Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: Frank on June 23, 2007, 10:02:46 AM
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http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320126567316
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It is a vase that is made in Poland. The ones that I have seen have been signed Fulvio Bianconi, but it is a forgery. There is, unfortunately, a good number of these forged vases out there. A couple have been sold on eBay. I guess someone needs to add a warning blog about these on eBay. The Bianconi heirs write that it is definitely a forgery.
Anita
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Very pricey Polish vase, if the engraver learns to do straighter lines these could go through the roof. :D
Are the other signed pieces by the seller good?
I am sure that the Polish one was used by Chrism but the signature looks a bit different to his.
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I wonder if that is a useful section that could be added here, like the Murano labels, on known forgeries?
similarly the Dodgy Bricklayers being reported nearly every day on the Whitefriars.org forum. Could be a useful thumbs up to new collectors coming here to have all the warnings in the same place?
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People that pay $1,000 plus tend not to go search for attribution confirmations on the web!
Plus it would be a full time job just with current eBay auctions :-)
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It could be that the seller does not know that the signature is a forgery. The first time that I saw the vase was on another Murano board. It had been brought to an auction house to be sold. Fortunately, the auctioneer was a good one who verified the identity of things before putting them on the block. She wrote the Bianconi's, who told her that it was a forgery. I ran into another a couple of weeks ago on eBay and sent the link to the family. They wrote me back to say that they were not sure if the fake signature had been added when it was made or after. So many of the vases are out there that I suspect the signature was added close to the source.
The heirs are pretty firm about the fraudulent use of Fulvio Bianconi's name to sell glass (www.fulviobianconi.com). The last one that I saw for sale on eBay went for a bit over $100 US. The winner was probably ecstatic to get a Bianconi for the small amount. I don't know how much the Polish vase would sell for -- probably not at all on eBay.
There are so many Murano fakes out there, it is hard to know how to warn people. There are a couple of excellent articles that people can pull up on eBay (the ones to the left of the search page). I wish we could get all of the oriental and south American pieces out of the Italian category. But I know that is not going to happen.
Anita
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BTW, I have to add that I doubt Bianconi ever made anything that looked like the gray vase. His work is much more colorful and playful. If he had done the gray vase, I would assume that he must have been having a very bad day.
Anita
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I am sure ;D
Who is making lookalikes in South America?
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The Bianconis's had gone a bit over the top using Vero and threats to stop auctions using the Bianconi name - they did this regardless of the veracity of the attribution. So legitimate dealers found themselves unable to sell anything designed by Bianconi if they mentioned the fact - not because there was merit in the claims but because eBay is run by idiots as far as this type of thing is concerned.
I assume that they have stopped that now though
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eBay do not let you contact eBayers that you are not doing business with any more - must have had complaints from the scam artists.
If anyone knows the buyer, mention this thread to them.
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I sent a message to the seller that the sig was a forgery and told him hold to contact the Bianconi's if he wanted to verify what I was telling him. I imagine a couple of other people in the group have done the same thing. I guess it is now between the buyer and seller... unless someone wants to contact the Bianconi's. I prefer to think the seller made a mistake and will do something to make it right.
Anita
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Frank, I just remembered I didn't answer your question about who in South America makes things that pass as Murano. I believe that ICET is in Venezuela. Brazil also has shops that make glass that looks a lot like Murano. I guess I should also mention Mexico and the USA in North America -- we see a lot of their "Murano" on eBay. Some of the work is very good; it just isn't Italian. (Many of the modern Mexican pieces from Juarez are beautiful, so should be collectible in their own right.)
Anita
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Seller is a very genuine guy who has sold some very fine Murano pieces including a number of really nice Venini items, all totally genuine, so I suspect he has been duped on this.
Paul
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Just a note to say that I've bought a few things from this buyer and I've been very happy with what I've received (although I can't say I have enough experience to know that everything is genuine). He's been been quite careful with attributions and very helpful when I've asked questions. I watched this piece and I'm grateeful for teh warning, although the $1000 was a little steep for me.
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It is good to clear the sellers name! Very important when announcing fakes. There are not many bad eggs and their work goes round again and again.
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I am struck by the similarity between the eBay item and this one: http://www.bedbathstore.com/etblva.html
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Nice catch! It does look a lot like the vase, doesn't it? It gives us some idea of what the vase would have been worth on the retail market.
Anita
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The seller wrote me this morning to let me know he was going to contact the Bianconi sisters before he completes the sale. I think we can add him to our favorite sellers list.
Anita
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Did you mention this discussion to the seller as well, Anita? They may find the above link interesting.
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I did not mention it to him, but I will if he writes back. I know that he is going to be disappointed when he contacts the Bianconi's. It is a lot of money for an eBay seller to lose. I think we should give Frank a pat on the back for bringing the vase to the group's attention. I looked at the signature on auction's vase and it looks a little different than the others I have seen. It is larger and scratchier than the others. I don't know if this forgery was done by the same person as the others were.
One thing I wondered was if Bianconi ever signed his work like this. Or did he use the standard company identifications? Bianconi is generally out of my range of affordability, so I haven't seen all of his signatures.
Anita
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I believe he mostly provided designs and had nothing to do with production nor signing.
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Just a link to one of the companies mentioned in this thread www.artemurano.com a very misleading name, actualy Icet.
Some of thier stuff is realy nice, why the Murano tag?
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Having transgoogled some of the text, the original glassworkers were brought from Italy in 1957, hence the link
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Another one of the forgeries is being sold on eBay out of the Netherlands. The number is 130139968637 (I think it is okay to post the number because it is not a ligitimate Murano).
Unfortunately, I noticed that the buyer in the original link of this thread left positive feedback about the forged vase. The seller was notified it was a forgery, so maybe they worked out a reduced price. I never heard back from him after he said he was going to contact the Bianconis.
Anita
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Oh dear, and he quotes the original sale.
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Interesting that the signatures are different.