Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => Murano & Italy Glass => Topic started by: greenacres_2 on January 10, 2011, 02:24:14 AM
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I bought this 10 years ago. They told me they were going to discontinue the style. Was that true?
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It depends on what they meant by "the style." Probably the safest answer might be, generally, not true, as there are still pieces being made out of murrines in this shape with these handles. How could they possibly say that no other company was going to make something like this. If, however, they mean style as in exactly the same murrines as in your piece, it might be true. I don't recognize the murrines so I can't comment. I'm not commenting on the quality of you piece, btw.
My take would be that the statement was a sale come on and nothing more. Some Venetian stores and companies are known for high pressure sales tactics. I'll add that there's more a few that are still very pleasant to deal with. Do you mind saying who you bought it from?
David
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I bought to different pieces. I bought a huge vase from where you take the tour in San Marco Square, which I assume is that main factory or museum, and this vase I think I paid $200.00 in a small shop near the church ? and Co. I just can't remember. I will check with someone who I went with and see if they remember.
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Yes, there are a number of stores there so it would be hard to remember. Does it have a label on it? If so what writing and numbers are on the label?
David
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Pauley & Co.
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Pauly have a store right on the square and are a long established Murano company. Although they made some of their glass themselves, they are also well known for selling glass commissioned from other companies. They are a well-regarded company so it's likely your piece is good quality.
David
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Thank you. I cherish this vase. I was curious if you think it held it's value.
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I think you've done very well in terms of it holding its value. There are two factors here. The first is that Murano/Venice can be the most expensive place to buy Murano pieces. The second is that Murano prices have gone down in value in last few years. In other words, you have two factors going against you, and yet I think the price you paid was a very reasonable price for a very nice piece of glass. For me, it would be a cherished memory of a visit to a wonderful place, as, I suspect, it is for you. Personally, I wouldn't be concerned about resale value, but I would be happy knowing that I bought a wonderful thing at a reasonable price.
I hope this helps.
David
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I thought your lovely vase was so beautiful Greenacres_2, that I tried Googling Pauley & Co, to see what else they may have for sale, and discovered this link which is only related in as much as it has a Pauley & Co label on it. It is listed as being Murano glass, but I am certain it is Exbor.....could they really have made this mistake, or did the Murano glass blowers really make this gorgeous hedgehog?
Here is the link:
http://www.moltabellaglass.com/items/754419/item754419store.html#item
Langhaugh is it really a Pauley & Son piece of Murano glass?
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Thanks for the link, Rosieposie. The Pauly & C. hedgehog is making me drool over here. I believe it is Pauly & C. or rather another company and they sold it (Pauley & C. sold glass for other companies and they also made their own glass). The Pauly & C hedgehog is special and unusual at the same time. You see the effect that was used on the hedgehog is called battuto (Murano used this effect and so did other countries). Battuto is a very desirable effect and usually when you find the battuto pieces you are going to pay a premium price.
The vase in this thread appears to be really well made. I for one would be extremly proud to own it. I wouldn't worry about the price because I agree with David, I think the price was very reasonable. The murrines are very defined and not smeared. To make these kinds of pieces without the murrines looking distorted means quality.
tam bam
P.S. - May we see the label on your bowl Greenacres_2?
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RosiePosie:
You're right, the hedgehog is Exbor. I assumed the company that Greenacres was talking about is Pauly & C (no "e" between "l" and "y") as Tambam has it, as that company does have a store on San Marco Square. Wikipedia has an a very good summary of the company at this link. The vase is completely consistent with what Pauley produced.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauly_%26_C._%E2%80%93_Compagnia_Venezia_Murano
David
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They had one more at the time I bought it. It was very tiny and turquiose. I kick myself whenever I think of it.
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There was never a sticker on it.
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Hi guys, I have the answer! ;D
Pauly company buys most part of their items from different glassmakers. They had also a small furnace producing some classic glassworks (filigree, crystal and gold, etc., etc.) up to some years ago. I rember that approx. 10 years ago they had De Santi as master glassmaker: very good glassblower...
