Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => Murano & Italy Glass => Topic started by: Missc on October 24, 2008, 02:17:05 PM
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Hi, I am brand new to the board. I have been buying what I think is murano glass and will try to get photos later to ask you about my pieces. Some I have found on other murano sites where they sell it so that may be a good thing.
I just got a piece from E-bay. It's a very heavy bowl in an unusual deep orange/cantaloupe color on the outside with some pretty nice large bubbles in it, with a dark green glass and light gold dust swirls inside. On the outside it is cased in clear glass. I'll post pictures of it later. Anyway, it arrived well packed but it has what looks like a 3" crack UNDER the clear glass casing on the outside. It is far from the top, inside the polish so you cannot feel or see anything at the top of the glass (like a crack line). I was really, really bummed out when I saw this. It wasn't in the description so I thought maybe it happened en route. I let the seller know and I am waiting to hear from him but even with the flaw, I don't want to send it back. It's such a pretty color. It's ugly and pretty at the same time. I doubt this is vintage though. While it is very heavy, I feel it is probably modern. At any rate, I would like to know WHAT you call that kind of crack. I called it a stress crack...It certainly stressed me out.
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hi there,
i think the type of crack you mention can be done at the time of manufacture,
or like me its been put under a hot tap, realizing the mistake I then put it under the cold tap.
After ruining the piece, I just stood there in disbelief that I had dome such a stupid thing.
I have a lovely dancer figurine that has this crack under the glass, luckily at the back, I assumed its a fault at time of making.
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Such a large crack is unlikely to have been there when it left the factory. These cracks are stresses in the glass that have not been removed by healing, in cased pieces these are often seen in only one layer of the glass.
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Glass sometimes cracks itself. I've read that sometimes it occurs during annealing or sometimes later due to a flaw in the glass or incompatibility of abutting glass types. I am not a glassmaker, so I don't know first hand what causes the cracks. If the crack was not described, I would return the bowl to the seller. If you are like me, the crack will be the only thing you will ever see in the bowl. It was unfair to pass a problem piece to you without your knowledge. A crack is a crack, no matter when it occurs.
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... have not been removed by healing....
Of course I meant annealing ;D
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I thought this was going to be a post about drugs education from the title....
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I'm afraid this time it is another vice -- undisclosed damage. :o I know how Missc feels. I bought 4 things off eBay in the last 2-3 weeks. Three of them had undisclosed damage. It is so disappointing to look forward to something, only to feel those sharp points or see the breaks. Sellers like these, whether missing the damage was accidental or intentional, certainly do a lot of damage to eBay.
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quoted from Conservation of Stained Glass in America " ITERNAL STRESSES IN GLASS ARE BY AND LARGE INVISIBLE AND UNPREDICTABLE. ANNEALING CRACKS, THOSE CAUSED BY HEATING OR COOLING, CAN APPEAR AT ANY TIME THE GLASS IS PUT UNDER STRESS. SOMETIME THEY CAN BE CAUSED BY CHEMICAL IMBALANCES IN THE MELT."
"GLASS THAT HAS BEEN EXPOSED TO A FIRE WILL ALSO DEVELOP ANNEALING CRACKS. WHILE MANY WILL DEVELOPE THE CRACKS WITHIN DAYS IT MAY CONTINUE FOR YEARS AFTER THE FIRE"
That being said the cracks under the surface of your glass could have come from the stresses of traveling to you. The shipper may never have known they were there when listing.
Just as the member who exposed hers to hot water. For differing mixes of glass needed different annealing (read heating and cooling)times. when re-heated your glass you inadvertantly cause change that timing, hence new cracks. Your very lucky it didn't explode like some kitchen ware does at times.
my two cents as a stained glass artist.
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I agree at 100%. The crack can run inside the glass, often very slowly, sometime faster or it may collapse.
May be the seller didn't see any damange before packing.
It is so sad when a nice piece cames out from the annealing oven with a crack inside... but more sad when the piece looks perfect :), you put on the table and you can hear a wrong sound... :spls: and the crack is hidden somewhere :'(
Ciao
Alex
www.artofvenice.com (http://www.artofvenice.com)
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:fwr: I want to really thank all of you for your help. I contacted the seller and she refunded me more than half of the price. It is indeed a large crack that may have happened during shipping or in a weakness in the glass. I don't know if anyone will ever read this but I really appreciate the time that everyone took to answer me.
I'm a teacher and at that point, I was getting really swamped at work and never got back to the board until now (12/20). I didn't think anyone would answer. I was so wrong.
In the past month or so, I've bought some glass that I will need help identifying. I hope you can all help me. I'm totally out of money and cannot afford the gorgeous books that are out there until maybe a year or so down the line.
Again, thank you so much for your help.
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I have to confess that I have a place in my collection for glass that is flawed. For example, I have a quite early (1948) Kraka vase in a shape I don't see too often. It's almost a fabulous piece, apart from a crack similar to the one you describe running around the neck. I love looking at the piece, marvelling at the genius that went into the design and execution. Also, I'm secretly (or used to be until now) a little proud that I only paid $9.95 on eBay. (It was accurately described, btw.) And I still keep pieces of a giant Gro Bergslien plate that broke in the mail. So, if one would love it if it were perfect, surely there should be a little room in one's heart for perfection's blemished cousin.
