Topic: Early Mdina lollipop?

[spencerline]

Hi this Mdina vase is unsiged but what makes it differ from All the others like it I have seen and held in the glass there seems to be many seeds or impurities. I have tried to capture this in the close up photo of the body. I have seen and held around 10 or 12 of these and all were clear of any floaters or seeds. Thanks for looking Kev.

[chopin-liszt]

The somewhat poorer quality of glass tends to indicate earlier production.
To start off at Mdina, they were only able to get hold of poorer quality metal, and all the glassmakers were still learning - Michael Harris included - so you'll find frit and bubbles and impurities in it.

[glassobsessed]

Very hard to date these without a signature and because they are flattened on the marver while being made they are prone to picking up bits and bobs. If yours was very early I would expect the glass to have more of a greeny blue tint.
The other feature that makes me think later rather than earlier is that the air bubble around the top of the coloured section is incomplete, it does not run all the way around. I may well be barking up the wrong tree but the vast majority of these lollipops were made long after MH left Mdina.

John

[spencerline]

I agree that most of these lollipops were made after MH left but I still havent captured the full extent of floaters in the glass. as well as small  bubbles, 2 more are  on ebay right now clear as a bell like the other dozen I have handled so I still think its one of the earlier ones.

No way to prove it one way or another but it is of a lesser quality to all my other 6 Mdina pieces, Kev

[glassobsessed]

If everything was signed and dated we would get bored....

The early production from Mdina may have lacked a little in terms of refinement but what it had in abundance was character.

John

[Lustrousstone]

It may have been sold through the factory shop and there is no way of knowing, as seconds are not marked as such and not all firsts are marked. New staff members had to learn and practice. You either throw such items away (as you can't reuse them as cullet) or sell them off in the factory shop if they are adequate but not quite good enough for mainstream sale.

[spencerline]

Thanks for the comments I think that you are correct in your assumptions that it is a piece made after M H left the factory and whoever made it had a bad  day at the office, lol, Kev