Topic: How does one identify "rock-crystal" glass?

[johnphilip]

It was a long time ago but i remember Simon showing me a particular flower i believe it was a blossom on a fruit tree he said that is as good as a John Orchard signature , i will try to find mine but it takes days i have three glass rooms and a loft to go thru, a lot is packed in boxes , i had a visitor from the Glass Association this week come to pick up a piece he bought he only saw two rooms and was gobsmacked and wants to come back , nothing as grand as Thomas Claret jug collector i would love to see that . WOWEE . jp .

[claretjugcollector]

i am totally over the moon  :or:

[Max]

Claretjugcollector

probably you mean page 383 - plate 537 -for my opinion its a little different to sue decanter ...

That's why I didn't say it was the same.

[claretjugcollector]

oki doki  :chky:

[jinxi]

Just two comments everyone, I would say the fruits in question on Sue's decanter are depictions of pomegranates not poppies and - just thinking about his surname and word associations -did Orchard specialise in fruit? 

P.S.  Pomegranates are conventional symbol of fertility and therefore popular inclusion in design for wedding gifts etc.

Veronica

[johnphilip]

I must say Veronica i was thinking along similar lines , i thought not flowers but large seed heads or fruit , Orchard was probably a botanist or a gardener , as well as a genius .

[Max]

Thanks Veronica...I was trying all sorts of fruit trying to get what they might be...I even tried Persimmons!   

I was playing with the idea that maybe the decanter had an Islamic look to it and wondered if the fruit might represent that...but then I don't know much about decanters to be honest...   :huh:

[jinxi]

Hi, I have been up half the night worshipping Thomas' collection - this MUST be WORLD CLASS - the comments I made yesterday were only after a quick flick now I am truly dumbstruck! 

How many years have you been collecting Thomas?  What a fantastic and unique memorial to your father and what an incredible online resource for the interested!  Why claret jugs and which piece is your personal favourite?  I am fascinated so please tell us more of the story!

Noticed the poppies on this piece:-

http://www.karaffensammler.at/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=6580

but the horizontal lines are on multiple faces/facets of the seedhead not just the one so I am still sticking with the pomegranate theory

Veronica

[claretjugcollector]

thank you so much !
i started to collect at the age of 25 - i just bought a very plain rather normal jug ..
at home i started some research - and i found out ! it was just a very simple normal jug and i paid too much :-(

actually at this time i studied law in graz ( capital of styria ) and i got more and more interested in antiques - a few years later i started a small shop with some silver and some glass - and suddenly - people came and bought - i did it for more than 15 years - whenever i earned some money- i bought a claret jug - unfortunately there was no ebay at this time and no salesroom or any other interesting website - so all the jugs where still very simple- and then came THE DAY - an auction in the dorotheum - our austria auction house - a wonderful silver gilt claret jug - 1866 by John Figg london with finely engraved glass - aestimate :  approximately 300 Bp - and i knew - that is a good one - i have to have it - i killed my piggy bank - actually i was 28 or 29 - and in the end i got it for 600 BP - because they couldn`t reach a bidder over the phone because of technical problems - lucky thomas - sp i bought a new piggy bank and started to save money for the next - at home i starred at the jug and said - ok - thats fine stuff - from this day on i mainly collect english jugs - they are the best - best glass - best silver - best proportions - best style !french are nice - german are strange . austrian are funny - russian are fake ;-) - so only english are left to collect - unfortunately there is no intersting jug at the moment up for auction .. !

and there is another claret jug collection ( www.claretjugs.com)- which is located in chicago - it consists of about 100 jugs - most of them are world class - some we do have in common - some month ago when i visited london i heard that the whole collection is for sale for a for my opinion - out of this world - price - i am not able to buy it - except i would accept the fact to have bread and water for the rest of my days .. - which i denie - so i think it is not funny to buy a collection it makes no sense - there is no fun - no bargain hunt - collecting things should hurt in a certain way- you realize that you live - all the emotions on buying a nice piece .( or a damaged one :-(

actually one by one is much more interesting to me :-)


i thaught about your question which is my favourite juggy ... i think it is always the next one which comes up - hopefully soon :-)

[jinxi]

That was really interesting Thomas ....... I started too old! 

I agree with your comments about buying a collection (financial implications aside) 'the selection of the prey and the thrill of the chase' is what I enjoy too and the anticipation, expectation and enjoyment of the victories, their arrival and examination and of getting to know them.  I won't go on about the disappointments but to some extent they not only teach us but also allow us to savour the victories more fully because victory/satsfaction/delight is never guaranteed.

Anyway, thanks for the link to the other collection - I shall study both collections and, hopefully, learn much from them!

Veronica