Topic: purple glass apothecary?

[rabugheida]

Hello everyone

I'm a debutante glass collector, and I recently picked this one up at a flea market in Paris France for about 15 dollars

It is handmade blown amethyst colored glass about 14 inches high

Could it be Murano?  Anything you can offer about its origins and value is greatly appreciated...

[Paul S.]

welcome to the GMB            I suppose if nothing else this might do for storing your spaghetti - it looks tall enough
Amethyst is a lovely colour, and yes you're right, it could be Murano though I've no idea if that is true, but we have many experienced folk here and fingers crossed someone might be able to help with an id.

In the absence of any marks or labels on your glass, then an attribution is down to someone recognizing this design/colour, which can be an unpredictable process, unfortunately.

As we're not professional appraisers of vintage or antique items, regret we don't discuss values, which may seem unhelpful but such matters are very much a personal opinion and a dozen different people would probably give you the same number of different values.           Auction sites can be a useful source of possible values - and speaking to antiques professionals is worthwhile.

Let's see what other people can offer in the way of help.          

[rabugheida]

I guess it shows that I'm a beginner    but I'm a quick study  and am grateful for your input even if it can't be identified
 

[Paul S.]

nothing wrong with being a beginner  -  even the most clever people here were beginners at some time.               Possibly it can be a surprise and frustrating to people like yourself who - full of enthusiasm - are forced to realize that not all glass can be attributed or provided with provenance.               Determining the origins of glass by looking at shapes, colours, patterns takes time to learn, though much still defies an answer  -  if you want to try and short-circuit the process, then buy some good quality books and can guarantee this will help.

Amethyst is a very collectible colour - when seen on early glass (C18 and early C19) it often carries a substantial monetary premium - and even on modern pieces it's desirable, though not valuable.               Glass from the Gulf of Venice is traditionally thin, colourful, made with artistic proportions and shapes, rather than utilitarian, and sometimes reflects the much earlier Venetian influence from the Renaissance - so your thoughts as to Murano are probably not far out.           Unfortunately, I don't think you're going to find the proof, but this one should look good on display.

[rabugheida]

wow!  its great to finally have informed input ...thanks!

my guess for this one after researching a bit online, was murano from the 1960's.  I judged this mostly from its form and superb quality of the work, and close resemblance to others made in the same period.  For this one I wasn't expecting much in value, but I have noticed that online prices from the same period do show a profitable gain.
However... I started to question my analysis due to the form of the topping on the lid.  All of the murano examples I saw from this period in my quick research ended in a rounded bubble, and not the molded form on my piece. so I decided to ask an expert 

[Paul S.]

   flattery will get you nowhere, unfortunately.              I think there is a tendency for most of us on the GMB to feel disinclined to be called experts  -  I'm certainly nothing of the sort, and my interest in glass is of a general nature only - you will notice that I shove an oar in regarding glass from many areas - and am wrong too often - though we do have people here who are vastly more accurate  -  experts don't usually get it wrong.           

One of the most useful things to remember, about glass, is that it can, and has been, copied throughout history  -  this fact alone confuses many people and they buy a piece thinking it is C17, C18 or C19 - only to discover that it's a C20 copy.

Don't forget to buy some books, and who knows - you may well end up teaching us about glass.             Congrats. on your English by the way.