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Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => British & Irish Glass => Topic started by: luckyslap on February 14, 2010, 03:20:35 PM

Title: Unknown Monart Shape
Post by: luckyslap on February 14, 2010, 03:20:35 PM
I hope this provides some interest to you all. I have just obtained a further addition to my perfume/ink bottle collection. It is 5.5" high including stopper and 3.25" square on the base(as square as it can be!). The label is pre war and the only distinguishing mark on it is a size code of VIII. The retailers label is Watsons China Shop Perth. The six pointed star on the stopper is a feature of another Shape IE bottle I already have so could it be a design feature over the full range of stoppered bottles/decanters/jars or possibly something restricted to those sold by Watsons? Obviously further examples may shed some light.
I look forward to your commemts :)

Keith
Title: Re: Unknown Monart Shape
Post by: johnphilip on February 14, 2010, 03:42:07 PM
WOWEEE JP  :thup: NICE
Title: Re: Unknown Monart Shape
Post by: Frank on February 14, 2010, 04:07:33 PM
Nice find Keith  :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Unknown Monart Shape
Post by: Kiwi Bill on February 21, 2010, 12:39:58 AM
I second Franks statement, a very nice piece indeed and a good find. :mrgreen:

KiwiBill
Title: Re: Unknown Monart Shape
Post by: KevinH on February 21, 2010, 01:23:04 AM
Quote
The six pointed star on the stopper is a feature of another Shape IE bottle I already have so could it be a design feature over the full range of stoppered bottles/decanters/jars or possibly something restricted to those sold by Watsons?

It might be the case that Watsons had a monopoly on "stars in stoppers" as a "special" Monart design. But the six-point star was definitely used by Paul Ysart in his paperweights, and many of those have features which date them to the 1930s period. So it might make sense to believe that the pre-war "stars in stoppers" were a forerunner to Paul's Star Pattern paperweights - or that the paperweights gave an inspiration to the stopper design!!

Perhaps all the stars were initially set in an outline mould but during working many slipped about, and that is certainly the appearance of the one in Keith's bottle, which also seems to show a star outline in mottled blue below the "untidy" parts of the aventurine.

So far, I have not seen or heard of a Star Pattern paperweight that could be attributed to Salvador and that may be an indication that only Paul worked with stars. But that is an unproven thought on my part and should be treated with a very open mind.

Paul's Star weights also had five points, so maybe that variation could also be found in pre-war stoppers?
Title: Re: Unknown Monart Shape
Post by: luckyslap on February 21, 2010, 10:50:41 PM
Thank you for your comments Kevin.I didn't think to look at any paperweights to assist me and I agree in this case the aventurine in the star is sparser than you might expect The other bottle stopper contains a much more"solid" star which I will try to post a picture of.

Keith
Title: Re: Unknown Monart Shape
Post by: chopin-liszt on February 25, 2010, 05:59:22 PM
 >:D

You are "lucky" indeed to have such a gorgeous beastie, Keith, and thanks Kev, for your fascinating thoughts.
 :thup:
Happily remembering you both from the conference in Perth!
Title: Re: Unknown Monart Shape
Post by: KevinH on February 25, 2010, 06:26:51 PM
And from a brief chat during at least one of the fairs at Gaydon, Sue. 8)
Title: Re: Unknown Monart Shape
Post by: chopin-liszt on February 25, 2010, 07:28:47 PM
Of course, Kev, but only Keith at the conference, and your talk there was the most interesting and memorable to me, so - that's where I always think of you.
That, and your lady wife's beautiful foil beads - because I have a passion for them too. :thup:
Title: Re: Unknown Monart Shape
Post by: KevinH on February 25, 2010, 09:57:40 PM
 ... and your lady wife's beautiful foil beads ... (http://... and your lady wife's beautiful foil beads ...)

Oooohhhh! What was I getting up to?
To the best of my knowledge I've never had a wife.
:spls:
Title: Re: Unknown Monart Shape
Post by: Frank on February 26, 2010, 12:11:45 AM
Perhaps we will all get to meet up in October again :thup: programme is near complete and wow, 32 talks or demos.... kick-off for registration very soon.
Title: Re: Unknown Monart Shape
Post by: chopin-liszt on February 26, 2010, 10:55:04 AM
 :-[ :-[ :-[

Clearly I'm confused Kev! Was there not a lady with you, pretty, shortish dark hair- and wearing (probably) Venetian foiled glass beads with millifiori bits? I'm sure the next day I deliberately wore a set of mine and asked you about the millifiori.
I may get people confused and forget faces, even, but I don't forget glass!
Title: Re: Unknown Monart Shape
Post by: KevinH on February 26, 2010, 10:40:05 PM
Ah, yes Sue.

That lady was actually one of the founding members of the Cambridge Paperweight Circle, an avid collector of weights and related objects; she began her collecting in the 1950s when I was just a wee lad in short trousers and had never heard of anything "antique" or "art glass" or "paperweights".
Title: Re: Unknown Monart Shape
Post by: chopin-liszt on February 27, 2010, 12:24:30 PM
Aplogies for making assumptions, Kev, I thought/asssumed you were together. :-[

I do hope to be at the next conference in Edinburgh, but travelling  arrangements are completely up in the air at the moment.
(Sounds crazy, given the distance some folk travel to get there, but it's the simple truth. Both logistical and financial constraints. I don't know where my brother will be staying - if he's in Perth, which would make sense for him, Dundee could not really be included in the journey!)

There's a new ringroad around Edinburgh, makes the journey 30 minutes longer from Dundee - and that's when there are no hold-ups.
Last time we went, it took over two hours to get to our destination. We used to get where we wanted in about 50 minutes. Michael does not go over the speed limit.