Topic: Plate etched bird design. Was: Any antique drinking glass experts out there?

[Cathy B]

I'll have to dig out my Cambridge for comparison.

Thanks for indulging this discussion, everyone!  :kissy:

[peejyweejy]

Just to let you all know that I met a lady at the Cambridge Glass Fair who had a couple of these glasses. She said the bird is a "cookaburra" which I believe is native to Eastern Australia...but that's all she knew.

Sorry....kookaburra

[KevinH]

The tail on the etched bird is too short for a kookaburra, even the ones with a shorter tail. And the legs are far too long.

Earlier Kristi commented:

I thought we were allowing the designer some leeway when it came to the bird.

Yes, we need to allow leeway, but there's a limit to how far things can be taken. If the etched bird was actually modelled on a real one, I think there is a great deal of leeway to be accounted for.

[Cathy B]

 :24: If it were made for the Aus market and those were supposed to be kookas, they wouldn't have fooled a local for a second. Kookas are about the most well known bird Australian bird after the emu.

[krsilber]

If the etched bird was actually modelled on a real one, I think there is a great deal of leeway to be accounted for.

Especially since the beak of the flying bird is about 2 1/2 times longer on the pitcher than on the stem, and the tails of the flying and standing birds are such different lengths!  Who knows what the actual bird looked like if there is indeed a model for it.

[Lustrousstone]

You could try typing bird and etch into the search function on here http://chataboutdg.com/forums/  They are rigorous about keywording and adding close-ups of etches

[Sid]

Hello:

First, could a moderator please change the title of this thread to reflect the discussion?  I am very interested in etched glass but relatively uninterested in antique drinking glasses so didn't read this thread until months after it started.

Second, I agree that this is a plate etched design.  It is a little unusual in that has been polished to bring out the brightness.

Third, there are tumblers and at least one other size of pitcher available. Every piece appears to have a slightly different scene but the connecting element are the odd looking birds - one flying and one on the ground.  The pitcher below is 7 inches tall with a 3.25 inch diameter opening.  There is a nice polished pontil mark on the base.

[peejyweejy]

Hi Sid.........sorry about the title. When I posted this thread, as a newby, I knew very little about glass finishing techniques. I am a little more educated now.

Getting back to the glass, your close up of the bird seems to reveal some sort of tail tendril thingys....I wonder if this an attempt at a "Wilson's Bird of Paradise" missing all of its beautiful colour.

[Cathy B]

Thank you Sid. The subject has now been changed as requested.

They're gorgeous, aren't they.

[Ming]

I have a tumbler which has a bird chasing after a butterfly using the same plate etched method.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m313/courtoak/SDC12260.jpg
http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m313/courtoak/SDC12266.jpg