Topic: Mdina glass ID? ID confirmed as Mdian

[GeoffLondon]

I'm extremely new to antiques and collectibles and have steered clear of glass for a while - simply because I don't really know much about the area. However, at the small local fair today I saw this lovely little pink vase. It was sold as Mdina, but having come home and fired up the Internet, I'm thinking it's a fake.


There's no signature on the bottom and I can't find anything very similar online. Can anyone with some knowledge give me a little info.

I'm not hugely disappointed as I still think it's nice and I only paid £10.

Much appreciated,

Geoff

[chopin-liszt]

That's Mdina, not a shadow of doubt. 
Probably from sometime in the '80s, not a Michael Harris design, after his time. Probably Joseph Said.

Welcome to the gmb!

Loads of folk don't know much about glass - it's a complicated sort of area - but absolutely fascinating.

[Lustrousstone]

Welcome to the board. Not, it's not a fake but it might be Mdina or Mtarfa or Phoenician (none are necessarily marked), as they have all made pink blobby at some time. A straight side on shot might help to pin it down from the shape. If you like it that's fine and what is important.

[GeoffLondon]

Thanks SO much, Sue and Christine. I'm ecstatic it's not a fake. And thanks for the welcome. I've loved glass for some time and always thought 'I should really do some homework and get into that'. Seems that buying the first piece is all that's needed as now I'm trawling the Internet for info and finding more than I ever would've before. I thought it was mandatory to have the mark which was why I was concerned.

I've included a side shot so you see the shape. It really is a lovely little piece.

Geoff

[chopin-liszt]

That's a definite Mdina shape, but perhaps later '80s.
I think Mtarfa and Phoenician used slightly different shapes, and their splodges tend to have "fuzzier" edges, although that's no rule of thumb.
I would not have thought either Mtarfa or Phoenician - but I've been surprised in the past, I'm sure it will happen again. 

Mdina is not always marked. Especially the very early and most desirable stuff. ('68-'71, the Michael Harris period)

It was a small outfit, it was "all hands on deck", they had trouble keeping the shelves of the shop stacked, so as soon as something was finished, it was straight into the shop with it, to keep things going.

It only got marked once they got hold of equipment to make marks and only then, if somebody spare had the time available to do it.

When labels appeared, they could be used instead of a mark.

[GeoffLondon]

Thanks for all your help, Sue. I'm going to do some more research into Mdina glass; it sounds like a fascinating area! 

Geoff

[chopin-liszt]

It's "my area", 
I've been researching and collecting it for 14 odd years.
There's a lot of info. here - and images, but it is rather spread out over the years, and the info. only came out in dribs and drabs before Mark Hill's book came out in '05 - it is still being added to though.
There is a brief history on this page of Ron Wheeler's site.

http://www.artiusglass.co.uk/id13.html

[GeoffLondon]

It's "my area", 
I've been researching and collecting it for 14 odd years.
There's a lot of info. here - and images, but it is rather spread out over the years, and the info. only came out in dribs and drabs before Mark Hill's book came out in '05 - it is still being added to though.
There is a brief history on this page of Ron Wheeler's site.

http://www.artiusglass.co.uk/id13.html

Thanks for that. I'd noticed when I was searching online that there didn't seem to be a huge amount of info in one place; just odd forum posts here and there. I was intending on popping to the library this week and seeing if I could find out anything more - I'll have to look for Mark Hill's book.

Thanks for the link - I think there might be an obsessive in the making here. 

[chopin-liszt]

The book is out of print and no second edition is planned, now IoWSG has "gone under" then re-emerged.
I don't know if you'd get an inter-library loan of one or not.
It's a good read.

I'v done a search of all my posts here for the word Mdina (They go back to '04, when I joined, and I'm afraid I can be a bit talkative, there are a lot of them.) You might find those threads interesting, there certainly should be a load of images come up.

I have posted the link to my search and it vanishes. 

Click on my username.
Click on "show posts".
Go to the search box at the top of the page, type in Mdina, click search. Should keep you busy for a while!