Topic: Autumn quiz - souvenir glass, where from, what building, decade made roughly?

[flying free]

I  know the answers to this mostly - but thought you might like a quiz.

I'll add some more information once guesses are in

m

[flying free]

one more pic for you

[MatW]

Hi, I would think this is from Russia, St. Petersburg, and the building is St. Isaac's cathedral. As for age I guess it is quite recent?
Mat

[flying free]

Yes it is

St Isaac's history in links below

I have read that the dome was made with 100kg of pure gold!
According to Wiki it is the largest orthodox basilica and the fourth largest cathedral in the world.
It was designed by architect Auguste de Montferrand.

Wiki says 'The cathedral's main dome rises 101.5 metres (333 ft) and is plated with pure gold.'

'The cathedral took 40 years to construct, under Montferrand's direction, from 1818 to 1858'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Isaac%27s_Cathedral
and beautiful painting of it here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Isaac%27s_Cathedral#/media/File:Surikov_horseman.jpg

I've been looking for an egg for a while and then this one came along for a snip.

What I have found out so far:

I think it was probably made anytime from 1992 to now.
I have read that they were produced 1992 - 1996 and then production slowed down. I have found a different one though that was marked Christmas 2007.  So they are/were still being produced somewhere, although I don't know if that one was solid rather than hollow. So it might be that the the hollow ones ceased production in the 90s.

Most of those I've managed to find are red, green or blue or purple.   There are very  few clear glass eggs. 
They all seem to have different designs - I've found one matching pair together, but hand engraved, in different colours.  Otherwise, they all seem to be quite individual.  Many (modern) have the Russian Eagle and crown on in some way.

I have only found one other with St Isaac's on it, and it was clear glass, engraved and gilded and the engraving  'cruder' than the engraving on mine.

I have found some with different labels on the bottom, some in Russian some English as well, but perhaps either different makers or different periods.

All those I've found apart from the old ones (very few), that I believe are modern production and are also hollow (mine is hollow), appear to have a ground base unpolished.  The base on mine is completely polished clear.

I had not intended to collect souvenir glass but have somehow ended up with one ruby overlay engraved becher, one Russian egg and one triple layer overlay cut, gilded and enamelled becher ... somehow making a collection 

m

[Tigerchips]

Faberge?

[flying free]

Hi Tigerchips

I don't know is the honest answer. The modern Faberge versions I've seen have been solid (it looks like, certainly closed at the base) and signed across the base.
I've seen others with Russian labels that translate as 'in Faberge style' but not the same as mine.  And again with English labels either saying in Faberge style or St Petersburg.  But they have the rough grinding around the opening at the bottom, or some gilding.

I did find what appears to be an 'engraving' shop (in St Petersburg I think) called Magrav -   So it's possible at least some eggs were made elsewhere and engraved there.  And possible that some were made and engraved in the same factory somewhere else.

Attached a pic showing the pretty trees at the bottom of the egg and the polished base. 


m

[flying free]

I have seen on the Ajka Crystal site that there is a link to 'Faberge' glass and that they make items sold under the Romanov Collection as far as I can see.  I'm not sure how long they have been making them for though. So it might be possible that at least some of the very recent pieces might have been blown by  Ajka Crystal.

m

[Ivo]

As the name faberge was not protected for glass, some German company registered it in the late 1990s and set up a collection commissioned elsewhere. For this style of items you will soon fall on Hungarian (Ajka) and on Slovenian crystal. Between them they have the market covered.

[flying free]

so then, if the engraved eggs have a label on them stating made in Russia, might that mean the eggs were blown elsewhere (Ajka being a possible base glass egg maker) and then engraved in St Petersburg meaning they are able to put the label on 'made in Russia'.  Or is it all a big ?  i.e. none of the egg at all made or finished in Russia?

There are various types of eggs but just concentrating on the hollow ones with engraving or with gilding on the engraving (rather than those cut to clear or heavy cut rather than engraved):
I have seen hollow with label on bottom with five or six different labels now, some wholly in Russian others in English.

Mine doesn't have a label and I've only seen one other with a building on to date (and that one I think must date to 2003 - it's a commemorative piece and I think that date would tie in) although I'm sure there must be more out there.


m

[Ivo]

Quite possible that the Russians make eggs - I was merely clarifying the status of the "Faberge" brand. Now as in Russia there is little concern for deposited brands, they put on it anything they d=mn like for the local market. Anything for export would have to include the "in the style of"- same as the Romanian "Tip Gallé" which would otherwise be seized.

Saying that, I have seen amazing engraved eggs made in a small engraving shop in Moscow. Not quickly slapped on, but months of careful dedicated miniature work. Quite a different class and price bracket.