Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: dorian_graye on January 01, 2010, 04:45:55 PM
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This vase is a bit of an oddity. The glass is so thick, it looks like ceramic at first sight. It is very heavy and appears to be of a higher quality than slag glass, but it might be just that. The fluted top is uneven in shape. I don't know if that means that this was blown by hand or not. There are no markings. I thought the shape of the vase looked like it may be from the 30's or 40's, but the color of the glass seems a bit too bright for that era. It measures 26.67 cm tall and the fluted rim measures 17.78 cm in diameter.
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If it is glass, it is mould blown and then the top is hand-shaped. It is opaque glass, if glass. Quality has nothing whatsoever to do with whether it is slag glass or not. See http://www.glassencyclopedia.com/slagglass.html
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Thanks for your reply lustrous. I actually read the site your referenced before i posted the thread. But thank you for your suggestion!
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Hmm, wonder why you thought it might be slag glass then :huh:
And my name is Christine, as you can see from my sig
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Most slag glass that has passed through my hands over the years has been marbelized and feels of inferior quality, likely because of it's utilitarian nature. I've not come across opaque glass of this kind and it's dramatic color and heft make it feel quite superior.
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From the pictures it looks like your vase may be lattimo (milk glass) that is stained or flashed yellow. It appears to be mold blown, then hand-worked, but I am a novice on glassmaking techniques. It could have been made in several countries. If it is heavy, my first thoughts would be Italy, Poland, the USA, or the Orient. That about covers the world, so I know it isn't very helpful.
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That's an interesting thought. I've not heard of that method pertaining to milk glass. I'm constantly scouring the thrift shops here. Milk glass is so common, it's a wonder why the shops even bother to keep it around. It's mostly clutter. I'm not sure if there are levels if quality among companies that produced milk glass, but I would put it in the same category as slag glass. Most of that type of glass that I've come across has seams all over it from the mold process. I may be wrong, but I'm just speaking from experience. I guess if you held this piece in your hands, the quality may seem more evident.
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In North America, milk glass is commonly thought of as the pressed glass pieces made by many of the companies in the 20th Century. In Italy, lattimo is a staple of some of the better furnaces. I've read the two have the same basic chemistry, but the handling of the glass makes the difference. Some of the finest Murano glass was made using lattimo and gold by the masters of the Barovier companies, Barbini, and Fratelli Toso. Definitely not junk glass.
I would love to read more about the chemistry of milk glass and if it the same as lattimo. So much of what I read is off of the internet, so it is not refereed, so may not be correct. We have a couple of glass chemistry experts on the group, so maybe someone can say more definitely than I can.
I do want to add that I find most glass is made beautiful with the proper handling. Some of the prettiest vases I have seen are Bristol glass. The glass itself may be light and inexpensive, but in the hands of the right decorators, the glass turns into a canvas for beautiful landscapes.
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That is beautiful.
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I'm constantly scouring the thrift shops here.
Where is here? Might help to know location.
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There's no point in comparing molded glass (slag, milk or otherwise) with blown glass. They are just different.
Weight or "heft" as you put it should not be taken, in itself, as a sign of superior quality either. In this case its purely the result of the size of the piece and the thickness of the glass. Though there is skill in successfully manipulating very large red-hot semi-molton glass blobs on the end of a long rod !!
The Czechs were making bright yellow, in "tango" styles, back in the 30s.
I have come across several items with wobbly rims in bright colours, a couple with a similar base profile to this. One was yellow but not quite as opaque. All were mold blown and of suspect quality in various ways. I have suspected for some years that they are Japanese but I have absolutely no proof whatsoever. I had thought from the late 1940s to early 70s. The quality of finish of many other (non-glass) Japanese products of that period is also often lacking.
Yellow is a highly culturally significant colour in China. I don't know if that applies to Japan as well.