Anita:
Thank you for taking the time (and taking a risk) to ask Marc Heiremanns the question we've discussed many times. I'm not surprised that Martens didn't design it, and neither am I too offended by Heiremanns comment that the glass is insignificant. I take that to mean that it doesn't represent a technical or artistic advance. They've been made by using the parison to pick up some slices of canes and murrines and blowing the piece. While I agree that some pieces are prettier than others (the large example Craig shows is very nice), it's not a complicated technique and there's not much design involved. However, I agree choosing which canes and murrines are to be added, how many are chosen, and how they are arranged does make a difference to how well it looks. I don't think Heiremanns is saying the significance of the piece depends on the name. He's just very lucky that most of the glass he sees and discusses is far beyond our means. I've got a few oil paintings by local artists that I really like, but I think a world renowned art critic would see them as insignificant to the world that he lives in. However, they're still extremely significant to the world I live in.
Possibly AveM did produce the glass, as did other factories. However, to me, the most important question is whether there is any artistic or technical merit to the piece in question. I'm not sure which made factory made it has much bearing to to the discussion, other than what it might fetch on the open market.
Thanks again, Anita. Can we live in hope that this might eventually change eBay attributions?
David