Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: Andy on October 30, 2009, 01:58:44 PM
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Its been a funny old week, i was meant to have been under the Surgeons scalpel yesterday,
having an ankle operation, but the Doctor has done his back in ::) , so all prepared, stocked up,
ready to take it easy for a month or 2, and now uh, seem to have time on my hands , good news,
went to an auction that i would have missed yesterday, and got this super 12" Bark Mdina bottle c 1970
I dont think they come up for sale very often, (dont mind saying, paid £75, quite happy with that)
Heres some photos, the label is quite interesting ;D (any info on it, welcome)
Its a big lump, must have filled someones suitcase !
Cheers
Andy
8)
ps a good tip, needed a good clean inside and out, i covered the label with a waterproof elastoplast ;D
pps just noticed a blue one on ebay, first ive seen for ages! ::)
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Lucky You!! And is that a Crizzle stone beside it?
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Yes,
the crizzle stone loves to have its photo taken for size comparisons and just showing off :thup:
Cheers
Andy
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Nice find. :mrgreen:
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Hi Andy,
Nice bottle, I have several of these in a variety of sizes. Haven't seen the label on yours before, however, your bottle seems to be a good color, this particular coloration usual dictates earlier production. These more subtle colors are usually more early than some of the stronger more vibrant colors that are around. Also well worth the price you paid. Hope you enjoy the glass, all the best, Greg
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Label looks like a retailer label perhaps?
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Thanks all,
I presume it was the retail outlet they used in the capital, Valetta.
Coincidentally, ive just noticed Mdina glass was at Ta ' Qali in Malta and doing a bit of
googling, i realise in 1993 , i was at the small countries olympic games with my sister who worked for Mars,
a sponsor of these games, and went to the National stadium in Ta qali, a stones throw from Mdina glass,
but at that time, i was not aware of their existence !
Small world
Andy
;D
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ps a good tip, needed a good clean inside and out, i covered the label with a waterproof elastoplast ;D
Sounds like a good idea but only if none of the sticky part touched the label. This or using selotape could be a no-no for paper labels, especially if left on for long periods of time. As well as the glue damaging the label if removed the glue is usually acidic and will turn paper brown or worse. You can get acid free tape but it is still a potentially risky process as it may not be reversible.
Apologies for ranting on and on.
John
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John,
youre right, it was a large piece , nothing sticky touching the label, and i tried to avoid getting the
base wet anyway. I wouldnt have immersed it in water!
Andy
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Nice piece. I haven't seen one in this colourway before. The typical blue/green is much more common in this shape, but as they were a studio glass company there's (probably) no end to variations. Yes, the label is indeed for a retailer. Mdina Glass supplied a small number of retailers/gift shops on Malta, most being in Valletta. I need to check my notes, but there was one company, Malta Industries, set up by an English guy called Strickland who distributed and sold quite a bit of their stock. They're likely to have had labels made as they were large enough. I've also been told that the Boffo brothers produced small animals and other whimsical pieces for sale at a shop in Valletta.
There appear to have been three moulds used for these textured vases, each of which were made by 'gathering on the post', ie; using a gather that becomes the neck/rim as a core piece, over which the glass that becomes the body is gathered. The three moulds comprise; the one used for this shape, the one used for the smaller vases with a cylindrical open collar neck (the width and depth of the body is smaller), and finally a larger rectangular form that seems to be much rarer than the previous two. An example is for sale on eBay now (item 250522020567) and can also be seen on p40 of my book.
Best,
Mark
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There's another one available on ebay - 200399920223.
Suzy
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Just goes to show that collecting is sometimes like waiting for a bus...
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The sellers, rachela8770, of the second oblong bark bottle have a larger than norm vase (10.25'' [26cms] tall, 4.25''[10.7cms] diameter) that looks great too - pic on the same listing as bark bottle, ebay item No - 200399920223.
