Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass Animals & Figurines => Topic started by: Dawn Foley on December 31, 2009, 04:31:55 PM
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I would be very grateful for any help in identifying a glass animal that was given to me by my grandmother. I have no idea how old it is and can find nothing else like it. I have posted some images here:
http://www.whitefriarsartglass.com/whitefriars/cat.html
Thank you.
Kind regards,
~Dawn~
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Possibly Lauscha, but an almost anywhere... 1900s-1930s
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Thank you for your reply Frank - I would be very grateful for any suggestions of recommended links to research this further. Unfortunately a high percentage of Google links on Lauscha seem to lead to current day Christmas decorations.
Regards,
~Dawn~
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Can we be sure it is glass? Why does it have "rusty looking" markings in many of the joins and particularly in the recesses of the ears and around the eyes? Normal age-dirt on glass does not look so "metallic".
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It is glass Kev, look at the way the bits go together. I have gathered a few of these old ones and the dirt is typical.
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Japan is another possibility I think for the opaque glass ones
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Thanks to everyone for the comments - I've spent hours looking for something similar with your suggestions but haven't found anything similar or recognisable yet, so any further suggestions would be welcome.
The piece is very dirty - I have never attempted to clean it and it has spent it's life packed in cotton wool, so it remains as it was given to me many years ago. I might attempt some warm water and washing up liquid with cotton buds later!! :)
Does anyone know if this might be a cat or mouse?
Thanks,
Regards,
~Dawn~
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Glass animals are very difficult to ID. They are simple to make, as they only require glass rods and a hot flame, so who knows...
I might go with cat as he is black, standing up and has a relatively short tail, but again, who knows.
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Still say it looks like a mouse ;D
Chris
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... LOL! ;D
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A good way to clean stuff like this is a soak in biological washing liquid - it's better than washing up liquid for organic based muck.
Jury is out on whether it's a cat or mouse, though.
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That's a good idea - I've not heard that one before. It's probably better than having to rub on a very old piece - I'll try it. Thanks.
~Dawn~
PS) Love your tag line - made me laugh! ;D
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Hi Dawn. Fill your sink with hot water(not boiling)then add a well recognised dishwasher tablet until it dissolves, then soak your cat overnight, in the morning it should come out sparkling.
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Oh, horrors! You don't bathe cats and mice. You have to lick them clean. :P
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Just to comment on BAINSY's suggestion, don't use a dishwasher tab as this can damage the glass. While, in the dishwasher, it is the action of the water and the chemicals together that scour the glass, the chemicals are damaging in themselves.
Secondly, you should never put glass you don't want to crack into hot water, even if it's not boiling.
Instead, try dissolving denture tabs in luke warm water, and leaving overnight.
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Tsk, it is clearly a dancing bear.
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Longest darn tail I've ever seen on a bear.
I vote for rat. The eyes and pupils are round.
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Ill have to disagree with you Cathy, i have always used dishwasher tablets to clean my glass, and have never damaged a piece, soaking it slowly dissolves the tablet rather than blasting it in the dishwasher. There are hundreds of ways to clean your glass, and everyone has their own way, i might have to try your way of using a denture tab, see how that works. :)
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Is he not Felix the faMOUSE cartoon cat , i believe he was also in a comic way back even before my time the 1920s . ;D ::)
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JP ,
just had a look, Felix had a black nose and white soles of his feet, and his face was rounder.
On the topic of dishwasher tablets, im glad i popped in, i just thought id try Bainsys idea and put one
in a large Murano vase, 10 mins later , ive seen Cathys post ,
so i will err on the side of caution , and have emptied it out. Ive kept the liquid and will try it on
something else, not quite so special!
Cheers all,
Andy
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I'll stick with biological washing liquid. It uses enzymes which become active at low temperatures and target organic muck only.
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Thanks Sue,
I usually use Fairy non -Bio,
but keep a bottle of Biological, for those 'more difficult to remove stains' ::)
so i will try it on my glass
;D
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I'm horribly allergic to bio stuff - I keep it for glass only - with rubber gloves.
I also keep distilled water (I grow insect-eating plants which require this) and I use it for the final rinse in decanters and bottles, before putting in a "wick" of kitchen roll.
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I wash a good many dirty animals. I just let them come to room temperature, then wash them in romm temp water with normal dishwashing detergent. The dirt build-up on them is rarely corrosive or crystallized, so it usually washes off with no problem. Occasionally I have to finish with a wet swab to get some crevice grime that didn't come clean.
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Andy i believe the Felix with the black nose and fat face were later cartoons but the early silent movie one was more like Dawns , over the years they have changed him to make him more attractive the early one used to frighten the life out of some kids , imagine the 20s dim light, films that flickerd , lights out in the room and that ugly critter that sort of thing scared kids not like todays brats . There have been many variations.
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Hi JP,
i think its a very good possibility, the internet and media were not as good in those days!
;D
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Thanks Andy what internet and what media ? ::) :chky:
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Of the pieces we have that I am pretty certain of, that this cat is Japanese.
Jack
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Thank you to everyone for your comments and suggestions - I've been reading and searching for your suggested leads. I never realised that this would be so difficult to identify! I've yet to find anything that looks just like it, so I will just have to leave the cat-bear-rat-mouse-thing on the shelf looking pretty until something similar appears to compare! Mind you, half the fun is all the other things you come across while you are looking! :)
Thanks.
~Dawn~