Topic: Identifying the authenticity of a Mary Gregory item

[Mytkhailo]

Hello!

I've purchased a vase that looks like Mary Gregory item. However, I am concerned about a couple of things:

1. As far as I know, most of the images on Mary Gregory items are of children. I haven't seen any items by this designer depicting animals, especially those with bad habits (ha-ha).

2. This is the object itself. Its character and colour are not typical for Mary Gregory products.

So, is it a fake or a rare piece? I would be grateful for your help.

Mykhailo

[chasdevlin]

'Mary Gregory' is just a generic term for this technique and style of decoration, it does not refer to a particular factory or maker  (although there may have been an engraver called this in the distant past).

[NevB]

I believe a lot of this glass was made around the town of Haida/Novy Bor in Bohemia, around 1900. My guess would be yours is later, perhaps 1940's onwards. The vase resembles those made by Borske Sklo but the dimples are usually all the way round, which yours does not appear to have. This site has some information.


https://www.20thcenturyglass.com/glass_encyclopedia/#Bohemian

[Mytkhailo]

Thanks a lot!

[ahremck]

I have had suggested by a much older Antique dealer that he belived most "true" mary Gregory style glass was based on cottage decorators working with factory blanks.  So that meant that most MG glass is on similar shaped glass vases.  Back when I started to collect regularly it was being "copied" a lot and it was flooding the market as no one actually marked the originals.  At an auction I went to I asked himwas an item genuine in his opinion - by that stage he knew I had quite a strong knowledge about glass.  His response was to ask me what I believed.  So I outlined what made me consider it was probably genuinely older.  That included what to a great extent is my major element of authenticity.  The people are in variably "ugly" because the artists did not have the skills to make them better - and trends got them sold anyway.

So looking at your cat my immediate thought is that it is a modern take on genuine MG because the cat is too well painted.  The following I hope illustrate the point.  The Claret Jug is I believe modern - she is far too well painted.  Contrast that with the jug that I suspect is genuinely of older manufacture.  Just my opinion - as there is no definitive way to tell as afr as I can tell.

Ross

[Mytkhailo]

This is very useful. Thank you very much!

[chopin-liszt]

The only wee snippet I've heard about is that on older pieces the children are much plumper than on newer bits. It was what was considered more attractive at the time.
I adore the cat and I wouldn't care whether it was new or old - that cat has got hold of me. 

[Ekimp]

So looking at your cat my immediate thought is that it is a modern take on genuine MG because the cat is too well painted.  The following I hope illustrate the point.  The Claret Jug is I believe modern - she is far too well painted.  Contrast that with the jug that I suspect is genuinely of older manufacture.  Just my opinion - as there is no definitive way to tell as afr as I can tell.

There is another link to identifying Mary Gregory here which takes the opposite view, that in general it’s the older stuff that is better painted. https://www.glassencyclopedia.com/Marygregoryglass.html

It all seems like a mine field. It’s subjective but I would say the tall figure on your jug was better painted and by a more talented artist than the one on the claret jug (the jug with stopper). My reasons for this veiw is there is more tonal variation (including double firing), better proportions, and she is dynamic - it looks like she is moving. The knee length dress, proportions (not plump ) and style look quite modern to me.

The cat is nice and interesting, although I wouldn’t say it is particularly well painted, but that’s just an opinion too

[chopin-liszt]

  I'm very biased. I've just adopted a white cat.

On the claret jug and the cranberry jug, both children look dressed in a more modern style.
The taller child looks ~'40s/'50s, while the shorter one reminds me more of the drawings of children from the ~'70s/'80s.

Cats are timeless...

[Mytkhailo]

 Thank you! The cat is the reason why I bought this vase.