Suzy
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Just a query about the 2 oblong Bark vases that are on ebay at the mo. One has a broken pontil and the other has a ground one ( a la Boffo). Does this indicate a difference in date, is it because the broken pontil one's neck looks a bit wonky and therefore a second?
Suzy
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Variations in the finish of the base are fairly random, Suzy, it simply depended on how busy they were and whether or not somebody had the time to do a more time-consuming finish.
I believe the oblong ones are far more unusual than the other tall ones, they also seem to be highly individual in how the neck is constructed - I have one with a straightish neck, and another with an extra sort of rounded lump around the rim.
There is a 10.75" tall amethyst bottle illustrated on p.41 of the book. I have a very tall one, but, right now, there is no way I'm going up a ladder to retrieve it to measure its height! I broke a retired Denby mug yesterday, I'm not feeling too good and am very clumsy and dizzy, and though I'm not superstitious, I ain't taking ANY risks with it. It is absolutely glorious, with masses of iridescence.
This is only the third amethyst one I've seen, counting mine and the one in the book.
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Thanks for the help and interest on this one, its taken pride of place in my Mdina collection,
thanks Mark, for the info, and on how it was made ;)
Just a thought, the whitefriars bark vases, i believe were made in a mould with real bark, so i presume
they are all a bit different, would Harris/Boffos used real bark, or just a bark shaped mould, so shapes
would be all the same ;D
Cheers
Andy
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I think all WF bark vases were made in moulds of bark texture, to be honest. They're all got the same texture as far as I have seen!
Michael Harris first used a bark texture at Rogaska Sklo, in '64, following in the footsteps of Timo Sarpaneva.
ps, In conversations with Ron recently, we've decided we're not going to use the "gathering on the post" term any more - it's a confusing sort of expression.
We're going to use the phrase "partially-cased" instead.
I got close enough to measure another blue one of mine which is the same size as my amethyst one - it's a 12", same as this.
There are images of these amethyst textured bottles in the pictures of the shop front in the book, pp24-25.
Still not trusting myself to lift or move anything to get in at it
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Hi Sue,
in the Whitefriars book, Lesley Jackson, theres a picture of Geoffrey Baxter, working with Bark,
and a pic of a three-part wooden pattern mould lined with tree bark.
Page 89, figs 228 and 229
It says in the text, Initally moulds made of wood, with some metal components, subsequently, the wooden
pattern was used to create a durable cast iron mould.
Cheers
Andy
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Wf isn't really my thing, but I'd imagine there aren't that many early bits which had been made using real bark around. As the bark gets burned when it is used, a mould would have to be newly made for each vase, and each vase would be different - it wouldn't fit into the catalogues properly and would get folk confused into thinking they were more new fakes because they don't fit the correct designated shape.
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It seems to me that real bark would be incinerated with contact with the hot glass, creating nothing but a real mess.
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Real bark has been used, Ron - (boy, was I confused there for a moment, but you're in the US, you're not Ron Wheeler!).
It was used by Timo Sarpanevea in his original bark textured bottles.
The glass cools in contact with the bark, thus becoming more solid (obviously) and I would imagine the bark would be well dampened to give it some initial fire-proofing.
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Sue's spot on, real bark has been used in moulds by Michael Harris, Timo Sarpaneva, Geoffrey Baxter, Tim Harris (last year at the exceptional Studio Day), and many others! It is indeed dampened quite considerably, and certain bark is better than others. As the hot glass hits it, you get a belch of steam, and the surface is changed (burnt) each time, meaning each subsequent piece takes on a different (and lesser) texture. For 'production' pieces, such as Whitefriars' pieces, textured steel moulds were made to ensure consistency. Experiments were carried out with wood/bark/even nail lined moulds. It's also not just the texture of the mould that affects the texture of the final piece - the glass has to be at the right temperature and blown well into the mould to pick up the best level of texture. Furthermore, even metal moulds wear down after time....
Many points to consider!
Mark