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Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: glasseyed on September 18, 2010, 10:13:49 AM

Title: Alabastro elephant - maker?
Post by: glasseyed on September 18, 2010, 10:13:49 AM

Hi All

I have just bought this lovely little chap ;D

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/EnglishPorcelain/Elephant?feat=directlink

I am looking for clues on maker/date. He stands just 3.5" or 8.5 cm to the top of his trunk, but is beautifully detailed (lost I'm afraid to some extent on my photos).

Thanks

Hazel

Title: Re: Alabastro elephant - maker?
Post by: chopin-liszt on September 18, 2010, 11:03:43 AM

He IS nice, Hazel.
I'm not sure that he's not Jadite rather than alabastro, though. Somebody who knows better than me is needed.

Title: Re: Alabastro elephant - maker?
Post by: Max on September 18, 2010, 11:37:15 AM

...I'm not sure he's even glass!   :huh:  Do you think he might be carved from semi-precious stone?

Title: Re: Alabastro elephant - maker?
Post by: chopin-liszt on September 18, 2010, 11:54:30 AM

If you look carefully at the second image, blown up, you can see there are bubbles in it, Max.
I do think it's glass, (but I also know the little carved animals you're talking about, and can see where you're coming from - the whole shape, with all the detail, is quite remarkable for a glass item)

Title: Re: Alabastro elephant - maker?
Post by: TxSilver on September 18, 2010, 12:17:58 PM

These are very nice Oriental elephants. I believe they are jadite glass from China. I see a lot of them and think they are so pretty.

Title: Re: Alabastro elephant - maker?
Post by: chopin-liszt on September 18, 2010, 01:00:15 PM

Is it possible he's been made by one of the exceptional makers such as Liuligongfan or (is it?) Titot, using their Pate-de-verre technique? The technique has been very refined, often resulting in perfectly clear glass items of stunning beauty.

http://www.liuli.com/en-us/pata_de_verre.aspx

http://www.liuliusa.com/

Title: Re: Alabastro elephant - maker?
Post by: Max on September 18, 2010, 02:54:51 PM

Right...so maybe pate-de-verre?  Edit:  Just realised Sue's mentioned that.  I'm useless on this thread!  ::))   

Title: Re: Alabastro elephant - maker?
Post by: chopin-liszt on September 18, 2010, 03:05:06 PM

You're never useless, anywhere Max.  :P  - can you remember the name(s?) of the other very high quality Chinese maker(s?) doing this sort of thing?

Title: Re: Alabastro elephant - maker?
Post by: chopin-liszt on September 18, 2010, 04:06:12 PM

I found this thread which might be of interest...

http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,33462.0.html

Title: Re: Alabastro elephant - maker?
Post by: glasseyed on September 18, 2010, 04:19:43 PM

Thanks for the replies, I did consider that he might be made of something else but he has a bubble near the bottom of one leg and the soles of his feet appear to be fire polished. However he is a very similar design to the Jadite ones so China would seem quite likely (big area :wsh:).

So if I can get this straight there is jadite stone and jadite glass which is pate-de-verre (makes sense to me that he is made of the latter).

I have just spent three walking round the antiques fair (no goodies found), so it's ten minutes "feet up" with the poodles before dinner for me :phew:

Title: Re: Alabastro elephant - maker?
Post by: chopin-liszt on September 18, 2010, 04:59:39 PM

Ummmm...
there is jade the stone, but in the glass term "Jadite", it really just means an opaque green colour - like your elephant, but Jadite mostly refers to this same colour in much older and several different makes of glass - often coloured using uranium.
It does not mean that Jadite is normally made using this pate-de-verre or pate-de-crystal technique.

It's just following the suggestion that your elephant could be from the Far East, that if it were, then this pate-de- verre technique is likely to have been used to achieve this standard of moulding.
However, I'm not positive your wee nellie is quite up to the standard of the pieces shown on the sites we've put here.

 :ha: Clear?

Title: Re: Alabastro elephant - maker?
Post by: deco.queen on September 19, 2010, 03:48:55 PM

I think your cute elephant is the same as the pair shown here with labels, made in China.
http://www.rubylane.com/shops/1packrat2another/iteml/ES-626#pic9 (http://www.rubylane.com/shops/1packrat2another/iteml/ES-626#pic9)

Title: Re: Alabastro elephant - maker?
Post by: glasseyed on September 19, 2010, 05:38:00 PM

Ha! Proof positive, thank you very much  :or:

Hazel