Topic: Victorian Uranium Vase

[NevB]

My first thoughts were this might be part of the same suite as the Sowerby 1029 pieces shown in the link, but it's not in the catalogues.

http://www.victorianpressedglass.com/pdf/sowerby/sowerby_1874_add.pdf

Of course it could be by one of several makers but I've not found it yet. Height is 6 3/4".

[neilh]

Barrie Skelcher looked at that one and came up with a strange opinion that it was fairly recent but produced from an old mould - without speculating where the old mould came from. He felt the examples he looked at were a little too good for a Victorian object. I have one of these in yellow (also been seen in green) and it looks Victorian to me. I got a density value of 2.72g/cc which is a little too high for a northeast maker. It remains an unknown.

For the Sowerby 733 pattern vase, the density reading was a more typical 2.56g/cc

In general, most of these unattributed uranium vases are likely 1870s from various makers, my best guess.

[NevB]

Thanks Neil, that is a strange opinion, I definitely think it's around the date you give. I've seen a green one online with an unconfirmed attribution to Henry Greener, but these things often are. I got a very similar density value.

[NevB]

I've rechecked the density of mine and it comes out at 2.55, my Sowerby 733 vase is 2.43. The colour match between the two, allowing for the thickness difference is, I'd say, identical, not that it proves anything.

[neilh]

Having density tested a number of these uranium vases, most are in the 2.5 to 2.6 range and I'd be happy to say they were from northeast manufacturers. There are one or two, such as yours above, which are a little higher. I am unsure if that indicates a maker outside the northeast, or one maker in the northeast using a slightly different formula. What complicates matters is that Burtles Tate did not bother to add lead to their colour and uranium pieces in this era and can give northeast values. For these reasons it is better to test a clear flint example if one can be found. I have a clear flint version of the Sowerby 733 pattern which came out as 2.49g/cc