Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: Anne on August 10, 2008, 01:00:25 AM
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(With thanks to Della for suggesting the subject line as I had no idea what to call it!)
This vase has me puzzled. It was filthy and needed a good soak and some gentle scrubbing to get it clean. Now clean, I can see it is pale green glass with silver (mica?) inclusions, the whole being cased in clear glass outside. Inside it feels bumpy from the inclusions. Outside is smooth.
Height: 5" (127mm), Diameter: 3¾" (95mm) across the top, 5½" (140mm) across its widest part,
Top rim is cut flat and ground, not polished, as if it should have a top cap or grill on it, but there are no scratches to the glass where this would have sat.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to how old it might be and any thoughts on maker please?
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A close of the 'mica' would be interesting
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My guess by process of elimination would be French 1930's. No idea of maker. Ed.
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It's quite difficult to get the "mica" to show up properly as it reflects the light, but on the large version of the whole vase you can see the speckles of it and I've tried to get a closeup as well - see below, also a view of the top.
They are definitely silver flakes rather than grains/granules, and not gold or copper like I've seen in other glass.
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Mica is iridescent and translucent, embedded in glass it looks like silver. But silver flakes could also be used, chopped up bits of silver foil. Comparing the two the difference is obvious. Often sheets of silver are used and these break into smaller pieces as the parison is blown, but you can still see the straight edges of the sheet. Quite commonly found in Italian with both gold and silver being used. But if chopped up for marvering then it becomes much harder to tell. Mica has a longish crystalline structure/graining but silver will be totally smooth.
French, German or Bohemian seem possible, to me, for the piece.
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looks like a rose vase with its grill missing, and in that case I would go with Bohemian, perhaps Kralik. Not French - I've never come across this shape in France.
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Just wondering, bear with me, Gold Leaf is gold , i presume , as you can get White Gold,
you can get White Gold Leaf ;D
Not suggesting its used in this vase, just trying to think out loud!
Andy
;)
Here we go,
http://www.habberleymeadows.co.uk/products.htm
lots of different kinds, i wonder if any used in glass manufacture? I would presume so.
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Thanks for the thoughts, yes Ivo I think it should have a grill of some kind but it looks like that was removed early in its life as there wasn't a scuff mark of a tide mark where one would have been. I wondered about Kralik but thought they were fancier than this... not that I know anything about Kralik at all (was just an impression I'd formed!)
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I had similar thoughts Anne.
This looks plainer, simpler, heavier and finer than Kralik or Bohemian generally of this shape.
The collar looks deeper and the base looks solid. Bohemian bun feet are most often hollow. I won't say always.
I don't recall seeing mica used in Bohemian of the period, even going back to the turn of the century. Nothing indexed in either Truitt's for "Mica" or "spangle". I've even had a look through to be sure.
I have found a photo of a fancy vase attributed to Boh/Czech with mica. However it's colours look brash, it's shape exaggerated & and it's rim carelessly over-frilled. Despite the black rim I am unconvinced. It lies at the opposite end of the taste spectrum to Anne's vase so, all in all, probably not helpful.
I usually associate mica with earlier, Victorian Vasa Murrhina and Fenton's 1960's-80's homages. Maybe Fenton ?
A quick google shows that they have used mica with plain cased colours. Ed.
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Ed thanks for your thoughts. It's proving a real problem to pin down is this one. :-\
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As we have lots more people on the board since I posted this originally, I'm bumping it for fresh eyes. Any more thoughts please?
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Whilst mooching around on Jindrich's website I found a vase which looks to be the same colourway and technique which is shown there as designed by Mrs Vlasta Lichtagova c.1945 who worked as a designer at Skrdlovice glassworks. Could my vase be from the same source?
http://www.cs-sklo.cz/fotky6565/fotom/_f_627AntikaSmall.jpg
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:hi:
Is the foot part of body, or is it applied?
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My foot is part of the body, Sue, not added later.
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Anne:
The Skrdlovice one looks like pulegoso to me. I don't remember Skrdlovice ever doing mica inclusions, at least not at this date (pre-1950's). So I would say no the same maker or designer.
David
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For what it is worth, the piece strikes me strongly as Bohemian. ca 1920-1930
Craig
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David, thank you, that's helpful to know. I can't tell pulegoso as I've never seen it close up, but that was the closest in colour and appearance I've seen to mine so far. It 's going to be a process of elimination I think!
Craig, thank you, that supports what others have suggested earlier too. Bohemian is fine with me... I'd love to pin it down to a maker, especially given that it was in such a sad dirty state when I found it and it washed up beautifully. (Whatever it is, it was a bargain at 50p methinks.
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Ooooh I've just found this in an auction archive - same shape and similar colour but no inclusions, this one has extras added on though: http://www.papilio.cz/en/archiv.php?aukce=a20&pol=5774 so I think we're in the right area as Craig said above.
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Except that yours, Anne, has an integral foot and the one in the auction page seems not to be footed.
Also, to me, the auction page example appears to be "flatter" in the body, but that might just be an effect of the angle of the photo.
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Ahhh yes, I'd not spotted that Kev, as the angle is looking down on it so I couldn't see the base. :-[
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Black blob with red dot looks very Poschinger to me. Without that addition I would think Bohemian 1920s/30s is spot on. And I don't think you'll be able to pin it down to a maker - but congrats if you do.
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Just thought I would mention that the applied teardrops with a red spot on the auction piece are believed to be a marker for Kralik production.
Craig
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Craig, that one has the same shaped foot/base as mine but the body looks a little squatter than mine.
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Anne, I also have these images from ebay that the seller gave me permission to post here.... also posting another two in Mother of Pearl with the same tadpoles to strengthen the link to Kralik...... This orange one is closer in overall shape, but lacks the foot.... Kralik had tons of pieces they did in these ball vase shapes..... with and without a foot on them, and with and without flower frogs.....
Craig
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Thanks Craig, they are gorgeous! Mine doesn't have the tadpoles though sadly :( would that rule out Kralik, do you think?
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would that rule out Kralik, do you think?
Anne, No it would not.... They made much more in this family of shapes without tadpoles than with...... I will keep looking for some examples of theirs with the mint green in my image libraries...... Have not found any yet, but in the last 18 months I we have found many examples of their work not seen before, so I am not ruling them out at all... I likely suspect it is theirs..... but would like to link it with a more solid attribution.... I will post here if I find something that confirms it more....
Pretty piece of glass though.... I am generally not big on green glass, but I like this color and mica decor a lot......
Craig
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Craig, thank you. It's been sat on my shelf for the last 2½ years awaiting a name, so it won't hurt staying there incognito.
Even very grubby as it was, the colour and the silver looked interesting - and I have to say, I have nothing else like it!