Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: Scarvo on November 02, 2011, 05:15:25 PM
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Hi, sorry, I posted this elsewhere which it should not have been posted, now I have found where it should be, perhaps somebody will be able to help me!
I have inherited a pair of Murano Glass bulls and would like to know if they are Murano and if not, what make they may possibly be?
I have a couple of other pieces to put up as well, I have never used message boards before and am sorry that I put this in the wrong place previously but don't know how to move the original one.
Kindest regards,
perplexed Paula
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Does the lilac glass change to greenish blue in daylight?
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Welcome to the forum Paula.
I think Scavo is wondering if your bull is made with neodymium glass, if so it will look lilac/purple in daylight and change colour under fluorescent light (from a strip light or low energy light bulb) to a green or blue colour.
Your bull looks to be a form which has been made on Murano but I cannot help narrow down a maker.
John
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Hello, thankyou for your help, I tried it outside in daylight and it just seemed to go clear, the weather is overcast and rainy at present, HOWEVER I held it up to a low energy lamp we have and it changed to a blue/grey/clear colour. Not deep greeny blue or deep blue, but it did change colour.
It has a 'matt' feel, there were stickers on both of them and the remains of the 'sticky' is still there but apart from that I have absolutely no idea where these came from.
A friend lent me an ultraviolet light which made no difference to the bulls, but strangely my grandmother had a duck and some other things and they go a green colour under the ultraviolet. Does that mean that these aren't the type of glass you think they are as the ultraviolet didn't change colour of the glass?
Thankyou so much for the replies so far, I really would like to narrow down where they came from as I have postcards from all over the world and pieces of glass she had purchased on her trips - some of them were really dirty. I have a huge cockeral with gold flecks of what may be gold 'leaf' inside, I'll post them all later.
Thankyou,
Paula
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Sounds like neodymium glass then, it is found in several shades.
Glass that glows bright green under UV light is known as uranium glass or vaseline glass. Uranium oxide is added to the glass to give it (usually) a yellow or green colour, when the glass is exposed to UV light it fluoresces. Uranium glass is generally quite collectible and in no way harmful.
John
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The surface of your bull, which does look like neodymium glass (http://www.mindspring.com/~reyne/neowhatsis.html) and as if it's from Murano, has been matted either by sand blasting or with acid.
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Wow, thankyou for all of the replies, you have all been so helpful :-)
Now we think the bulls are made from neodymium glass, but John, you mentioned that uranium glass is not harmful, does that mean that neodymium glass is in anyway? I have two children and now am wondering about all the boxes I have in my home from my grandmothers!
I read the link thankyou - wow - that was a bit mind blowing! I'm still a little perplexed as you said that it is probably from Murano and Sommerso appears to be the 'style' of the red blob but the colour it changes to in the light doesn't tally with the website, I think it is more grey blue and the website link quotes "...which is gray, if made by A. H. Heisey & Company, ". I looked at some photographs I took of the bull outside today which I thought it just went clear, but the photographs actually show the bull looking pink outside the red middle. But, as I said before it's a grey blue under the low energy bulb in the lounge.
I'm going to put up those pictures of the cockeral and the duck and a beautiful little purple basket which goes green under my friends purple light.
Thankyou all so much - I really appreciate the help. At least some of the postcards make a little sense but I can't see a bull mentioned in there..... not yet anywhow, I have two boxes of postcards and I am looking at the ones from Italy to my mother and her sister. Of course, it could be that somebody bought them for her! Then I won't be able to tally the postcards with the glass which is what I am trying desperately to do (don't ask me why ...... I simply have this need to find links at present!).
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Yes, I thought it looked like Neodymium glass.
Scarvo, here is some helpful information about glass that changes colour under different lighting conditions and why:
http://www.glassyeye.com/glasstopics/dichroic.html
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Your bull should be pinky purple on the outside in daylight and under incandescent light (old-fashioned light bulb), and bluey/greeny/grey under fluorescent light (strip, low energy, halogen). The exact shades will depend on the precise glass formula. The website is written by an American lady, so her bias is towards US glass, but it is a good education on neodymium glass..
Neither type of glass is harmful unless eaten! And not all glass that glows green under a UV light is uranium. It has to be the right green glow.
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Are you considering selling your bulls? They look small, how big are they? I have looked at the other glass items you have put forward for identification. Would you like to sell the murano glass items you have posted pictures of? I would like to offer you 100.00 £GB for them if that is not too presumtuous of me. What is the size of the birds. I am a serious collector and will pay immediately via paypal or if you would prefer can send you a cheque. Please give some conderation. John.
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Hi Scavo, reading this facinating and less confusing link has helped, but, does that mean that the glass is Trichroic and if so, can I pinpoint it to where it came from in Italy?
So, do you think it came from Italy, is Sommerso design and is Neodymium glass or the Trichroic examples mentioned in the links? Can it still be from Italy if it is Trichroic? I feel that I am falling into a facinating trap of glass (as well as sinking in boxes!) - I can't wait to put up my other things to find out more.......
You are all so helpful, are you all glass fanatics or collectors or simply love glass? I feel a new love coming into my life as my grandmother has left it.....
I would have thought a 'bull' would be from Spain.... what do I know!
And does that mean that it is Scavo Glass? So, it's from Italy, Murano Glass, Sommerso design and Scavo glass? I looked it up and thought it looked like Scavo glass BUT it doesn't look like stone or granite which is what the examples I saw do, even though it is rough to the feel....
I really appreciate all the help.
A friend of a friend emailed the link to this website for me. She has agreed to go through some of the boxes and sell the items I haven't got room for (which are loads). I don't use ebay and don't have the time but she has a 'shop' and said if I research the items I should be able to get good prices for things. She also said that she will create a website for me and show the links from the postcards to the pieces of my Grandmother's glass (with professional photographs) so it's not as though I am loosing her items, I will be able to buy the children's Christmas presents with the money. If feel a little guilty but I simply don't have room for it all! I have inherited not only my grandmothers, but her siststers and my own mothers items back which were given to my grandmother when my mother died, so it's a little 'full' here. I feel guilty selling the items.
Thankyou so much to all of you for your help. My grandmother spent alot of time travelling Europe and the States so I've got lost of pieces to show you yet.
x x
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Yes it is dichroic glass. It is dichroic because it contains neodymium. All you can say is that it probably came from Murano in Italy.
Sommerso is merely a descriptive term that means submerged. You could probably used it to describe your bull. It is not scavo, the correct term in this case is frosted.
A sommerso Murano bull in frosted neodymium glass with red interior is what you have. Don't get complicated with dichroic.
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Scavo glass has a rougher texture than frosted glass and appears to be on top of the glass where as frosted glass is ether blasted or etched. I agree with Christine that yours is frosted not scavo.
Not all scavo (excavated - but not really, just made to look that way) glass is from Murano. LaFiore (Spain) do quite a bit and I've seen examples from China and Taiwan.
IDing hand made glass is very difficult without either a signature or a sticker (even then are you 100% the sticker is the right one? - are you sure of the provenance).
Glass nuts? I can only speak for myself. I love glass but not any more than I love ceramics, wooden carvings, stainless steel, silver, paintings, mid century moderne furniture, ... for me this is an excellent resource and friendly community to help ID the glass I find that I can't ID myself.
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For Italian glass, we usually say "satinized" instead of frosted. I believe it is usually done with a mild acid in Italy.
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Thanks for an addition of correct terminology, Anita.
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:angel: :angel:
For me, satin / satinized glass is quite a bit smoother than frosted and doesn't have what is to me that rather unpleasant rough feel to the glass. :)
a2
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Hi, these bulls are rough to the touch, not smooth or shiny at all, so if it isn't satinized/satin glass then do I simply describe as frosted (which to me feels smooth as well) - You are all so precise and well versed in your glass.
Thankyou so much for the replies, the bulls are now with a person to market them for me on Ebay - I pass all these messages onto her so thank you for everything.
I think they should be up by the end of the week. She really wanted to narrow down to a maker - she sent me a link to a glass bull in scavo glass which looks not dissimilar to mine in tone/shade etc but is bigger and fatter (these are stylised and thin). The bull has an attributation (possibly) to Alfredo Barbini. My friend said we could say the same but it appears that nobody here has mentioned that name therefore I believe we shouldn't.
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:angel: :angel:
Hi! :hi: I use the terms 'satin' and 'frosted' as I see fit, not as 'scientific ' terms and you use what you feel suits the item. Plus, you may have a maker suggested to you yet; TXSilver is quite an expert, for example. Also, Rosieposie knows masses about glass birds / animals and if she doesn't know, she often finds out very quickly. She's a brilliant researcher. The very best of luck. :X:
a2
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If they feel rough, then they have been "sand" blasted and not acid etched. The roughness implies lesser quality to me...as the coarser the "sand" the cheaper it is to buy.
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:angel: :angel:
:hj: Oooohhhhhh!!!! I hate the feel of what I think of as frosted, like nails / chalk down a blackboard. :grrr:
a2