Topic: covered box with enamel? coralene?

[Ivo]

Spent a whopping 99 p on this covered box this morning. It is cobalt blue with a decoration of enamel or hard fired coralene- the edges of the decoration are  fused and slightly discoloured while the centre is grainy.

Do we speak Czech?

[Paul S.]

well, you should know Ivo  .........            I'd always thought that the criteria for that type of decoration required that the image was composed entirely of individual, very small, coloured glass beads - but sometimes clear.
Could be wrong, but think that historically, the name was given only to those pieces where the decoration actually represented the shape and colour of coral, at least that's what it looks like in the Grover's book

cheaper versions, I think, used clear beads that were painted after being applied to the main glass body.

Would agree with you re Eastern Europe - somewhere between 1930 and 1950  - and probably worth about £0.99p

[Ivo]

When I say enamel it should be obvious I don't mean glued on anything.  And I hope your valuation is not for insurance purposes?

[Paul S.]

apologies for my levity Ivo, didn't mean to deflate your obvious pleasure in having found this piece, and so inexpensively  -  but would suggest that in the absence of seeing those very small coloured beads, then perhaps we avoid the word coralene.

Unfortunately, the image on my screen loses detail when I try to zoom in, so unable to see exactly how the decoration appears to the naked eye.
In view of the abstract design of the applied decoration, then just possibly more recent than I had suggested  -  but not really my area, so flying a kite with my thoughts on age, maybe.              This shape had/has a longish history  -  I see that Ruth A. Forsythe referred to it as 'puff boxes' and 'covered candy jars'  -  but then hers were certainly not decorated like yours  -  although that base formation is fairly typical of such wares.

What is something worth?   -  really I suppose what someone is prepared to pay it..........      but I'm not being serious, and am sure it is worth much more that what you paid..........     but let's not get mercenary, and just enjoy the pleasure it gives

[David E]

If it helps, here's a couple of photos showing coralene. The close-up shows that they rarely age well, but it does show the glue layer and the tiny beads that were sprinkled on. From this, it appears that the colours are included in the glue, which then shows through the clear glass beads.

[Ivo]

Thanks for the additions - enameled it is then.  Not able to do detail pix here, i found them quite ok after the photoresize app squashed them down dramatically.

[glassobsessed]

I have seen a few similar Ivo and thought maybe Czech, just an impression really. They seemed similar in a couple of ways to some rose bowls I handled, thin walled, quickly made etc, perhaps into the 30s when times were hard.

John