Topic: can anyone confirm if this vase is WMF please?

[flying free]

I'm not really putting a spanner in the works, but I've come across this vase on a French search site for museum collections in France.
It is identified as Jean Noverdy and was acquired in 1927 from him I believe.
It has some remarkable similarities to my blue vase (the decor, and the neck and rim) and also to the more 'modern' shaped vases from Dirk and the one I linked to on Sotheby's I think.
It also bears marked similarities to the one I linked to on another thread that was diamond engraved signed Leveille on my search for my blue one.  That signed one is so similar to my blue one that I could only think they were the same maker.  Then I should also say that I've found another similar to my blue one in a different shape but the same decor and colours.  I contacted the owners and they told me theirs was signed - it was for sale as Leveille.

So did Noverdy do remarkably similar pieces to Ernest Baptiste Leveille?
Your thoughts please (you need to scroll down on the page to the bottom and then click on the little tab right at the bottom under the description where it should sy 'notices' - that will give you a full description)
http://www.culture.gouv.fr/documentation/joconde/fr/decouvrir/expositions/dijon_ver/dijon_verre_fran.htm

m

[flying free]

sorry that should have read that it was acquired in 1926.
m

[dirk.]

Wow - interesting info, m! 
Never heard of him to be honest. Only observation - while the other pieces show a crackle effect
in the lower half, this oneīs crackled in the upper part.
To answer your question... well, in the end it comes back to the question wether you think the
museumīs attribution is right or not, doesnīt it?  I simply donīt feel qualified enough to say
anything further...
We need more french members here! 

[flying free]

Well the description of the item says something like
Currently known best for their lighting, they were a producer of vases in the 20's - or something along those lines.
So there is an acknowledgement that if you search out the Noverdy name you get lots of Art Deco lighting and no other vases in this vein.  Also there is nothing in Cappa for Noverdy.

The translated description of the item using Google translate to automatically translate the French is
'Thick smoked glass vase, with two strong handles, decorated with three red spots enamel powder, white, green, black and yellow, orange, blue, and yellow, red, blue and a cracked network part above. Currently, more known for its lights, the establishment Jean Noverdy installed in Dijon in 1920, notably made vases. The clean, geometric lines are characteristic of the Art Deco style in which it usually works. The huge spherical base is topped by a short neck, formed in continuity, which relate to two broad flat handles curved V. Jean Noverdy uses the juxtaposition of bright colors, also typical of this artistic movement, appeared between 1920 and 1930. Two thick layers of smoked glass trap powder multicolored enamel. Except, the color white, it uses only the primary and complementary colors, from their combinations. The colors yellow, red and blue and up the first spot. The red, green, purple and white, and yellow, orange and blue, respectively, are the other two. A cracked network also runs the upper inner surface of the two-thirds. (Small, 2005)
That is so close to the three vertical bands of colour done on mine,  and the way the spatter and spots look on the piece as well as the colours used on mine, and imho also on the others in the same vein as my vase.  The only difference being that on that particular vase linked to apparently by Noverdy, the crackle is only in the top two thirds of the vase.  Whereas on mine and Dirks for example and the other two I found that were signed (I did not see the signatures but they were both described as being signed), the crackle is over the whole vase. 

Whichever way, alarm bells are ringing for me
I have to say I'm slightly suspicious they have their description of the maker wrong - for whatever reasons that could be.  It is not unknown for a museum to have an incorrect description.

m

[flying free]

Dirk I've replied above, but can you give me the measurements of your vase please and how much does it weigh?
I'm just curious -
Mine weighs 2.8kg or 6 1/4lb which is huge weight  compared to say my Muller Freres internally decorated vase which is only a little smaller, maybe 2cm max smaller in height and a little narrower, but only weighs 3 1/4lb or 1.5kg. 
thanks

There is a comment here about Jean Noverdy and I managed to find a tiny bit of information somewhere else that he worked at Muller Freres but I can't get the link to open fully so I don't know how correct that information is -
nor can I verify the information in this link
https://sites.google.com/a/artdecoceramicglasslight.com/store1/makers/n/noverdy-jean---biography

I am wondering if that is a misattribution by the Museum though.
m

[dirk.]

Hard to tell... But as usual we should be cautious and aware thereīs always people who know a bit
more than we do. OTOH of course thereīs people being less accurate than us, too.
-
Meanwhile... my vase is ca. 20m tall and wide and weighs about 3.7kg. Yep, itīs a lump. 

[flying free]

lol, I hope your vase is not 20m tall Dirk 
Mine is 19.5cm with 16cm at the shoulders but  only 8.75cm across the foot. Very heavy for size because of the layers.
Yes you are right - I will do some more investigating to see if I can turn up any vases that are identified as Noverdy and look like this.
m

[dirk.]

Nope, 20mm of course. 

[flying free]

Just added this link to my other thread on Leveille:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223133911286

A link to a vase being sold on ebay.

It's in a similar ish vein, in that it looks quite chunky and modern and has a very thick rim so seems to be a thick heavy vase also.   Different colour to mine but does also have those very bright inclusions in it.
I'd describe it as having a small base foot with a three-wide ringed beehive shaped body narrowing a to a thick round rim (just in case for when the link disappears).
It seems to be made in a similar way as well, possibly cased as inner layer, then inclusions layer, then crackle layer then cased again.

Nice piece.  Also seems to be signed in script E Leveille with Paris signed below.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223133911286
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