Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. > New Zealand & Australia Glass

Don't think it is Australian art glass(not signed) can anyone help, please

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aa:
I have a feeling this might have been a Jam Factory production piece made under the direction of Sam Herman in the mid seventies. But this is just an educated guess. Not an attribution.

ahremck:
Gee that would be nice Adam.   :X:  I can email a couple of the very early glass people here and maybe get a more positive result.  A Sam Herman era piece would be a thrill.

Ross

ahremck:
Well I have had responses from 2 people he worked with in Adelaide and they decisively say NO! to a Sam Herman piece.  The colours seemed to indicate middle Eighties to them and definitely not mid-70s.  So Back to the drawing board.

Ross

brewster:
The original poster's belief that his item is not Australian is unduly pessimistic. In fact, aa's suggestion in Reply #5 that it is "a Jam Factory production piece made under the direction of Sam Herman in the mid seventies" is closer to the money, albeit with some minor adjustments.

As I described in another GMB message, the early Jam Factory production was undertaken by the trainees, Peter Goss, Rob Knottenbelt, John Walsh and Tom Persson, often working collaboratively. Sam Herman was not involved in the production work after the initial setup, and Stan Melis was brought in to direct the effort.

In Reply #7, the original poster reports being informed that the item was not made by Sam Herman, and that the colours indicate the mid-1980s not the mid-1970s. While the first proposition is obviously correct, the absence of Herman's hand in the making is entirely consistent with Jam Factory production work from 1975 or so. The second proposition is mistaken, as we can show.

What is the evidence on colours? The first image below shows a Peter Goss piece from 1979 in exactly those colours, while a Tom Persson bowl dated 1980 and also in those colours was offered at an auction in Sydney in April 2014. While Goss had left the Jam Factory in late 1977 and might have been subject to other influences (although as the first and only glass artist in Queensland in the 1970s, those influences were pretty scarce), Persson stayed at the Jam Factory where his bowl would have been made. According to the auctioneer's description the Persson bowl is 50cm across. Such a large item would not have been attempted without extensive experience in making smaller items in the same techniques. Obviously these colours were being used at the Jam Factory in the 1970s.

For confirmation of my detective work, I consulted Peter Goss who is long retired from glass making. He confirms that the original item is a Jam Factory production piece and recalls working on such items. His comments on the making of all three items (the original query, his piece from 1979 in the photo below and the Tom Persson auction piece) are as follows:

...all of the pieces are internal cut straps using Thompson's copper enamels as the colouring agent and in the case of [the original query] a small amount of internal silver chloride... I remember the casting of the solid foot in a small steel ring then it being applied to the base of a piece that was still on the blow pipe..."

Peter adds that this activity took place later in his time at the Jam Factory. Given he departed in late 1977, that is probably the year for the original query item.

Some other Jam Factory production pieces from the 1970s have been shown on the GMB. The thread I referenced earlier has several, including a trio of bottles signed (with initials) by Peter Goss and others unsigned but with more obvious Sam Herman influence. There's another very Herman-esque unsigned piece discussed here.

To my taste, the little footed bowl that started this thread is most satisfying in both shape and colour.

Trevor

ahremck:
Thanks Trevor.  I was reluctant to attribute it to that era as I had insufficient background knowledge.  I am very pleased to be able to place it firmly into my Australian Collection.  It really is a nice piece.

Ross

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