Topic: ID help please large Czech?? bowl

[vanmann]

Any ideas please on maker of this large blue and clear bowl 12 inches diameter x 4 1/2 inches tall. I thought that it was similar colour to a Skrdlovice vase I had but I would have expected the base to be clear rather than blue. This is almost all blue apart from the 4 clear folds
All thoughts appreciated,John

[Mr. Turnip]

Looks heavy... looks Chinese. I've had a few heavy (I mean weighty not, like 'heavy - man') Chinese vases pass my way and I'm now (with the kind advice of wiser fellow GMB advisers) trying very hard indeed to avoid them. There are a hell of a lot of 'em to avoid. Fair enough if you know what they are but not so good if you don't. Once you've seen a few (in an antique fair or centre near you, today), the familiar signs do become more and more (and more) apparent. Heavy weight (they must have a lot of spare sand in China), polished flat base, rather clumsy patterns. It's not to say that the Chinese can't make good quality vases 'cos they can, it's just that rather a lot of them are not good quality at all. Watch out for the one's with what appear to be Murano stickers on 'em.

[vanmann]

Oh well, wrong again!!

[Lustrousstone]

Is/was the base matte or shiny?

[vanmann]

It's matte, Christine, with quite a lot of wear related scratches

[Mr. Turnip]

Well that being the case there's more chance of it not being Chinese - most Chinese glass I've seen doesn't have any, or very much wear on the base.

[Lustrousstone]

The Chinese have been making glass for a long time and wear can occur quite quickly but I think the matte base rules out Czech and Murano

[deliciakendall79]

Any ideas please on maker of this large blue and clear bowl 12 inches diameter x 4 1/2 inches tall. I thought that it was similar colour to a Skrdlovice vase I had but I would have expected the base to be clear rather than blue. This is almost all blue apart from the 4 clear folds
All thoughts appreciated,John

Not sure of the answer, but definitely not Czech.

[Mr. Turnip]

So if it is a bit 'hefty' in its weight and proportions, the design is a bit lack lustre, and it has a matte finish to its bottom - even though it has wear marks - chances are it's Chinese. I suppose there's an outside possibility that it's Polish, but that matte bottom is a bad sign. Don't think the Polish go in for matte bottoms. I have, at the moment, at least three vase that I know are Chinese and they all have matte bottoms! Matte bottoms - matte bottoms - matte bottoms... Let's try and not forget the significance of the matte bottom. Of the many vases (at least 100) I currently have, only the Chinese ones have matte bottoms. Do vases from anywhere else have matte bottoms? 

[glassobsessed]

Absolutely and some are very desirable, much studio work (especially American) will have a matt unpolished base.

Stop thinking that a single feature can guide you, start considering the object as a whole, all aspects are important.

John