Topic: Identification of Punch Set - Bohemian? Harrach?

[purrrrr]

Hello All!

I am new to your group and looking forward to participating and learning. Pamela was gracious enough to tell me about the group after I contacted her regarding some help with an identification.

I have a lovely covered, hand painted punch bowl with 12 matching cups that I am trying to identify. I have attached several pics.

The bowl does not have a pontil, but there are no mold seams either...on any of the pieces. Could it have been blown into the mold?? There is somewhat of a swirl pattern to the glass and it is quite "thick" compared to what I'm used to seeing. Also, the rims are not ground and polished like most glassware I deal with. Hopefully you'll be able to see that...probably one of the cup pics shows it the best.

The cups have applied handles. The glass glows yellow when held under a black light and the decoration is, I believe, all hand painted. The fact that the glass glows along with the bowl having a lid leads me to believe that the set is a bit older

I have been leaning toward it being foreign (non-American) made and a couple of knowledgeable individuals have suggested that perhaps it might be Bohemian.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks ever so much ~

Sandy

[Cathy B]

Hi Sandy, and welcome to the board.

That's a gorgeous piece! I'm by no means an expert, but the pieces don't look mould-blown, as there are no seam marks. In mould-blown pieces the item has to be spun in the mould to remove seam marks, but that's impossible with these because of the pattern. In addition, the flare at the neck would mean you couldn't ever get the pieces out of a one-piece mould without breaking it.

So my guess is that may have been free-blown, and formers used to create the pattern. Are you sure the rims are not ground and polished?

(I may be talking through my hat, as it were, so please jump in and correct this, anyone!)

It might help if you could take a close up of the pattern.

[purrrrr]

Hi Cathy ~

Thank you for the welcome and your response.

In regards to the rims, they are ground, but not polished in a way that I am used to seeing. They are just "flat" per se as opposed to the kind of smooth, rounded type rims I am familiar with.

I've attached a couple more pics...I apologize for their quality. One is of the lid and the other better shows the slight swirl of the bowl.

Sandy

[Cathy B]

There are different ways of polishing. What you're describing sounds like fire polishing. These appear to be beautifully finished using an orbital polisher. If they hadn't been polished, they wouldn't be smooth and flat.

I've added "Harrach" to your title, not because I think it is that at all, but because I'm hoping it will attract the eyes of someone who might be able to help.

[purrrrr]

Thank you for the information and the help, Cathy. It's certainly appreciated.

Sandy