Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: sixpence on August 31, 2010, 11:38:40 PM
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Glass handkerchief bowl or small vase with a plaid pattern made of up aqua blue and opaque white threads. The edges look like frayed fabric. This is much thinner than most Venetian glass. It is 5"H x 6 1/2"W x 6 1/2"D. No markings. This one has been frustrating but I don't think it's Italian. HelP!?!?!?!?!?!??!
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This looks like fused glasswork. I've never seen one before. It looks like a very competent piece. Interesting!
Where are you located on the planet? Often that's a good starting point for the origins of a piece.
(You can add this to your profile)
Welcome to the gmb!
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It's the same sort of idea as this piece that I saw at the National Gallery of Australia (http://nga.gov.au/Exhibition/Transformations/Detail.cfm?IRN=142989&BioArtistIRN=29766&MnuID=1) in a craft exhibition, although of course the object from the gallery has many more threads and is much, much more complex.
Wonder whether the threads were fused into a solid rectangle first, then reheated and slumped over the mould, or whether the moulding and fusing process happens at the same time? Probably the former, I guess.
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Funnily enough, it reminded me of Toots Zynsky's work just a little bit too!
A piece like the one you showed sold at Bonham's in May '09 for £10,800. There's one in the V&A in London.
As you said, far, far more complex!
For this piece, I'd agree, the canes must have been fused together first, then the whole thing slumped. The fusing would happen at a higher temperature than the slumping.
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It strikes me Cathy that you have an expert just down the road (near Yass) called Peter Crisp who has been doing exquisite slumped glass for as long as I can remember(c. 30 years or so). Perhaps he could advise you as to what could be done.
Ross
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WHere am I on this planet? The US - near Atlanta, Ga. Most of the fused glass in this country is fairly thick so this may be made somewhere other than the US because this piece is incredibly thin. I'm working on an appraisal and the collection is full of Lalique, Val St. Lambert, Irish crystal and then this and the green glass bird I also posted. There's always something like this that makes the appraisal more interesting that just looking up a few auctions. I'll check the Bonham's auction. Any other ideas, I'd love to hear them and hopefully I can come up with a reasonable value on this and an accurate identification.
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Toots Zynsky's work really is glorious, isn't it! Having only seen it the once, it make a real impression on me - and you can't quite see the effect of the overlapping fibres in the pictures. It was nice though to have the excuse to look her up again ;D.
Ross- yes I've visited Peter Crisp's studios and seen him and his decorator at work.
Just to be absolutely clear, for the sake of the original poster, this piece is very modest in comparison and would have been much easier to make, and there is no suggestion that the maker would be the same.
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I wouldn't bother checking Bonhams unless you're interested in anything they have - I don't think your piece, though competent, is anywhere NEAR the amazing expertise of Toots Zynsky - sorry!
I think your piece is likely to be fairly recent.
What is, where is Ga.?
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... and in fact slumping glass is relatively easy compared to blowing it, so there are likely to be a lot of possible makers. But it does give you a key word for googling: "slumped".
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Atlanta, Georgia is in the US. I'm an ASA appraiser and when we do appraisals something doesn't have to be the same or the same degree of intricacy as values are adjusted for that. However, the best examples are always good to take a look at so that 1. I'll know one if I see it and 2. that's a starting place to start taking adjustments from. Sometimes it get's adjusted slightly and sometimes it might be a 90% adjustment. Without a starting place, I'm just blowing smoke.
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Okay, I've looked at most of Toots Zynsky's pieces that have come up for auction the past 5 years. That is the only thing I've seen so far that is as thin and delicate as this piece is. Perhaps a student of her's did this or it's an early piece. Everything else is much too thick to compare with the piece pictured. Thanks for the lead.
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Right - I've got why you're interested in Toots then - but she really is world class, museum quality, the absolute tops in this sort of thing.
Your piece is still very competent. Fusing and slumping of glass doesn't require as much complicated and expensive equipment as molten hot glass work does - a lot of artists can set up on their own to do it, quite easily.
I think it highly unlikely there is a connection between the two artists, beyond the use of filaments of glass - and your piece uses far thicker bits!
I'm afraid a 90% adjustment from £10,800 might not be nearly enough! I think your piece, unless accurately attributed to a big name, should come in at under $100.
umm, what's ASA?
Abbreviations don't always help when they mean different things to different folk in different areas!
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ASA is AMerican Society of Appraisers. ANd most of Zynsky's pieces bring nowhere close to $10,000. They generally sell for around $2500-3500 at auction (atleast over the past 5 years) and many of her pieces haven't gotten bids at auction. It takes the right person at the right time. Even appraising one of her pieces, given the prices I've seen this morning, $10,000 is on the extremely high side. I start from where prices cluster for similar pieces. And many of her pieces that I've found this morning (and I've looked at about 25-30 pieces) are not nearly as intricate as the one you reference. I'll give you it's probably not one of hers since it's not signed and it seems she signs everything, however, it is definitely in the style of and may well be a student of hers since she is American and this piece is here in the States.
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The piece in Bonham's went for 10,800 pounds, not dollars. :thud:
However, just because they both use filaments does not indicate any connection at all between the two artists - the techniques needed for Toots Zynsky's work are far different to simple slumping and fusing - this vase you have could have been made by my next-door neighbour in the little kiln he has in his conservatory.
Plaid is a natural subject to choose for the use of fused glass sticks.
Suggesting an unproven and speculative connection between the artists would only bring your house into disrepute.
( >:D Perhaps I needn't remortgage to get hold of a bit of Toots' work after all, if the Bonham's price was an anomaly)
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Sue's right; the techniques used are simple but producing the initial piece (before slumping) would have been fiddly and time-consuming. It looks like the sort of piece produced for a degree show, but not necessarily by a student working for a degree in glass working.
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I think you could well be right, Christine - perhaps something made to demonstrate technical competence.
I did have a look for finished auctions on Toots Zynsky, prices vary enormously - as they should do, with the size and complexity of the piece. The one sold at Bonham's was absolutely massive - 50 cm wide, and an incredibly complex piece. I only know about it because I was sent the catalogue.
One in the link below achieved $10,000. (american dollars, not £ this time)
http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?lot_id=WY2C
Anyway, Zynsky would appear to be a bit of a cat among the pigeons in this thread, which is about the hankie thing, not great art.