Topic: Plaid Glass Handkerchief Bowl - Maker???????

[sixpence]

Glass handkerchief bowl or small vase with a plaid pattern made of up aqua blue and opaque white threads.  The edges look like frayed fabric.  This is much thinner than most Venetian glass.  It is 5"H x 6 1/2"W x 6 1/2"D.  No markings.  This one has been frustrating but I don't think it's Italian.  HelP!?!?!?!?!?!??!

[chopin-liszt]

This looks like fused glasswork. I've never seen one before. It looks like a very competent piece. Interesting!
Where are you located on the planet? Often that's a good starting point for the origins of a piece.
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Welcome to the gmb!

[Cathy B]

It's the same sort of idea as this piece that I saw at the National Gallery of Australia in a craft exhibition, although of course the object from the gallery has many more threads and is much, much more complex.

Wonder whether the threads were fused into a solid rectangle first, then reheated and slumped over the mould, or whether the moulding and fusing process happens at the same time? Probably the former, I guess.

[chopin-liszt]

Funnily enough, it reminded me of Toots Zynsky's work just a little bit too!
A piece like the one you showed sold at Bonham's in May '09 for £10,800. There's one in the V&A in London.
As you said, far, far more complex!

For this piece, I'd agree, the canes must have been fused together first, then the whole thing slumped. The fusing would happen at a higher temperature than the slumping.

[ahremck]

It strikes me Cathy that you have an expert just down the road (near Yass) called Peter Crisp who has been doing exquisite slumped glass for as long as I can remember(c. 30 years or so).  Perhaps he could advise you as to what could be done.

Ross

[sixpence]

WHere am I on this planet?  The US - near Atlanta, Ga.  Most of the fused glass in this country is fairly thick so this may be made somewhere other than the US because this piece is incredibly thin.  I'm working on an appraisal and the collection is full of Lalique, Val St. Lambert, Irish crystal and then this and the green glass bird I also posted.  There's always something like this that makes the appraisal more interesting that just looking up a few auctions.  I'll check the Bonham's auction.  Any other ideas, I'd love to hear them and hopefully I can come up with a reasonable value on this and an accurate identification.

[Cathy B]

Toots Zynsky's work really is glorious, isn't it! Having only seen it the once, it make a real impression on me - and you can't quite see the effect of the overlapping fibres in the pictures. It was nice though to have the excuse to look her up again .

Ross- yes I've visited Peter Crisp's studios and seen him and his decorator at work.

Just to be absolutely clear, for the sake of the original poster, this piece is very modest in comparison and would have been much easier to make, and there is no suggestion that the maker would be the same.

[chopin-liszt]

I wouldn't bother checking Bonhams unless you're interested in anything they have - I don't think your piece, though competent, is anywhere NEAR the amazing expertise of Toots Zynsky - sorry!

I think your piece is likely to be fairly recent.

What is, where is Ga.?

[Cathy B]

... and in fact slumping glass is relatively easy compared to blowing it, so there are likely to be a lot of possible makers. But it does give you a key word for googling: "slumped".

[sixpence]

Atlanta, Georgia is in the US.  I'm an ASA appraiser and when we do appraisals something doesn't have to be the same or the same degree of intricacy as values are adjusted for that.  However,  the best examples are always good to take a look at so that 1.  I'll know one if I see it and 2.  that's a starting place to start taking adjustments from.  Sometimes it get's adjusted slightly and sometimes it might be a 90% adjustment.  Without a starting place, I'm just blowing smoke.