Topic: Unusual Strapped Amethyst Mdina Small Vase...?

[Greg.]

Hi All,
Wondered if anyone had any thoughts on this rather odd piece of Mdina.  Has a purple/amethyst hue to the glass and applied strapping to the body. Cut and polished rim and polished base. Also, signed to the base, which appears to be in a 70s script...?

Measures 4.5 inches tall and with a 3 inch rim diameter.

 I vaguely recall something similar in the Mdina sale, that the IoWSG had last year, although my memory is a little hazy.

All thoughts appreciated.
Greg

[chopin-liszt]

I suspect the "vaguely similar in the Harris collection sale" was the little blue strapped pot John owns.

This IS very strange, Greg. The cut and polished rim isn't at all right...
Is the strapping clear glass?

[Greg.]

ahh, you might be right about the other little strapped pot.

The rim is a concern I must admit. The strapping looks to be exactly the same colour as the main body..?

What do think of the signature, I thought that looked reasonable in comparison to other examples....

[chopin-liszt]

I thought I detected a hesitant wiggle or two in it... but that really doesn't mean much. They all vary a lot.
My guts said wfs the second I saw it. 
(But they seem to have a habit of shouting out stuff right now, not neccessarily very accurate stuff either.  )

A thought about the rim was that it might once have been an attenuated bottle.

But the strapping bothers me. It's not very typical Mdina strapping.
However, I do have later bits where the strapping has either been marvered in, or the whole piece shaped in a mould afterwards, which give rise to the sort of round portholey bits poking through.

There was a later range which was amethyst and clear with strapping - it's often found "satinated".

[Greg.]

The colour is certainly more reminiscent of some of the later Mdina I have seen.

You can hardly feel the very edge of the strapping, which could as you suggest may have been marvered in or alternatively mould shaped after. It doesn't appear to be a cut down attenuated bottle, although the cut and polished rim are concerning. Did any of the later Mdina pieces ever have cut and polsihed rims at all, I can't seem to recall any...?

[chopin-liszt]

I want to know what John thinks!
The colour seems to be nearer the early amethyst shade than the deep purple used later to give rise to black - but it varied anyway!
I don't know of later stuff with cut and polished rims - but I don't know much about any of the more recent stuff at all.

They have done cut clear (crystal) glass, I don't know if the rims of those are polished... but that wouldn't be of a similar time period, I wouldn't think...

All very, very "bothery", Greg! 

[glassobsessed]

So would I.

The strapped vases and bowls that this is reminiscent of are found in clear, amethyst and a mixture of the two as well as in satinated and normal finishes. This has a much deeper colour though and the cut rim is a bit of an oddity. The signature is perhaps closer to the 'Molina' variant than the 70s looping norm, if so perhaps dating a little later.  How well is the rim cut and polished, could it be a repair?

The clear crystal stuff with Mdina labels on I think was bought in from elsewhere. I have seen the exact same designs with at least two other retail labels on.

Here is that blue vase from Mdina, I have yet to capture it properly - the camera has trouble distinguishing the two blues. It is the same pale blue base with cobalt blue extras as this fish vase: https://picasaweb.google.com/Johnmj100/EarlyMdinaGlass#5473340087649283154

John

[chopin-liszt]

If it had been put in a mould to shape the outline after the strapping was applied... did they have a mould in that tapering shape?

[Greg.]

Thanks both for your thoughts. I have taken a few extra photos in slightly better light of the rim/strapping and base.

Looking at the rim close up, the inside of the rim is very slightly bevelled, just by around 1mm or so. The other noticeable factor looking at the rim from above is that the thickness of the rim differs a reasonable amount from one side to another, roughly the rim thickness goes from around 2mm to 6mm in places. The rim seems to have been rather neatly cut and polished.

Rather a confusing/oddity of an item to say the least, I think this was partly what attracted me to the item to start with and was also cheap to purchase. I'm starting to think the item is possibly a cut down or repaired piece of Mdina, which does puzzle me slightly as I can't place the shape or piece that it may have started life as. Alternately, its something else altogether, with an added Mdina mark to the base.  Still all rather confusing....

[Greg.]

just a couple of further additional pics, of the strapping and base.....