Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => British & Irish Glass => Topic started by: Anne on May 24, 2010, 04:27:55 PM
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Picked this up a while ago and haven't got around to asking about it yet...
Size: 6" tall and 6" diameter across the top, 3¾" diameter across the base.
The bubbles are in evenly spaced columns which spiral to the left.
The base has a very large polished pontil mark.
Colour is a lovely bright golden amber.
I'm thinking not Whitefriars, but possibly Webbs or Stevens & Williams.
Can anyone pin this down for me please?
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Me too,
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been through this one some year and a half or so ago, and the concensus of opinion was not wfrs. - I will go back and try to find the link. bucket vase I believe it is called. However, I have seen the odd one since, and other people do attribute them to wfrs. cheers Paul S.
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Keith, you and I are walking in step here! :)
Paul thanks, I'm pretty sure it's not W/f with that big pontil mark.
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of course if I read the post fully it might help :-[ However, although mine is bigger at 9" tall, the similarities may assist you, I hope.
try here:
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,25594.msg141558.html#msg141558
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Thanks again, Paul. :)
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Anne,great minds,great taste,think I put mine on the WF's site a while ago and they said no,always thought it looked like Webbs.
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That was my gut feeling too, but I like to try and back those up with some evidence :thup: especially for pieces that I'm going to have to part with at some point! :cry: (I really need a bigger house!!!)
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Just thought I'd pop in..........you are all right definitely not Whitefriars although always being ebay'd as such. Never seen a really positive ID but I lean towards S and W.
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I just have to comment here....I also think possibly S & W as their amber seems to have a slightly 'zingier' tone than Webb's. I find these extremely minuscule differences fascinating ..It's what led me to displaying my glass in blocks of colour. It's only since joining the GMB that my interest has started to develop, the very obvious fact that makers had their own recipes for colours etc is not surprising and very helpful re., ID'ing. Then there's the whole minefield of 'bubbles' were these produced by gas, other chemicals, potato skins???????????? (the debate on Peluguso v Bullisomething I came across recently was great - thanks) AAAgh so much to learn and so little time.. :)
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Probably need Nigel on this one , but i agree not W/Fs . jp
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Thanks for your vote of confidence John, but I fear a little misplaced on this one :o
I certainly agree with the prevailing opinion that these are not Whitefriars/Powell. The question is whether it is possible to hone it down to Webb, or S&W. My hunch is that they are likely to be S&W; they produced bubbling like this and the shape. The pontil on Anne's would be consistant with this as well.
Yet, Keith's appears to be a different colour (deeper amber) with a smaller diameter pontil. Added to this we have different sizes, if I've read this all correctly.
My problem is that I have examples of bubbled glass by both factories - Webb because it is marked on the base, and S&W because I have found them in the original Description Books (drawings) for the company.
Although this topic seems to come up from time to time, as has been pointed out, I have been looking at the archives for S&W for other research and therefore have not checked this one out. So, to sum up, I believe I have added nothing to the knowledge base on this one, just maybe confirmed that we are all right to be looking at these two companies for the attribution, (see what I mean John??).
Cheers, Nigel
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Nigel, thank you so much. At least I know I was heading in the right direction to begin with. 8)
I really know so very little about either company's production - are there any books covering either or both that would be worth buying please Nigel? There is some info about them in Roger Dodsworth British Glass Between the Wars and in Angus Butterworth's British Table and Ornamental Glass (but the latter hasn't really much of substance about either works' output.) Any other suggestions would be much appreciated.
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Hello Anne,
Those two are probably the best, but there are also books on both companies:
"The Crystal Years: A tribute to the Skills and Artistry of Stevens & Williams Royal Brierley Crystal" by RS Williams-Thomas
"Art, Feat and Mystery : The Story of Thomas Webb & Sons, Glassmakers" HW Woodward
Of course there is also the recent book by Charles Hajdamach "20th Century British Glass".
Unfortuanatley, none of them give you the information that I have given you - such as that is :huh: All of them give clues to some characteristics, but much of what I say is gained through experience of handling items, combined with a modicum of research. Mostly, they seem to deal with the more up-market items by both companies, although Hajdamach does discuss some of the production wares, particularly from the post war era, with some emphasis toward cut glass (the work of David Hammond for Webb). Some of the things I have identified to do with S&W over the years are discussed in the text of Hajdamach, but sadly not illustrated.
I hope that may be of some help, Nigel
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It certainly is, thanks Nigel. I'll add them to my books wanted list pdq and see if I can run them to earth. Every snippet of info is helpful for sure. :)
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Thanks also,got the Webb one and have now added 'The Crystal Years' to my 'to get' list,ta,
Keith.
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For what it's worth, just a thought on this continuing saga - I notice that the bubble shape on both Anne's and Keith's pieces is similar (not sure how tall your vase is Keith) i.e. most bubbles having a tendency towards being vaguely roundish. Looking at my vase, and two other 9" examples I have seen, the bubbles are noticeably much more elongated throughout the entire height of the vase. Really quite a different shape of bubble, but whether this has anything to do with the size of vase, I can't say.
Keith - I don't have the book on Webb's - what was the printing date, and does it have lots of pictures. I'm lost without pictures - I find images easier to remember than words ;D
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Paul;
The book was published in 1978,only 61 pages,some good pictures but not as many as I'd like,they had some at Broadfield House last time I was there.Picture of vase base showing pontil mark and bubbles(6 inches)
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Adam has one too: http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,40170.0.html (cross-referencing link)
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And earlier topic by Kieran too:
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,23856.0.html