Topic: Mdina 12" Bark vase, Interesting label

[suzygpr]

There's another one available on ebay - 200399920223.

Suzy

[MarkHill]

Just goes to show that collecting is sometimes like waiting for a bus...

[suzygpr]

The sellers, rachela8770, of the second oblong bark bottle have a larger than norm vase (10.25'' [26cms] tall, 4.25''[10.7cms] diameter) that looks great too - pic on the same listing as bark bottle, ebay item No - 200399920223.

Suzy

[suzygpr]

Just a query about the 2 oblong Bark vases that are on ebay at the mo. One has a broken pontil and the other has a ground one ( a la Boffo). Does this indicate a difference in date, is it because the broken pontil one's neck looks a bit wonky and therefore  a second?
Suzy

[chopin-liszt]

Variations in the finish of the base are fairly random, Suzy, it simply depended on how busy they were and whether or not somebody had the time to do a more time-consuming finish.
I believe the oblong ones are far more unusual than the other tall ones, they also seem to be highly individual in how the neck is constructed - I have one with a straightish neck, and another with an extra sort of rounded lump around the rim.

There is a 10.75" tall amethyst bottle illustrated on p.41 of the book. I have a very tall one, but, right now, there is no way I'm going up a ladder to retrieve it to measure its height! I broke a retired Denby mug yesterday, I'm not feeling too good and am very clumsy and dizzy, and though I'm not superstitious, I ain't taking ANY risks with it. It is absolutely glorious, with masses of iridescence.
This is only the third amethyst one I've seen, counting mine and the one in the book.

[Andy]

Thanks for the help and interest on this one, its taken pride of place in my Mdina collection,
thanks Mark, for the info, and on how it was made
Just a thought, the whitefriars bark vases, i believe were made in a mould with real bark, so i presume
they are all a bit different, would Harris/Boffos used real bark, or just a bark shaped mould, so shapes
would be all the same 
Cheers
Andy

[chopin-liszt]

I think all WF bark vases were made in moulds of bark texture, to be honest. They're all got the same texture as far as I have seen!

Michael Harris first used a bark texture at Rogaska Sklo, in '64, following in the footsteps of Timo Sarpaneva.

ps, In conversations with Ron recently, we've decided we're not going to use the "gathering on the post" term any more - it's a confusing sort of expression.

We're going to use the phrase "partially-cased" instead.

I got close enough to measure another blue one of mine which is the same size as my amethyst one - it's a 12", same as this.
There are images of these amethyst textured bottles in the pictures of the shop front in the book, pp24-25.
Still not trusting myself to lift or move anything to get in at it

[Andy]

Hi Sue,
in the Whitefriars book, Lesley Jackson, theres a picture of Geoffrey Baxter, working with Bark,
and a pic of a three-part wooden pattern mould lined with tree bark.
Page 89, figs 228 and 229
It says in the text, Initally moulds made of wood, with some metal components, subsequently, the wooden
pattern was used to create a durable cast iron mould.
Cheers
Andy

[chopin-liszt]

Wf isn't really my thing, but I'd imagine there aren't that many early bits which had been made using real bark around. As the bark gets burned when it is used, a mould would have to be newly made for each vase, and each vase would be different - it wouldn't fit into the catalogues properly and would get folk confused into thinking they were more new fakes because they don't fit the correct designated shape.

[Ron]

It seems to me that real bark would be incinerated with contact with the hot glass, creating nothing but a real mess.