Topic: Earthtones at Mdina and MDG; Discussion.

[WhatHo!]

I would strongly disagree, not only look different but they are made in a different way. Iow tortoiseshell is the same as mdina tortoiseshell which are both different earthtones. I will get some facts to prove this.

[chopin-liszt]

Isle of Wight Tortoiseshell is completely different to Mdina Tortoiseshell.

Isel of Wight Tortoiseshell is exactly the same as Mdina Earthtones, just slightly more finely blown when it came to production runs.
It's the same colourway, designed by Michael Harris.
The first image here is Mdina Tortoiseshell, the second is Mdina Earthtones.
The third image is of an IoWSG globe vase in Tortoiseshell, with the coachbolt pontil mark, and signed by Michael Harris.
The fourth, just for extra clarification of the design at IOWSG, is a flat disc bottle with flame pontil mark. The globe is a little short on the bubbly yellow, but that's simply a vagary of that individual piece, and it doesn't show well in the image.

[Patrick]

Can you remember what you or your employer was doing when you were 16, 17, 18?

I am now 77 years old and my first job at age of 17 was making fiberglass sports car bodies....... I can remember every stage of quite a complex process, from the mould making to the 'lay up' of the matting and resin.
 The worker you refer to had his heart in glass making and is now the senior gaffer at Valleta Glass, he is able to tell Wolfie and I all the processes used at MDG and has answered many questions from his time there.

Cheers,

Patrick

[Patrick]

Hi Sue,

Your stoppered bottle certainly looks the part.........

Can we defiantly say this was made before November 1978......... If it was made before that date, I will happily change my thinking.

Regards,

Patrick.

[glassobsessed]

But he was not at Mdina in say 1974?

[chopin-liszt]

Flame pontil marks were used up until '79, but the globe, with the coachbolt mark was made in mid-to late 1973 only.
You don't need any more proof than that.
It does have the bubbly yellow background, it just doesn't photograph well. The execution varies from tight dark brown stripes to difused and bubbly ones, with more reds in.

So, when Boffo introduced the design at MDG, he had taken it from the Harris design at Mdina. The Mdina shapes were copied too.
As has been known since MDG first came to attention.

[Patrick]

But he was not at Mdina in say 1974?

No he was not there then........ he joined November 1978 when MDG/CGL closed.........

Cheers,

Patrick.

Ps, I have just realized you did not ask a question but making a point.

[Patrick]

An interesting comment made by Raymond .........

 "Hi All, if you notice carefully in both factories the whitish background is made up from Silver nitrate and the stripe is made up from a clear glass gathering added with ruby red glass chips, but the difference is in the pattern the red stripe is laid."

Good to know what forms the stripe.

See my original post for the images of this pattern laying.

Cheers,

Patrick.

[chopin-liszt]

I had long suspected the nitrate was used for the background in Earthtones rather than the chloride used in other things, the colour of the background is often paler.
And then later on at Mdina, it goes even flatter and paler still.

I don't know the chemistry of why, it doesn't make any sense if the silver ion gets released from the chloride or the nitrate in the heat.
We do know silver chloride melts in heat and will dribble down a trail of glass.

I don't know what silver nitrate does, (apart from burning brown holes in my lab coat when it's in a room temperature solution ).

[Baked_Beans]

Nemmie is it possible for you to post a pic. of your example dated 1974 please ? It would be great to see it