Topic: Old Mdina or not old Mdina, help please.

[davidfish1212]

Hi all,

I bought this vase at the car boot sale yesterday for a couple of pounds, the seller said it was from his mums and was an old vase, he thought 70's. It has no markings and has a Mdina look to it, it stands 8" tall......but there is something about it that has me doubting it is Mdina. Please could one of the resident Mdina experts ( you know who you are ) please have a look and let me know their opinions, as their thoughts and opinions I trust, mine I still don't!!

Cheers in advance,

David

[Greg.]

Hi David, this could well be Mtarfa glass, certainly Maltese.

[glassobsessed]

Neither but it is from Mtarfa quite a few examples of other shapes in this colourway if you search the board.

John

[Greg.]

I think we cross posted John.

Mtarfa it is.

 

[glassobsessed]

Yes, that reads like I am claiming it is not Maltese.

There are signed examples to be found.

[davidfish1212]

Thank very much for the quick replies, maybe I am finally starting to pick up some glass knowledge / vibe, I just knew it wasn't Mdina ( well I was at least 51% sure! ) Cheers again, David

[chopin-liszt]

Ah, but this Mtarfa is the most Mdina-like Mtarfa. I believe it's one of their earliest colourways - it certainly has features in common with Mdina - the use of silver chloride to alter the colours of the glass - but you'll find the Mtarfa use is always cased - as it is here - so that you end up with slightly greenish blobs.

For a very long time I thought this was Mdina - then I found a marked piece.

[davidfish1212]

Thanks Sue, what you say about the casing I can look out for, it sits really well with the Mdina, I know what you mean when you say it is very Mdina like. I did a quick google and see it was started in 1981 by One of the Said brothers, are they still making glass and was it a fall out that the brothers started rival companies? I have noticed today when I went back to the vase that there looks to be the remnants of a sticky label on the side near the base of the vase, it looks to have been a long thin label, was this an early label, compared to the round oval ones?

Cheers, David

[chopin-liszt]

I have no idea if it was a falling out or simply a new business opportunity.

Joseph Said still runs Mdina, (set up by Michael Harris) Paul set up Mtarfa. They were both apprentices of Michael Harris.

I am clueless about labels, sorry!

[glassobsessed]

They did use a rectangular paper label with rounded corners, you can see one on the vase in this ebay completed listing before it vanishes.