Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: jonchellycain on July 03, 2009, 11:26:43 AM
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Hi there
ive been collecting glass from all of Michael Harris ventures for a few years now, mainly IOW and Mdina and have been fortunate enough to find some really nice and rare pieces. I bought this one a few weeks back at a boot sale for £10.
For those of you who have Mark Hills book on Michael Harris turn to page 41 ;D. The best way to descibe it is like a small textured vase which has been pulled down at the top into a dish/ashtray, It has a square base which is smooth and polished (no signiature), the bit thats baffling me a bit is there is a blue streak inside which i havent seen in Mdina before its more opaque than the normal blue, the actual colour is more like the blue used in blue and white swirl for IOW glass..it may just be an optical thing and im seeing more than what is there.
Does anybody have any idea on the age of this, ive put it down in my head as being an early 70's piece, but would like a couple of opinions. Ive seen a few of the bottles but never one in this shape before.
7.5cms tall, corner to corner 15.5cms 12.5cms by 13.25cms 560g
many thanks
michelle
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Hi Michelle, what is the size at the base?
John.
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its 7cms by 7.25cms
michelle
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The two textured vase I have here are about 7.5 cm square on the base so that is about right.
The technique for making the textured vases and bottles involves fusing a separate piece of glass for the rim with the glass for the body of the piece (gathering on the post) before blowing it into the mould. The neck would then be shaped and smoothed with more trips to the furnace (I think the book does a better job of explaining it than me). A complicated and involved sounding process with plenty of chances for things to go haywire (slumping etc). I wonder if your bowl was made using an adaptation of this method?
I wonder what Sue (Chopin-Liszt) thinks about it?
John.
Also, textured vases came with flat polished bases as well as some with polished pontil marks.
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Ron at Artius glass is your man. http://www.artiusglass.co.uk
Mike www.abfabglass.co.uk
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The first thing i though was i wonder if they where trying to make one of the vases/bottles and it went wrong so changed the shape.
I know they tried very hard not to have any wastage and seconds where not really known of as such, it was all just sold, unless to badly disformed and so on, i.e if it started colapsing beyond repair on one side, he just pulled down the other sides to form the bowl/ashtray, then it could still be sold instead of having to start again
I believe Michael made alot of these textured vases as they where so tricky. It looks great in my collection whatever it may be, i only have one other in the textured range (i stupidly sold a quite a few piece, years ago) and that is a 21cms round texture vase in earthtones, the same as on page 53
michelle
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I have spoken to Ron about quite a few pieces of my collection before, but havent got round to emailing him this one yet. He and Mark Hill gave me some good advise on some blue and white swirl i have in my collection.
michelle
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Ive just emailed Ron, so hopefully he will take a look on here soon
Michelle
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Would love to see any photos of your blue and white, did I read somewhere you have a charger in that colourway? :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
John.
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yes its absolutly gorgeous also have a globe vase which i picked up for £5 at a car boot sale, although paid a little more for the charger at £400 at a charity auction last year.
I will get some picture on here, i presume the best place would be British glass, I must say made Mark Hill slightly green :mrgreen: when i got it ;D
It has a nice layer of dust on it at the moment as im too scared to pick it up.. i had to walk about a mile to my car with it when i bought it and i carried it as though my life depended on it ;D.
Im a work from 3.15 today untill 9am monday so will get them on when i get back
michelle
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Sue (chopin-liszt), who was discussing the Mdina on another thread, is also a Mdina expert worth asking, her collection is huge
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Texture's absolutely right - I've not seen one with a wavy rim before though, or one this short.
This expression >:( "made on the post" >:( is one which should really be confined to the bin.
An initial gather of glass is blown, which forms the rim/neck, then the bubble is partially cased in more glass, which is then put in the textured mould. There is no other way of producing these pieces. I've discussed this with Ron and he agrees.
I'm not sure where your blue streak actually is.
Is it the bit in the glass, swirling around the outside of the vase in the last picture?
