Topic: Think I might have made a mistake...

[Helen W.]

Sue, thanks for the pics. What a beautiful design. 

I have to admit I still have a lot to learn about Bohemian/Czech glass. And the concept of Bohemian ariel glass is something that would not have occurred to me, I'm sure.

I've just been prodding what I thought were the bubbles on the internal surface of the vase, only to find that the bumps are the spaces between them, not at all like a glass jug I own that has a standard controlled bubble design, where the bubbles are the bumps you feel on the inner surface. The bubbles/windows on the vase are concave on the inside, producing the lensing effect you can see in my photos. Whether that tells us anything else, I don't know.

[chopin-liszt]

I've not seen or handled much Ariel. It's a bit beyond my price range.
What I think our vases have in common is that they're an attempt to produce Art Glass, but on a commercial scale- hence they're both rather lovely, but something is just not quite right. My dragonflies are not truly an orginal work of art on the surface, but slightly crudely cut and "assembled" from what I believe to be defined patterns of different cuts.
The only factories which really had the enormous facilities and resources to experiment with this sort of thing were the state-sponsored Bohemian ones.
I don't know how your vase was made, but looking at the bottom, it does appear to start out from controlled bubbles. And it is cased.

[Greg.]

Could this be related....retailed by Crate and Barrell, produced in Thailand....

https://m.ebay.com/sch/i.html?kw=273450750305&_odkw=search&_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m4084.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xs.TRS2&_nkw=273450750305

[Helen W.]

My goodness, Greg, it's the same one. The colour looks slightly bluer than mine, but that could be down to the seller's camera. Everything else about it looks the same, even the nature of the uneven colouration in both bubbled and non-bubbled areas. The bubbles are very slightly different in shape.

I paid much more than the asking price here (allowing for conversion). I've never heard of Crate and Barrel. You must have done an extensive image search, because none of my search terms brought up this one. Thank you very much - it would appear to resolve the question of attribution!

Sue, what do you think? Thai ariel glass?!

[Helen W.]

Here's another reference:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Crate-and-Barrel-vase-Iris-Thailand-purple-bubble-glass-Mothers-Day-12-/332644835616

[Helen W.]

The link I posted late last night is not working this morning. The vase in the link resembled mine even more closely than Greg's example, the bubble shape being the same.

[Helen W.]

Another photo of part of the vase, showing a section towards the rim to illustrate the bubbled nature of the body of the glass. 

I hope the image makes sense; I had to crop severely to fit within the forum size limit.

[chopin-liszt]

I really think Greg has solved it.
Contemporary makers in the far east (from us) are getting better and better at glassmaking and are starting to make such sophisticated things now.
I wasn't able to handle it, to get a feel of the metal used, I wasn't able to ascertain age-related wear. I think the wear on the base of the vase I showed is ok.
The one Greg found might cost less than you paid Helen, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. You were curious and took a bit of a risk. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't.
It's still a lovely vase. You could use it as a wastepaper bin if you wanted, it's about the right sort of size, without having to worry too much about it. I've got loads of lovely bits of not terribly valuable glass as wastepaper bins all over the house.
One of my lovliest pieces of jewellery is a contemporary thing in glass and silver, from Thailand. Michael doesn't like me wearing it when we're out, because it attracts so much attention folk stop me to ask about it and he gets fed up waiting. 

[Helen W.]

  I had another go at cleaning off the grime, and that just seemed to reveal more horrors in terms of quality. But as you say, it's an adventurous piece of glassmaking so it may as well serve a useful purpose! The living room lacks a waste paper basket...

I thought about getting in touch with Crate & Barrel to ask which company supplied it, as there seem to be quite a few glassmaking firms in Thailand. But even if they felt inclined to reply, they would probably cite commercial confidentiality.

[chopin-liszt]

I think the bottom line was that you liked it.
That's always the best place to start.
If it ends up on the floor as a lovely wastepaper basket, it will still enhance your life.
And you've learned something; so have I.
If it doesn't fit in your living room, it's a good, tall, narrow shape for a bathroom corner.