In the last 4-5 years the company changed owners and it looks they reduced a lot their core business (they did some huge auctions to rid the stock), but they still have their points of sales.
Concerning this vase... The answer is... 8)
3 Fiori!
Yes, the company who made some of the nicer paperweights during the '90s and beginning '000s.
During the last years of activity they tried to use some of their nice and complex murrina canes for some small production of vases.
The result was good due to the murrinas are very superior than the usual murrinas by F3 and Moretti, but the glassblowing technique of the two guys working there, was not so good and the pieces were a little too heavy and not very simmetrical. This problem is evient expecially when they tried to make the vases a little bigger.
I bought and sold some of these works, in Venice, to private collectors and also on the web.
Knowing the original wholesale value, I can tell you that you bought this piece for a reasonable price. They offered several pieces in consignment (they were not known on the market as "vases producers") and, after the company has closed (mid '000s), it is possible that some pieces were lost in some shops without to be payed (in this case I can explain this price...)
May be I still have some old photos of their vases in some hard disk. If I will find them I will post here...
Only a small but interesting detail... Also if they can be considered at 110% as Murano glass, the glass used to make these wonderful murrinas has a different "coefficiente di dilatazione" (I don't know how to say in english) than the usual Murano glass normally used to blow goblets, vases etc.
Ciao
Alex
www.artofvenice.com (http://www.artofvenice.com)
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So is it possible to still buy a piece?
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Not made by 3 Fiori; they closed down in 2004.
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I see. Thank you. It is so delicate, it attracts you to it. I love glass and have many peices, but this is one of my favorites. I'll have to take a picture of the other vase I purchased. It is in a beach house that we own. It is winter and we don't go very often.
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So is it possible to still buy a piece?
All the pieces I had are sold out, but somewhere in Venice or Murano it is possible there are few. Not easy to find.
The production was limited in time (one year more or less) and it was not the company core production (they were at 99% paperweights producers).
I rember that they made two styles: one more expensive with all murrinas of the same pattern and one, a little cheaper, with mixed patterns, as your one.
Ciao
Ale
www.artofvenice.com (http://www.artofvenice.com)
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... Also if they can be considered at 110% as Murano glass, the glass used to make these wonderful murrinas has a different "coefficiente di dilatazione" (I don't know how to say in english) than the usual Murano glass normally used to blow goblets, vases etc.
"coefficiente di dilatazione" translates to English as "coefficient of expansion" ... but I think I prefer the Italian, it sounds somehow more "poetic". :)
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Hi,
here below the few images I was able to find back. these are the higher quality and, as you can see, the Murrinas are not random, but all of the same style. I'm sorry, but I'm not able to find the same than your ones (too many hard disks and too many photos....)
They were made by 3 fiori between the 2001 and the closedown.
The very first pieces were more as the ones in photos, than they made something less expensive with the random pattern, so I can extimate your one as probably made in second half 2002 or 2003. In the last time they tried to develop more the vase ( blowing more and making the final vase bigger in proportion with the fused pattern size), but in this way the result was a less clean and compact pattern, more or less as in your one, if compared with the very first I'm posting.
If I will find other images I will post...
Sincerely
Alex
www.artofvenice.com (http://www.artofvenice.com)
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Here the photo of another vessel made by 3Fiori at that time.
It is a prototype of a contemporary vase, with a modern shape and change of blowing axe.
Their glassbowing technique was not so perfect and therefore there were some "defects" in the pattern.
Also, the complex murrina design, with such kind of shape develop (big size, change of axe), has lost some of its beauty.
So toghether we decided to apply a good coldwork on it to resolve some of this issues.
At the end the final result wasn't bad, but far to be perfect.
I sold it approx 4-5 years ago.
I suppose that in total they have produced between the 30 and the 50 vases only.
Ciao
Alex
www.artofvenice.com (http://www.artofvenice.com)