Topic: Tiffany Favrile Ewer?

[svazzo]

Hello Frank,
Thank you very much for all that information!
You are right, i read it over and on the bottom of the ad it does say "American Pottery and Glassware".
Just like you, I am wondering why they would not have a different label for USA made items.
At least there is no doubt about them carrying American made products.
Now I'll try and call NY on Monday and see if someone picks up!
Thanks again Frank, have a great weekend!
Javier

[Frank]

I guess they were just sloppy with labels. It is not uncommon. Good luck with the phone call.

[Ohio]

First of all Tiffany has been resurrected as Tiffany & Co. not to be confused with Tiffany Studios & they import glass. Secondly don't place alot of confidence in attributions by LiveAuctioneers.

[svazzo]

Hello Ohio,
Personally I know nothing regarding Tiffany, Tiffany & Co. or Tiffany Studios.
My knowledge is in Italian glass, which is why I purchased the Ewer in the first place.
I own many Italian pieces with the KB label, that are documented to Italian glass makers.
This particular piece was an odd item, and I did not see it as Italian once it arrived at my home. I was reminded of the paperweights on LiveAuctioneers that i had seen a while back.
The only reason this topic is discussing my piece as maybe a Tiffany Favrile is because of the signature on 1 of the paperweights on the LiveAuctioneers link.
"Impressed Tiffany Favrile Glass Registered Trademark" on 1 of the paperweights.
If you look at it, they have a photograph of the mark.

I am trying to, with the help of everyone here, to get an answer to a question.
Did Koscherak Brothers Inc. also sell "Tiffany Favrile" or any Tiffany pieces in their galleries?

It seems you are knowledgeable about Tiffany items.
Would you happen to know the answer to our question?
Are you suggesting the signature on the LiveAuctioneers link is fake?

[TxSilver]

Javier, I think it important to start with the things you know about the ewer. Glassmakers borrow techniques from each other all the time because they like the outcome. So the appearance alone can provide a hint, but it is not definitive. You do know that the ewer has a KB, Made in Italy label, and that a 9.5" ewer with this design and a different decor is in the 1969 catalog. KB is a company that sold mainly 1st and 2nd shelf pieces.They concentrated on selling affordable glass to the general population of the US. I have seen three labels used by KB, but I do not know the timeline for the different labels. I do know that the label you have on your ewer was the one used in the 1960s, but I don't know when they began to use the label.

How tall is your ewer? Italian glass designs were often made with different decors. And often paperweights were made for KB that had the same decor. It would be nice if it turned out to be Tiffany, but the information on the label points another direction. I would look in that direction before considering Tiffany Studios.

[svazzo]

Hi Anita,
I understand your view, but I have to disagree.
This all started with the Ewer, but the information we have now is on the paperweights.
Lets take the Ewer out of the equation right now, since I have not seen another like it to compare.
We have on the other hand, seen more than 1 paperweight.

With Franks information we know that Koscherak Brothers Inc. also carried "American Pottery and Glassware."
The paperweights, one of which is signed "Impressed Tiffany Favrile Glass Registered Trademark".

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/9711673

Since I have looked on the internet, and found 2 others also signed.

http://www.richardcfreyfinearts.com/tiffany.html
Signed: LCT Favrile (Monogram)

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/5197081
Signed L.C.T. Favrile

On the LiveAuctioneers link, 1 is signed and the other is not (same paperweight and same lot).
The paperweight I just purchased is not signed, but is does have the KB label.
It is exact as the ones mentioned before.
So we have a connection between the design of the paperweights, signatures and now a label to the Koscherak Brothers.

Now, the Ewer has the same design and the same label as the paperweight, so they were sold at the same company, Koscherak Brothers Inc.
You mean to tell me there is no connection between them?

I have handled many iridescent pieces from Italian makers before (specially Fratelli Toso), but none like this pieces.
The way they are made is very different to any I own or have owned in the past.

"They concentrated on selling affordable glass to the general population of the US"
Ok, so why would they not sell an affordable "Tiffany Favrile" line made just for Koscherak Brothers Inc. to match their Italian shapes (in regards to the Ewer).
That is certainly a possibility.

