Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => British & Irish Glass => Topic started by: herb_62 on February 12, 2010, 08:33:30 PM
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Okie doke ... this clearing out is getting ever more strange and surprising ......
Latest unearthment from the shed is a goblet my husband bought about 17 years ago right at the start of our glass collecting. It is signed " Caithness, Denis Mann '75 (or'79) No. 11/50"
A brief google search suggests this may be worth considerably more than the 50p paid.
Seems Denis is still alive and kicking and still producing gorgeous glass.
Anyone ever seen anything of his listed on E-Bay? I looked and could find nothing current or completed.
Any information about the man (no pun intended) and his glass other than his own website would be hugely appreciated.
Annie xxx
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http://www.scotlandsglass.co.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28:denis-mann-glass-engraver&catid=19:scottish-glass-makers-h-m&Itemid=12 - Frank would probably welcome photos of your glass for the Scotland's Glass website too. 8)
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Thanks Anne
I am so loving this site. Brilliant resource. And to think I'[ve only just stumbled across you!!!!
Annie xxxx
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Denis still has his own engraving studio in Wick.
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And a lot more, should be regarded as one of the most important artist/craftsman engravers. Hope to get a lot more about him on to SG and of course would welcome more images of his work.
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Try as he might my photo slave has been unable to take an image of this goblet for you that does it justice. Any hints or tips? He tries his best bless him and he did very well with the bottom of my paperweight causing some continuing hilarity in the paperweight forum. It is incredibly difficult to show the delicacy of the engraving.
Annie xxx
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Photograph it against a plain matt black background (card not cloth, too much texture). Another option is coke or black ink in water inside
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Thank you for that. I will instruct the photo slave accordingly.
Annie xxx :24:
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Maybe check with others, but one way to get a signature to stand out is to dust it lightly with talcum powder, you could try this on the engraving - though it might be inadvisable on an important surface - see what others say befor you actually do it!
I met Denis Mann at a Scottish Glass Society exhibition in Crieff a few years ago - lovely gentleman.
This is a picture of one of his engraving I took at the time.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b227/chopin-liszt/wave/SGS/DenisMannDancerheroine.jpg
Sadly, I didn't get an image of the engraving I found most interesting, and I had a nice discussion about it with him.
It was called "Duet", it was on a cobalt blue background.
It was of two hands playing the piano, but when I looked carefully at the notes, I could see it was a nasty discord the fingers were actually placed on - so I asked him about it.
He then pointed out to me that one hand was female, the other was male.
So not only a wonderful engraver, (and a lovely friendly man) but there can be more to his work than you might first think.
The shape of the glass your engraving is on is not a new piece either - this dates to the time of Domnail o'Brien's decanters. (I've got a matching set, with small glasses, in purple and clear glass.)
(Two wineglasses with a purple cup part have just sold on ebay in the states for ~£40.)
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Denis will be at the conference in October... doing something very special. It will be a bit more than the usual conference! Not just Denis either...