Topic: Heinrich Hoffmann vases -- but not glass

[Anik R]

Hello,

I do realise this is a GLASS board, and that my items are not glass.  But since they appear to be Heinrich Hoffmann designs, I was hoping you lovely bunch could help me.

Does anyone know what material these vases are made of? (Is it some kind of clay? Resin?)
Does anyone know why on earth they would be made out of something other than glass? 
And does anyone know when they were possibly made?

The tallest is 14cm and is quite weighty at 471g.  The two smaller ones are 12.5cm tall and each weigh about 210g.  All three came my way directly from the Czech Republic and don't look like they were made (or washed) yesterday. 

Thank you for your help and comments.
Anik

[Paul S.]

the lines on the underside of the base look to be similar to those where resin has been cut.      Presumably you would know if these were metal, and ceramic would be heavier than resin.             Try scratching the underside - assuming these are yours to scratch.

Regret unable to help with date or origin.

[Anik R]

Thank you, Paul. 

Yes, they're mine to scratch, however, what am I scratching to see?  Forgive my ignorance. 

[keith]

Hello Anik, the base on the dark grey one reminds me of soapstone, which is heavy but easy to scratch, is it cold to touch ?

[Anik R]

Hi Keith 

All three pieces are rather warm to the touch.  I took the smallest dark one and scratched the base.  It is a greyish white underneath (you can see the scratch in the lower right hand side).  I also took a heated pin and was able to 'stab' the piece.  I think there was a sickly sweetish smell, but that could be my imagination.   I guess the vases are made of resin.

But why?  And why not glass?

Pamela has got a green malachite one like my smaller vases on her website (http://www.pressglas-pavillon.de).  The positioning of the women appear exactly the same, but the bases of my vases  aren't faceted. 

Maybe they were produced as a cheaper alternative for people who wanted a Hoffmann piece, but couldn't afford it?  (All three of my pieces show signs of use and water staining on the inside.)   But then who would have produced them?  And when?

Thank you for your help and patience.
Anik

[Paul S.]

malachite is an uncommon and quite valuable mineral, and the only way to turn it into 'art' is by hand, and this takes skill and time - the end result of which is something of substantial value.     It also has that unmistakable mottled/marbled green appearance.
I've a feeling that resin on the other hand can be cold worked when liquid, and with one mould (taken presumably from an original), a lot of copies can be produced cheaply and quickly.     
Perhaps there are a lot of folk who simply want nudes and don't mind if they are in resin.

P.S.  has the word nudes been removed from this post?? -  thought I saw it yesterday when reading.?

P.P.S.      why does Keith get a smiley face and I don't - is it cos he's younger than me

[Paul S.]

sorry, ignore the first two lines  .......Pamela's example is presumably not real malachite, but the glass Schlevogt/Hoffmann 'Ingrid' pieces  -  apologies for the confusion.

[Anik R]

Hi Paul,

Keith got a smiley face because he started his post with 'Hello Anik'. And I felt special. 

Thank you for your thoughts on my vases. I'm the one who perhaps mistakenly called Pamela's piece 'malachite'.  I think the three I've got are interesting non-glass examples though I still wish I knew when they were made, and why (though I guess the 'cheaper'-scenario is a plausible answer).  All three have got old left-over glue on the bases from where there used to be a paper label.  Hmmm...  maybe they were sold as souvenirs?

I don't think I used the word 'nudes' in my posts... but even if I did, I can't imagine any reason why the word would be edited out.  It's a perfectly legitimate and non-offensive word. 

Anik 

[chopin-liszt]

They do look like resin to me, Anik    - I was going to suggest the hot-pin-and-sniff method, but you already knew about that.

This design of the nudes under the grape vines is one that has been very popular over many years. It's still made under Desna (unless I'm getting my names mixed up and it's something else) from the original moulds, it is still produced in both uranium and neodynium glass that I know of, as well as the older versions which include malachite glass.

I think the design works rather well in this substance, whatever it is. 

[Ivo]

It is definitely resin, but there are dozens of variations in that material.  The underside is almost identical to the fake eskimo figurines which flood the market in Canada pretending to be soapstone or granite. (google images: Boma resin). The resin is weighted with stone powder, making it feel cold to the touch and almost indistinguishable from real stone. The technique for producing Resin items is not very complicated, and you may well produce a cast from a Schlevogt vase. I'm almost sure Desna does not know about these rips - I find it hard to imagine they would be responsible for what is in essence a kitsch item.