David
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I couldn't part with the piece. I am attaching a couple of photos. It was one of my first pieces and I really like it. Later I bought a gorgeous yellow piece with toffee tones and large bubbles that seemed to be Seguso and it arrived smashed to bits in the mail. I only paid $13 for it but again, it was not the price but the feeling the piece gave to me. I didn't keep it though, too many curious kittens around.
Also, the names on my pictures are only what I think they might be, not what they are unless there is a label on the piece (of which I only have a couple). So this could be a generic piece unless someone tells me otherwise. I don't mind. Again, it's more for the feeling. I did buy a couple of pieces that I did pay more for so in that case, it would be nicer to have confirmation that I didn't throw my money away! But that's the gamble a novice like me takes!
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It looks like a very nice piece. It's really hard to get a positive attribution on a piece like this, as many companies made similar pieces. Probably any of the good companies could have made this, as they all had the technical expertise, and it's not a particularly individual design. The important thing is whether you like it and whether it's a quality piece. I can't answer the first part but it looks like it's good quality, something that Barbini or Galliano Ferro might have made.
It's easy to disparage eBay, and there are certainly some very reputable dealers around. However, I think this is great time to be starting a glass collection as I see some real bargains on eBay. What looked like a Barbini basket went for $29.00 last week, and a signed Luigi Onesto sommerso vase went for about $30.00. You have to trust your eye, not the seller's attribution, but do ask if there any chips, flea bites, or scratches. And you have to be prepared to make the occasional mistake.
Good luck.
David
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Thanks so much. I agree about having to be willing to make a few mistakes. I hope I am developing more of an "eye" for things as I go. But that still means I gamble all the time. It's a toss up if you can't really sit with the documentation and confirm things. One thing that is really nice is that there is the label library and one on Fossilfly too. Those are big bookmarks for me. Anyway, one thing I am really happy about is that I have had good luck so far on E-bay as far as decent sellers. The people here are excellent too and that is very comforting.
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We have a reference collection of labels as well over on GlassGallery, it's the dedicated image hosting for the board. Feel free to explore it. :) http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/
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Thanks so much. There is a lot of great information I have yet to discover! As you can see, I am up late going through all kind of info.
Lisa
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Hi, got permission to use the photos as my own. Thanks,
Lisa
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It's horrible when one returns home with a piece that one thought of as perfect when bought, then displays a crack within the glass. This happened to me at the auction! I bought a beautiful piece of Davidsons Yellow Vaseline, which to my knowledge was perfect on viewing, only to find a huge two cm crack WITHIN the glass when I unpacked at home. The crack couldn't be felt on the inside or outside of the glass, so all I can think is that I missed the fault at viewing, (which I find highly unlikely), or it happened through stress of being handled in the interim time of viewing to bidding. Whatever, I will just turn the crack round out of sight until sometime in the future, when I can replace the piece. It's annoying, but a risk one takes when buying vintage glass.
B
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Hi it could be a stress crack, because when you combine different glasses as well as metalic powders they all contract and cool at different rates and there could be some very powerful stresses built up. I blow glass and have had several of my experimental pieces blow apart some time after they were blown. Sometimes you may see this type of cracking in paperweights as they are made in layers as well.
regards Bruce w. Thurston
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I bought a beautiful piece of Davidsons Yellow Vaseline, which to my knowledge was perfect on viewing, only to find a huge two cm crack WITHIN the glass when I unpacked at home.
B
Hi B, is this the yellow pearline glass? Pearline seems to be susceptible to cracking - I wonder why it is? Most of the pieces I find have a crack through them, including my lovely Davidson basket (but for £1 I decided I could live with the crack as it's so beautiful!) :)
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Hi Ann
Yes it's the yellow pearline: a small oval with the two arms crossing. I am never quite sure what is genuine and fake in the pearline. Of course if the item has the registration number, then I consider it's genuine but if not!!!! According to an acquaintance who has a huge collection of pearline, there are so many fakes "out there", it's becoming difficult to tell especially without the reg no!! But I am no expert on pearline so in the meantime, I will treat mine as genuine and turn the crack to the wall :-\
Mine cost £11.25p with crack :cry:
B
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I've never heard of pearline fakes. There is certainly modern American "pearline", but generally not in vintage patterns or if so clearly marked. Can you elaborate please.
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According to my acquaintance, the “fakes” are coming from China and are so good, it’s difficult to know the difference. The lady in question showed me what she considered genuine as opposed to a fake and I have to say, the “fake” looked more sparkly and new compared to the genuine. But whether what she says is true or not, I just don’t know! This lady works the entire antique fairs in my area so I just give her the benefit of experience until I am told any different.
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Hi B, like Christine I've not heard of the Pearline fakes either but anything's possible I suppose. It sounds like an area someone needs to explore.
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Seems unlikely that it would actually be uranium glass: I haven't seen any Chinese uranium glass. In my experience sparkle does not relate to newness in glass, rather to lack of dust and nicotine stains. Perhaps you could take some photos for us.
Are we talking blue or yellow pearline. Perhaps your friend is confused by items that weren't actually reheated to achieve the pearline edges; these too are genuine.
Anne, perhaps this bit should be split off