Topic: Mdina? footed bowl, unusual colourway

[chilternhills]

I guess this bowl is Mdina, perhaps early 1970s. It isn't signed. Might it be Harris era or later? It has a strange colour combination of blue and pink. It is 9.8 cm high, 13.5 cm across the rim.

Thanks for your help.

Anton

[chopin-liszt]

Pink wasn't a colour used until after Said took over, so '75 at the earliest.
But still a very unusual piece. I have a similarly swirly bowl in just dark brown and clear which is not quite the right brown for being Tortoiseshell.
It's possibly from around the '75 period itself rather than later, given the foot still being present and the colours and swirly pattern.
So, I'd still call it early and experimental. But not Harris period.

[chilternhills]

Thanks Sue.

[chopin-liszt]

This shape of bowl is most commonly found in teal with yellow vertical (or slanted) stripes.
A sort of Ming.
I've just checked the bottom of one of my teal bowls. It has the foot, and the Mdina mark is made using the thick vibrating tool that only came into use post-Harris.

I have not yet managed to come to any definite conclusions about the presence or absence of a foot with regard to a date - but mostly, I've been looking at cylinder vases with and without feet. I had noticed feet are present on early bits.
They are not found on textured cylinders, but that might well be because of the use of a mould.

[glassobsessed]

Some more examples, all just about post Harris I think, when there is time later I will check through my stuff here to see if there is anything definitely earlier in date.

John

[chopin-liszt]

Is the "seaweedy" amethyst not Harris period?
Mine has a foot.
I have a clear "seaweedy" one, which has an oval polished pontil mark and no foot.
Chinese bowls all have feet. (I have 5)
The unusual small, slim, early cylinders do not have feet. I have three and they all have round or oval polished scars.

The short striped (thin blue stripes over yellow) bottles with sloping shoulders and small flanges all have feet.

Tall stoppered bottle/decanters do not have feet. Textured cylinders do not have feet.

[glassobsessed]

A Chinese bowl is the only item I have that I am certain is Harris era with a foot, in this photo I think the amethyst vase on the right here is likely but the one posted earlier in the thread I class as unlikely. The left and centre vases look early and not a foot between them.

[chopin-liszt]

The amethyst is also taller. As is mine.
I'm starting to wonder if really early ones were shorter, now. 
The strapping on mine looks like a cross between those two you've shown. No large blobby bits of teal, a decent amount of thin random, but not as many big bubbles. I have always felt mine was by MH. Got it at the Cambridge Fair Mdina Exhibition in the town hall, before they shifted to Chilford Hall. It has no marks at all.
If it turns out to be by somebody else - it is still good enough for me to have considered MH anyway. I love it still.

[glassobsessed]

Not had a chance to look yet but seem to remember Mark Hill saying (in his book on Mdina) that when Vincenzo Boffo arrived he helped introduce some refinements to some of the shapes and practices. Maybe these feet are one of those developments, they are found on quite a few MDG shapes as well.

[chopin-liszt]

That makes a great deal of sense. I'll buy that.
And I think that's about as much as we will get in terms of info. from the presence or absence of feet.
The jug you show above is a Boffo piece.
I have a footed MDG globe vase, and chimney vase.
Mdina chimney vases are all footed.

I've had my amethyst seaweed down and I now feel the strapping is not really complex and good enough for MH. Unless he was having a bad day! But my clear, shorter unfooted one has not got really good strapping either, far too much just "around and around".
The jury is out. 
We need to get a vast collection of "seaweed" cylinders together, get ourselves together with them and spend some time studying them.
I can dream.

Going back to Anton's bowl. I know there is blue in it, but the base colour of the clear glass still looks fairly "blue-ish". It's not the yellow of the milk bottle cullet.
So, it was made at a time when they did have access to better cullet.