Topic: Mdina rare 'cut ice' fish vase signed by Michael Harris...

[suzygpr]

Paul, with prices the way they are at the moment - some way up there others not - it's hard to say anything about value.  It's worth what somebody's prepared to pay  

I followed your piece when it was on ebay so I know what it cost, I would've liked to have bid but couldn't go that high.  Knew then that the sig was naughty.  Apart from one that had a genuine MH sig, yours is the highest I've seen a lollipop go for in the past year. But that's ebay - no idea what they go for retail.

Suzy x

PS I think yours is the nicest I've seen though. I believe it's an early MH one, I like the intricate scrambling of the interior more than the later, post MH ones I've seen.

[scimiman]

Thanks for the comments on the photo's John. Fifty quid indeed 

I agree with you £50 your aving a laugh.

Hows about £51 and a surprize parcel of out of date food from the local supermarket.
Mike

[Greg.]

This one finished on fleabay yesterday under Murano, although has a chip or more of a chunk missing near the base. Still a very nice piece, although in the end wasn't tempted to bid due to the final price and condition.

Is it me or is this price extremely high given the condition..?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110513464499&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2F%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dp4712.m38.l1313%26_nkw%3D110513464499%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

[glassobsessed]

That's a fairly large and very nice example made by Mr H (by the look of it), the chip would have been a minor issue to me, small shallow and repairable. Value (not that tricky question again ), two people thought it worth that amount or it would never have been bid up to it. If I had not bought the seaward vase earlier in the week (and my car has just died) I would have bid, as it happens to about that value. There is a similar vase pictured in Mark Hill's book on Mdina valued at three to five hundred, so not a high price really. How often do they come up for sale?

John

[Greg.]

Hi John,

True there certainly not that common, I did see the one in Mark Hills book, in terms of the price, prob more to do with wishful thinking on my part, you can always hope!

Greg 

[glassobsessed]

I was lucky enough to see someone's collection recently, they have many (I'm still in shock and didn't count at the time) large and small fish vases, a good representative cross section of what was produced..... I'm still gobsmacked at what I saw and having occasional flashbacks.

I would love a fish vase in that style, will just have to wait for now. Keep looking, they crop up at bootsales and the like now and then (that's what I'm hoping anyway). Need a praying emoticon....

John

[jonchellycain]

John you will have to beat me to it lol, ive been hoping to find one at a boot sale too, well im really holding out for a crizzle  :24: best i got was 2 cut ice lollipops for £20 the pair (which aint bad i must say).
michelle

[chopin-liszt]

I would agree completely that the cut-ice lollipop is early Mdina, the signature is a bad fake, but not the worst I've seen.

Sometimes they're cut, sometimes they're not. I've not seen one cut on both sides before. I do have around 5 of these.

Can't comment on faked age-related wear - I would suspect nobody would have needed to add any extra.

I personally would not think it was somebody at the studio itself putting Michael Harris' name on it. I've seen a couple more of these particular fake signatures and they have only recently started appearing. If they were from the original period, I'm sure I'd have seen them before Mark's book came out....

I don't think it would worry me unduly. It's on the base, it could easily be polished off, or simply ignored.

As to the Fish, I think it was extrememly cheap. It's an absolute beauty, most likely to be by Michael Harris - nobody else could make them that well or that big at the time, it's absolutely the right shape of shoulder and elegant neck.

I big signed one went for £1700+, not that long ago.
I've got a massive MH signed one myself - not nearly as nice as this one - swap?

[PAUL H]

Sue after all the doom and gloom you have brightened my day. I was really a bit naive to think the signature was right maybe it was wishful thinking but I bought the piece because of its
beauty and rarity rather than the signature itself. It is a really lovely item and unusual in the fact that both sides have been cut and faceted and I'm pretty sure like you that MH himself made it.
I was thinking about having the base polished but I am undecided.Could you post some images of your big one please I would love to see it. Regards Paul.

[chopin-liszt]

eeeeeek!

I think you may have mis-read what I said, which was that I believe the Fish vase, (the ebay link, describing a Murano onion ) is most definitely by Michael Harris, and that the chip would not bother me, in response to GBarfoot's comment about a "high"  :24: price for this vase given it's condition!
These beasts do not grow on trees, no matter how hard-working Michael Harris was, there are only so many pieces of glass which can be produced by one man in the first three and a bit years after he finally got hold of hot glass, including leaving the RCA, and the time he spent getting the studio in Malta set up!

However, I would not, as I also said, be much bothered by the fake signature on your Lollipop, as it could be ignored or polished out, and as I didn't say, but will now, I would not be at all surprised to find that your Lollipop was also by Michael Harris.
I see there are aubergine ribbons in it - that's a definite early colour, it's got gorgeous bubbles, very well executed, absolutely lovely.