Topic: Show & Tell - Early Mdina Bottles - Enjoy!

[chopin-liszt]

Ummm - I don't know, Greg! It loooks very like the one Ron sold - cased, signed and the strappy bits look very similar.
I can't currently fiddle with my computery bits to get it to allow me to get two different windows open on the pc at the same time to do a detailed comparison between the two.

They're getting dreadfully common, aren't they?  :thud:
Now up to 6 - and if this is a different one - 7 known!

But does it count as the same thing if some are cased and others aren't?
Mine isn't. And it's strappy bits are better than any others I've seen, so I don't care that it isn't pawmarked on it's bum.
It's "signed" all the way through, from the bottom of the base to tip of the top. :smg:

I'm afraid amethyst textured bottles are far more scarce than blues. Not easy to get your sticky mitts on at all.

[Greg.]

Whether cased or uncased still scarce things, I won't use the R word as I know your not overly keen on it. 

I think I could live without a signature on any of these bottles, as you say some pieces have the Harris hand all over without being signed.

I wonder what the production  ratio of amethyst textured bottles to blue bottles were...? They are definitely thin on the ground. I remember a really unusual amethyst small vase for sale online around a year or two ago, which had green trailing round the outside, another occasion of getting outbid I'm afraid. Haven't seen anything like it since, although I live in hope!

[chopin-liszt]

Are you referring to the Amethyst "seaweed" bell-jar Suzy got?
The "seaweed" description is entirely mine, hence no capitalisation.
All seaweed patterned stuff is scarce - but then, if you think about the early Mdina stuff - it's all relatively scarce - it refers to the first 3 and a bit years of Michael Harris' works, and that of the few folk working with him. There's only so much can be made by a few folk in that short period of time.
This is my amethyst seaweedy bell jar.

ps, you can use the r-word if you like Greg - no need to mind your language around me. I'm a big girl - I can take it. :smg:

[Greg.]

Thanks for the picture, I do like those, the seaweed description is a good one. The vase I was referring to was different, a small amethyst textured vase like mine in the attached photo, but had green trailing all over the body, the trailing was quite thin around 2mm and like pipped raised icing. I've never seen anything like it before. From memory sold for around £120, a rare thing indeed!

[chopin-liszt]

Mdina never used green glass (certainly not in the early days, despite there being green mentioned in Mark's book - I suspect that mistake might be because Mark had seen some Malta Decorative Glass in green, before it got identified as being MDG.)
Sometimes, a green is the result of a patch of clear yellowy-ochre appearing over a bit of blue glass.
The trailing on the pot you mention would probably have been the colours achieved by interactions of the silver chloride and glass in the heat, I think.
I don't have an amethyst textured pot. (pout) 

[Greg.]

Its just the large amethyst bottles that I never seem to come across..

My small pot has a delightful streak of iridescence that twirls completely around the vase from top to bottom, taken a few shots showing all sides with the flash on:

[chopin-liszt]

 :love: :love: :love:
dribble, dribble.
My massive amethyst one has paler iridesence all over - but flash is needed to bring it out better in pics.

[WhatHo!]

What Ho! I mentioned in a previous Seahorse thread that i have just been to Mdina Glass and chatted with Joseph Said. In the outlet shop in Mdina town (not the craft village where Mdina glass is) I took 9 photos of pictures on the wall of Michael Harris etal making 1 of the textured mould blown square bottle vases. Ill get them up on here if you like  Wolfie

[Greg.]

Wolfie - Just noticed the response to the other thread, thanks for the confirmation on the dates, very useful to know.

As for the pictures I would love to see them and am sure everyone else would also.

 

[chopin-liszt]

Yes indeedy!
It would seem you have had the most successful time anybody has ever had with Mr. Said with getting hold of info - I can't thank you enough for your trouble.  :sun:  :smg:  :sun: