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Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => China & Taiwan => Topic started by: Anne on August 12, 2005, 01:13:49 AM

Title: M&S Open bubble base vase, China
Post by: Anne on August 12, 2005, 01:13:49 AM
More successful trip this time found a red Marks and Spencer bubble vase so I bought one for reference. Having spent quite some time inspecting the ones on the shelf (much to the bemusement of the staff!) I can now say that the base on most of them where the colour joins the clear glass is not evenly rounded like the Wirkkala ones are. Most have what I would call (for want of a better phrase) a Mexican wave shape to the join. I picked out one which is better than the rest and looks almost right although still a bit pointed in the centre - the Mexican wave ones are easily spotted as not Wirkkala but the more properly curved ones may fool some folks. Anyhow, here is my M&S sample vase so Peter (and everyone else) can see what I'm on about. By the way, the vase carried a label stating Made in China.

http://yobunny.org.uk/gallery1/displayimage.php?pos=-423 (http://yobunny.org.uk/gallery1/displayimage.php?pos=-423)

Title: Re: M&S Open bubble base vase, China
Post by: Anonymous on August 12, 2005, 06:59:15 AM
Thank you Anne
I hope you didn't do it just for me ...but for the whole of glassdom !!

Thank you very much for your attention to the color to casing join (a much better way of putting it than my clumsy attempts). So that would seem to be another way to distinguish these items from the iitala ones as I originally thought.

The style is after (?) Timo Sarpaneva not Tapio W.
In another thread I beleive Ivo said that Timo's bubbles were NOT pierced.
 
I have recently seen some almost shockingly good Chinese glass. The style looks pure Scandi and the quality I have difficulty in faulting. They even have a polished pontil. So Beware !!! I shall return asap with camera and hope the shop owner is inclined to co-operate.

Peter ....still in A'dam
Title: Re: M&S Open bubble base vase, China
Post by: Anonymous on August 12, 2005, 08:41:06 AM
Quote from: "Anonymous"
 
I have recently seen some almost shockingly good Chinese glass.



Something I pointed out a few months back.... lets hope now that these Chinese glassmakers start applying their talents to something original as I feel culturally they have much to offer.... in glass that it....they dont do so well with chickens.


Gareth


Morgan48
Title: Re: M&S Open bubble base vase, China
Post by: Leni on August 12, 2005, 08:59:56 AM
Quote from: "Anonymous"
lets hope now that these Chinese glassmakers start applying their talents to something original as I feel culturally they have much to offer....

I agree, as I have been saying for some time (usually on the Paperweight forum  :roll: ), that Chinese glassmakers are making some great glass these days.  

Sadly, I think the Chinese culture is still not ready to allow the expression of individuality which would enable us to know exactly *who* made a particular item!  :(  :roll:  

Leni
Title: Re: M&S Open bubble base vase, China
Post by: Frank on August 12, 2005, 09:17:39 AM
It might be a good idea for someone to gather names in the glass world to make a joint representation to the Chinese government to produce identifiable glass. They need to earn export $'s and currently do this mainly based on cost. I am sure that they could be shown the benefits bothe culturally and economically to start to change direction as far as adding indelible markings. If they can at least identify glassworks if not individuals it would be a major progression.

I am not going to volunteer, too much on my plate now, but will happily contribute my name.
Title: Re: M&S Open bubble base vase, China
Post by: Anne on August 12, 2005, 03:18:20 PM
Quote from: "Anonymous"
Thank you Anne
I hope you didn't do it just for me ...but for the whole of glassdom !!


But of course Peter... although you can take the blame as the catalyst! :lol:

Quote from: "Anonymous"

The style is after (?) Timo Sarpaneva not Tapio W.
In another thread I beleive Ivo said that Timo's bubbles were NOT pierced.


The ones appearing on eBay and elsewhere are being shown as TW as he *did* do a range of drinksware with the pierced bubble base so the assumption seems to be, if it's a pierced base then it must be TW.

A recent e.g. from eBay:  http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7340780991
Title: Re: M&S Open bubble base vase, China
Post by: Max on August 12, 2005, 05:15:48 PM
Anne said:
Quote
By the way, the vase carried a label stating Made in China.


In a department store in Holland, Ivo picked up a piece of glass and identified the country of origin by using the first two numbers of the barcode   :shock:   :!:  

00 stood for Romania (if I remember rightly).  I'm not sure if the numbers tally for the UK, but it was a brilliant ruse to see where the glass was made.
Title: Re: M&S Open bubble base vase, China
Post by: Anne on August 12, 2005, 05:38:50 PM
Here you go Max, a list of country prefixes used in barcodes: http://users.pandora.be/worldstandards/barcodes.htm#prefixes :lol:

The problem with using barcodes as identifiers is that they do not guarantee the country of origin, they give the country the barcode was issued in. The M&S vase, I seem to recall, had a 50 prefix indicating the UK as M&S are the UK retailer, rather than the code for China as the country of origin. (Many years ago, when the barcode technology was in its infancy, I did in depth research into how it all worked for a college project. It was intended then that barcodes should work in the way you indicate Max, but over the years it's not panned out that way!)
Title: Re: M&S Open bubble base vase, China
Post by: Anne on February 03, 2016, 06:38:04 PM
Just adding an update to this re the red cased M & S vase mentioned in the original post - normally this gets dusted (sorry - that's the d-word!), but as it had a dead spider stuck in the bottom of it, I decided it was due for a warm bath instead. Imagine my surprise when washing it to find that the red simply floated off!  It was an applied coating on the inside of the vase.  Stopping washing before it all parted from the glass, and allowing the glass to cool (as I was bemused by the idea of a coating inside a vase that was water soluble - it's a vase for flowers for goodness sake!) I tested it with cold water and found the surface didn't float off, it only happened with the warmer water.  So however it was coated in the inside, the coating appeared to be stable for its use with cold water and flowers, and unstable in warm water being bathed! I now have a completely clear glass vase with a pierced bubble base... (pic to follow!)
Title: Re: M&S Open bubble base vase, China
Post by: chopin-liszt on February 03, 2016, 07:27:11 PM
How odd!
And surprising that you didn't notice at the time - but I've found recently, going back to the recesses of the shelves and getting out things I have taken for granted for ages, that there are things I notice now that I did not see before.  :)
Title: Re: M&S Open bubble base vase, China
Post by: Anne on February 03, 2016, 07:44:30 PM
It didn't have that look or feel that I normally associate with a coating, Sue...   I honestly thought it was cased!  :-[

Mind you it was 10 years ago and I have learned a bit more about glass since then...  ;D
Title: Re: M&S Open bubble base vase, China
Post by: chopin-liszt on February 03, 2016, 07:50:04 PM
I know what you mean.  :-*
It all just suddenly creeps up on you, all the stuff you've learned without actually realising it. ;D

Title: Re: M&S Open bubble base vase, China
Post by: orangeglass on February 06, 2016, 03:23:38 PM
Hi all
Just to add - I had some red glass tealight holders that I really thought were red glass - they looked a bit dusty and waxy so I put them in the dishwasher (don't worry, I wouldn't dream of putting any decent glass in there) - they came out clear glass, with flakes of red stuff everywhere!  ::)
Title: Re: M&S Open bubble base vase, China
Post by: Anne on February 06, 2016, 05:23:13 PM
My son bought what looked like a black cased clear tealight holder (in ASDA), and the coating floated off that too when he washed it, Roberta!
Title: Re: M&S Open bubble base vase, China
Post by: chopin-liszt on February 06, 2016, 05:48:51 PM
It all just goes to show that getting clean isn't always as good as it is cracked up to be.  ;)

I did put an old Scottish Fern vase into the dishwasher many years ago.
I had thought it was just a pint tumbler somebody had doodled on with a dremmely thingy at home. :-[