Topic: Chinese glass - is it collectable?

[mrs vulture]

Hi,     is Chinese glass not considered as being very nice for some reason, I'm still new to collecting glass and just buy things I like, although it is always nice to find a piece you like  AND its worth something too!!!       Cheryl.

[glassobsessed]

Much of the Chinese glass that has arrived over here in recent years has been mass produced cheaply, is of fairly low quality and tends to lack originality. If you like something and it looks good to you, then that is all that matters as far as I am concerned. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I would guess that some Chinese glass makers will adapt and start to produce work of higher quality in the future (there are some already) and hopefully they will produce glass that is influenced by there own culture rather than copying once successful designs from Europe and elsewhere.

John.

[mrs vulture]

 Thanks for your reply John, it makes a lot of sense what you are saying, Instead of just jumping on the bandwagon copying others they ought to be able to produce something new.    Cheers Cheryl

[Paul S.]

trouble is Cheryl, there is nothing new under the sun, its all been done.   Glass has been around for the past four and a half thousand years since its beginning in Mesopotamia  -   occasionally it gets refined a little or the colour changes, but basically there is almost nothing new that we can make (not in the arts at any rate).  Perhaps this is why some people turn to dead sharks or urinals (just go to the Tate Modern any day to see what passes for art).    John's comment re the Chinese material (in recent times) lacking in originality, can be applied equally to the Victorians in Europe in general - they were probably the greatest copyists of all (hence the rise of outfits like William Morris and the pre-Raphaelites who wanted to get away from rigid copying of former centuries).    Tastes change - we want something new  - hey presto we create art glass (back to conceptual art of sharks and urinals again, because we can't think of anything new to make).
What has wrecked the quality Chinese glass has been commercialism  -  our fault not theirs  -  we want cheap goods - they can produce them.    If you look at Chinese glass prior to the C20, some of it is truly mind blowing  -  makes the Dilly Ducks look positively boring.   In fact, if you think of Chinese inventions  i.e. paper - gunpowder - porcelain, then I don't think that we cud really accuse the Chinese of being un-original  -  at least not for most of their existence.
But as we have said, just buy what you like and enjoy it.   My problem is that my pockets aren't deep enough to buy what I like!     Paul S.   

[Anne]

Cheryl, not all Chinese glass is bandwagon-stuff... you might like to see these: http://www.liuli.com/E_index01.htm and Max's piece of Liuli glass here:
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-2112 and another top glassmaker here: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-12/22/content_402327.htm

You might also find our Chinese board of interest as it shows both the bandwagon stuff and the better stuff: http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/board,26.0.html - enjoy! 

[mrs vulture]

   Thank you both for your replies, theres a lot there to get my teeth into!!!!     Is amazing how many hours I'm clocking up on here just reading the new stuff on each day!!!    Thanks again Cheryl

[redheat4]

Hi, as Anne has said not all Chinese glass is of poor quality, I have had this piece for many years and think it is of wonderful quality, it is from the glass studio of Loretta Yang a Actress turned Glass Artist. :thup:

[Jayne]

Hi,     is Chinese glass not considered as being very nice for some reason, I'm still new to collecting glass and just buy things I like, although it is always nice to find a piece you like  AND its worth something too!!!       Cheryl.

http://www.theglassmuseum.com/Chinese.html

I realise this is an old thread but had to post.

Yes, I collect these "horrible" Chinese vases, I love them, but not all of them.

My Nan who passed away 17 years ago had a green one which I always admired and inherited from her, (my Mother didn't want it as she claimed green was unlucky lol). My Aunt inherited her blue one which I would have liked too. My Nan may well have aquired them in the 60's or 70's. 

Recently I discovered I could get a blue one for a very reasonable price on Ebay, not to mention Orange, Red, smaller sizes, and ruffled tops. I'm personally not so keen on the trumpet style or plainer ones. I've seen them called Murano, but not Victorian, but it didn't matter to me, I just knew I liked them. The colours are stunning.

Since collecting I've noticed that three of my purchases (I brought them forward in the middle shelf in the photo) seem to have been made with seriously less skill than the others. The leaves and handles are large and fat and not intricate, and the applied clear glass at the front is almost like a large blob that has been splodged on with considerably less skill than my favourite ones, almost like they have been made by a completely different manufacturer. 

I have my theories and will be parting with those three shortly.

[Lustrousstone]

Collecting is about what you like or are interested in. Too many people equate collecting with stockpiling something that can be converted into cash and cannot conceive the idea of enjoying collecting something of little value. My glass collection ranges from a bit valuable through to worthless...and from decorative to ugly...

The answer to the title question is that everything is collectable. The answer to the real question: "Is Chinese glass going to increase in value in the future?", is who knows.

[Jayne]

Collecting is about what you like or are interested in. Too many people equate collecting with stockpiling something that can be converted into cash and cannot conceive the idea of enjoying collecting something of little value. My glass collection ranges from a bit valuable through to worthless...and from decorative to ugly...

The answer to the title question is that everything is collectable. The answer to the real question: "Is Chinese glass going to increase in value in the future?", is who knows.

Well said Christine!