This all started because the Ewer was not something I considered Italian, even though it had the KB Italy label on it.
I do not mean to sound cocky by any means, but I have handled thousands of Murano pieces personally, and seen probably hundreds of thousands of photos on the internet, and having this piece in my hands it did not feel Italian at all. Like i mentioned when I first started this topic, if the piece did not have the KB Italy label I would not have thought it was Italian in the first place.
That made me look into the paperweights which I had seen before, that turned out to be "Impressed Tiffany Favrile Glass Registered Trademark".

I am not saying my pieces are 100% Tiffany Favrile, yet! lol. That is why we are researching and talking about this.
But I cannot say, ok the Ewer has an Italian label so it is Italian. If I had I would not have found the paperweights and started this whole thing.

It is the same as when I see a piece of Murano glass that I know in my heart it is from a certain maker, but has another label on it or attribution.
For example, when i first started selling on Ebay I kept seeing Barovier pieces attributed to Fratelli Toso by the sellers because of the same KB label we are now talking about.
(KB Labels) Koscherak Brothers became a synonym to Fratelli Toso. Seemed that no one wanted to deviate, just because of the label and the previous atributions. I knew that the designs on those particular pieces could not have been made by Fratelli Toso, but Barovier & Toso. Doing research and buying books I confirmed that I was right. If I had not put in question the design of the pieces themselves, regardless of labels and attributions, I would be selling Barovier Graffito and Cordonato D' Oro pieces as Fratelli Toso to this day.

My gut tells me this is not Italian. That is all I can say. If I am wrong then I am wrong, and we had a good discussion and found out some great new information in the process.
But I like to trust my gut feelings.
---------------------------------------

By the way Anita,
On a totally unrelated topic, I was so sad to see you sold the Horse on your website
That was a nice one.

[TxSilver]

KB did import many Fratelli Toso pieces, but they imported from other Murano makers as well. I'm afraid that one of the unintentional outcomes of Pina's books were that people linked KB and FT, resulting in a lot of misattributions. It is possible that someone put a wrong sticker on your ewer, but I tend to be very conservative when it comes to attributions. Talented glassmakers can copy the work of others. For example, Tiffany Studios sued Steuben for copying its Favrile technique to create its on line.

It will be interesting to find out who did make your ewer and pwt. I wish that I had more KB catalogs, but there are only the two that do not have this decor.

[svazzo]

"KB did import many Fratelli Toso pieces, but they imported from other Murano makers as well"

Yes, very true, but when I started on Ebay I did not know about import companies, makers or anything like that.
Previously I was only collecting "Art Glass" that all happened to be Italian. Some had labels, some not. I was just drawn to it without knowing. Once I got on the Internet and later Ebay did I begin to know the makers of my pieces.

My point being, if I had not doubted the attributions first presented to me by other sellers or like you mentioned Leslie Piña books as an example, I would not have started researching the actual techniques and designs on my own.
Only then was I able to find out for myself that yes, KB did import many different Italian makers.
Now we know they also carried American made items in their galleries thanks to Frank's research.
Personally I did not know that before, but this Ewer made me think it could be possible.

"It is possible that someone put a wrong sticker on your ewer... "
Like Frank mentioned earlier, yes that could be the case. Maybe this pieces were not meant to have the Italy label on them in the first place.
As someone who worked in the back of a store, as a stock manager, I know how labels can be put on the wrong pieces very easily.
One thing though, they were meant to be in the back of that store one way or another.

"... but I tend to be very conservative when it comes to attributions"
I do not think I mentioned the pieces are 100% Tiffany Favrile yet. I am hoping though

Hopefully Monday I will be able to talk with someone at the end of that phone number.
I will certainly let you all know!

[Ohio]

Look the following URL http://www.tiffanyfakes.com/the_fakes_10.htm
under CLARSAUCTION 1/2 way down on the left hand side. Is this ewer somewhat similar to the one you have? Cannot tell for certain.

[TxSilver]

Oh, good catch, Ken! Great glass sleuth work. I trust the Tiffany Fakes site. I wish they had written more about it. My guess from Javier's label is that it is made in Italy for KB and maybe some other import companies.