and both have a signiature and number to the base at the top of the signiature is what looks like a U L joined together underneath is HEMMES maybe HEMUES ?? under that is 106/2,500 R.A.
Both the etched design and the signiature look very very professional to me.. does anybody have any idea if these would have been done when made or something as simple as done later by an engraver... but why the numbers if so??.
The lady i bought them off said they where he girlfriends mum and dads and they got them when new she thinks in the 1960's, but they where only designed in 1970, so she wasnt to far out. i will try my best to get a decent picture of the signiature unfortunitly because of the concave base i cant get a scan.
many thanks in advance for any info
michelle

[jonchellycain]

base signature

[Lustrousstone]

The number is the edition number. 106 out of 2500
I would suggest that RA might stand for Royal Academy as it is in the same hand as the signature. It might be worth seeing if there is an online list of members

[jonchellycain]

Now off the top of my head didnt they have some students working at Dartington from the Royal Academy? or am i thinking about Michael Harris?
Just quickly off the subject ive got a couple of Uranuim pieces i will be adding later that i would love your opinion on and im 100% sure they are uranium this time

cheers
michelle

[jonchellycain]

here is a list of all the H's on the list (not sure if this is a comprehensive list but its all the have on there website);
Zaha Hadid RA
Nigel Hall RA
David Hockney RA
Michael Hopkins RA
Ken Howard RA
John Hoyland RA
Gary Hume RA
Paul Huxley RA
I think the only one it could be (if any would be Gary Hume RA) but from what i can make out he is just a painter.
I have emailed them to see if anybody would be able to help and will let you know if they reply
many thanks
michelle

[aa]

RA doesn't have to be Royal Academician, although that is a possibility. What about the initials that look like CL at the top.

Could these have been, say, a wedding present for someone with the initials CL marrying someone with the initials RA?

[aa]

Hermes?

[jonchellycain]

with regards to the initials could be but i think it would have been laid out so the initials where together with a & inbetween possibly, for how well its been done, i dont think the base would be as dis-jointed if you catch my drift..
It could well be Hermes, not sure if they engraved, looking at Ivo's book just mentions dealers of tableware from france unless ive got the wrong one will look them up and see if i can get some info
many thanks
michelle

[MarkHill]

Hi,
Obviously the signature/marks will reveal all eventually, but one needs to look in the right place.
My first point of call here would be Dartington. Regardless of whether it is acid-etched or sandblasted, a resist or template was used, and quite a nicely thought-about one in my opinion. Individuals have decorated drinking glasses for decades, (small) companies other than those who made the blank more recently. I'd guess that if it was either technique, it would have been a small company, or else a person with access to the facilities neded to execute either technique. Perhaps Dartington know if they sold a batch to a particular person/company for decoration? Particularly if it was an order for a supposed limited edition of 2,500 - more than the average family would buy! If not, maybe they know who did it - the people Eve and I dealt with down there seemed to be very much 'on the ball'. Or else, perhaps they know nothing and the blanks were bought 'blank', so to speak.
I could be horribly wrong, but I think the R.A. is an unlikely target. Firstly, it was the R.C.A. (Royal College of Art), rather than the R.A. (Royal Academy) that Harris, Herman and others in the glass movement were involved with. Yes, the R.A. has probably sold some glass in the past, but I'd veer towards the R.C.A. as it doesn't seem like these came from there to me. Maybe I'll be surprised...
Blimey, I've not been much help! Sorry, but this is just my opinion and is only intended to help narrow down options.
Mark

As a postscript, factory cut and engraved Dartington drinking glasses are very rare. Another person you may wish to try is Peter Robinson, who is the ex-sales Director of Dartington Glass. I don't have his contact details to hand, but he does attend a number of the major glass fairs. It may be out of his period, as he left at some point, but he is certainly worth a go. He's also a particularly marvellous chap!

[jonchellycain]

Fantastic news everybody ive just had this reply from The Royal Academy;

Dear Miss Reader,
The etched glasses that you have acquired are etched with images by Gertrude Hermes, R.A.
In 1981 the Academy mounted an exhibition of the artists work in celebration of her 80th birthday. The artist agreed to have images of her work engraved on a series of  Dartington Glasses and sold as limited edition to help raise money for the Royal Academy Appeal Fund. The goblet is hand made in 24% lead crystal and was designed by Frank Thrower.
The Appeal Fund was established to raise funds for the Academy which was in serious financial difficulty at the time.
I have attached a short biography of Hermes that I hope will complete the picture for you.
Regards
Andrew Potter
Research Assistant
Royal Academy Library


Oh im soooo pleased and quite surprised as i really thought it would just end up as an unknown or that they had been done by somebody in there shed , thanks everybody for your help
Michelle