Topic: Scandi vase or modern Polish perhaps?

[Mr. Turnip]

Hello it's me again with another ID question (already - I just can't wait). This is a lovely quality, heavy vase in very bright red with clear casing, which is 330mm tall. It has 4 bubbles in the clear cased base. I believe it's hand blown 'cos of the pontil mark. The pontil appears to be sandblasted rather than ground and it's quite large in relation to the base. Any observations most welcome as I've not be able to identify it other than I reckon it could be relatively recent Polish glass. Thanks.

[chopin-liszt]

Hello Mr. Turnip, welcome to the gmb! 
I think you're spot on with relatively modern, but a bit further east than Poland. Contemporary Polish glass normally has a properly polished base, while contemporary Chinese glass tends to have this roughly ground finish.
I would also have expected the bubbles in the base to be regular and controlled and the same size if it was Polish.
However, I believe there are now a fair number of  Polish masterglassmakers who are working in China, teaching makers there how to produce far better quality work.

[Lustrousstone]

Welcome to the board. It's unlikely that the base is sand blasted, more likely just coarsely ground. Polish glass is usually well finished, as it Scandinavian glass. Perhaps China or elsewhere in Asia.

[Mr. Turnip]

Thanks for prompt replies. Interesting this, because of your Southern Hemesphere location (although hang-on, maybe not Warrington! For some reason I assumed NZ!) perhaps you are more familiar with Chinese/Asian glass? I'm not so familiar with it although I expect it's been on sale in the UK for sometime now, I've only recently become interested in glass so I'm not sure. I guess the likes of TK Maxx and Ikea may have sold Chinese/Asian (and possibly Indian) glass in the recent past. I haven't seen any others like this one yet. I paid £16 for it but I must admit I was hoping it was a 70s Scandi vase as it is nice quality. I suppose I should have considered more about the badly ground pontil! On closer inspection I'd say the base was roughly ground as suggested. Something to look out for in the future then! Thanks for your time - there are still a few others to identify...

[chopin-liszt]

Looking forward to the others.
A great deal of both Polish and Chinese contemporary glass is sold in TKMaxx. I go there as often as I can manage, just to keep a weather eye open and see what is being sold there and to watch out for improvements in techniques and finishes.

An awful lot of it ends up sitting on stalls in antique markets and fairs, with price tags far greater than in TKMaxx. You have to be very careful!

One very big clue to contemporary Chinese glass is that it can feel a bit "greasy" and it smells of acetic acid. Handle a few bits in TKMaxx and you will know exactly what I'm talking about - your hands stink and feel very peculiar.
However, not all of it is like this and if it has been recently washed, it may not be immediately apparent.

[Lustrousstone]

Chinese glass is often oversize and sometimes slightly unbalanced looking too. You weren't robbed, you've got a decorative vase

[Mr. Turnip]

Thanks for all that - I've certainly learnt something and I hope I can in the future enlighten others, as I'm going to be buying a lot more glass in the future. Maybe not too much Chinese glass though. I'm currently occupied in the task of trying to work out how to get my pictures to blow up a bit bigger, (Photoshop on a Mac) but still sticking to 125kb!