Topic: Recent auction finds - 2 of 3

[lesliec]

Here's the second of my recent finds - call it Vase2.

This one is around 27cm tall (and no uranium glow). The gold parts of the paintwork are in good condition, but both it and Vase3 had clearly been used well, to judge by the muck I got off the outside and the collection of dead flies and moths inside! There are signs of wear round the rim, and if that off-centre depression on the bottom is a pontil it seems to be in a very odd place (the second example of the vase doesn't have a mark like that).

Again, I'd be delighted to hear your opinions on origin and age.

[Paul S.]

Hi Leslie  -  all three of your vases are attractive, thought it's a shame they rarely attract serious interest, and believe your suggestion of eastern Europe would be the correct origin for all of them.        In the U.K. these vases were often common at boot fairs, charity shops and the like, within the last twenty years or so but I suspect less so now, perhaps they travelled under the guise of tourist and holiday mementoes, in addition to commercial imports.
If you ever get the chance to look in Silber & Fleming's glass and china catalogue books, you will see that similar wares were prolific in the 1880s - and a lot of their glass is known to have originated in eastern Europe.

Unfortunately, dating is very imprecise, and as a generic group they might be anywhere from 1860 to 1940s - wear might just possibly be an indicator of more or less years, but vases are notorious for being moved around and collecting scratches.              There might be recognized indicators for a more precise dating methodology, but if there is then I'm unaware of it  -  perhaps others here might have a better idea of dating.                   Occasionally, the decorator will have left a model or pattern No. on the base, and sometimes the give away as to their Continental origin will be the cross on the figure seven and the slightly unusual style of font.
Some degree of uranium content is common with these things, but the enamell painting is often of a high quality - they're cheerful and if you wanted an attractive vase I think you could do a lot worse.

[Lustrousstone]

Bohemian again. That's not a pontil mark as this too was cut and finished from the top

[lesliec]

Thank you both.

As it happens, I took all three in to my favourite local antique shop today and the owner, who seems to know what he's doing, was pretty confident in confirming Bohemia (or at least Eastern Europe generally) and pre-World War 1 for all three.

It was Vase1 I particularly liked when I bid at the auction, so it wasn't too distressing when my man offered to take the others off my hands for a bit more than I'd paid at auction for the lot.  This must make me a dealer - good heavens!

[Paul S.]

here's another similar in style and decoration from earlier this week, and again it's finished at the top with a ground and polished top rim.        'Black' is a not uncommon body colour, perhaps the thinking was that the coloured enamels show up better against a dark background, though as is likely with all other black examples it's not a genuine black and transmitted light is a deep purple -  but for a couple of quid they're a cheap outlay for a flower vase.

[lesliec]

Thanks, Paul.

A bit more dramatic in black, certainly!

[Lustrousstone]

Paul's is likely Harrach from the shape and the colour

[Paul S.]

thanks for that   -  this isn't an area of glass that I know anything about, in the sense of being able to make attributions based on such features - but they are attractive.           Used to see them quite commonly - some were very big too - but definitely now less numerous.