That bit looks, to me at any rate, like one of the "escaped" trails of silver salt gas, which has ended up inside another casing - it can give this effect.
I don't know if you're wondering if it's some of the single cobalt blue pot which was melted at Mdina, as in the faceted inside-outs. I think I might need to get my mitts on it to tell. :-\
Blue and white charger? IoWSG? I'd love to see it!
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The deep cobalt blue (single pot at Mdina) is the same shade of blue as was used in Seaward pieces at IoWSG. I don't have a blue and white piece to compare - have you any Seaward?
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Now just home from work, will get some pictures of my charger and globe in blue and white swirl and pop them into British glass
michelle
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here is the link to my blue and white IOW pieces http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,27429.new.html#new
hope you enjoy
michelle
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Chelly, you were asking for pics of my stuff - I've put this image of my main stitting-room shelves here, in Glass, as it's a lot of Mdina as well as IoWSG. It's not a great pic, and it was taken a few years ago (in artificial light) - the shelves look rather bare.... but it does show how well a lot of it looks together.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b227/chopin-liszt/bigglassdisplay.jpg
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O..M..G whoa!!!! :o thats alot of glass!!! that is absolutly amazing :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: my collection looks complety teeny compared to yours...the shelves look bare?? where??. wow no im blithering that is amazing what a beautiful collection you have.. one day (she says) i may have a collection to rival yours ;D, i reckon it may put a great big hole in my bank balance though, because im never gonna be lucky enough to find that lot on a car boot sale :24: im yet to get my hands on a fish vase, i will one day!!. I very intrigued by the jug, far left shelves second down in the centre, i dont believe i have ever seen a piece like that before its gorgeous.
I have a 4 year (very boisterous) son so my collection is all inside cabinets or on top of things so space is a little in demand in my house...plus we collect all different sorts of glass and my partner collects glass fish and west german pottery (we only have a 3 bed bungalow really need a mansion) ive also spotted your onion vases another of my favourites, i spotted one at a fair once the guy had £18 on but i just couldnt get there quick enough somebody grabbed it right in front of me..i could have cried.
michelle
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The jug is a gorgeous piece - I believe it's a Boffo. Got it from fleabay, all of £12.
;)I don't collect expensive small humans, and the "property boom" never hit Dundee - when this recession hit, we were still in Thatcher's '80s one.
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yes i decided not to collect small humans after the first one, i will keeps this one for a few years though, although believe there have been many times i wish i could see him on ebay >:D. we live in ely which is unfortunitly close to Cambridge so house prices are pretty high here. My mum was very shocked when i told her how much the charger cost and i said i dont smoke i dont drink and im not into designer bags/shoes/clothes so it was my treat to myself, plus i highly doubt i will ever lose money on it.. better than money in the bank i reckon (fortunitly my partner agree's with me, and has now also got a bit of a passion for glass).
If i'd have spotted that jug, i would have been bidding against you, i really like that one, from the picture it looks quite deco influenced with the shape of the handle
michelle
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:-[
I forgot to bid on the jug first time round - got it on it's second listing - but it was a long time ago.
Got pics of it on it's own.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b227/chopin-liszt/boffojug2.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b227/chopin-liszt/Boffojug1.jpg
I've just taken a pic of the shelves again - but the lighting is awful. A huge sickamore (sic) tree outside blocks all my light. I used flash, but it's still all wrong.
I've shifted a few bits around, and moved everything off one shelf-block to put most of my "various artists early Studio glass" pieces on it.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b227/chopin-liszt/more%20glass/wallshelves2.jpg
Seaward bottle. Still doesn't come out too well.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b227/chopin-liszt/more%20glass/Seawardbottle1.jpg
I'd agree with you completely about your glass not loosing it's value - your charger is by Michael Harris, I'm pretty sure, as Tim and Jonathan weren't quite able to do things like that then, I don't think.
Not only that, there's the absolute joy you get from it on a daily basis. :thup: