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Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass Paperweights => Topic started by: Fiver on January 25, 2012, 04:14:23 AM

Title: Blue smokey swirls with bubbles
Post by: Fiver on January 25, 2012, 04:14:23 AM
This one is 2 7/8" inches at its widest point, 4 1/2" tall with a 1 1/4" base.  No markings on the base.
Title: Re: Blue smokey swirls with bubbles
Post by: Fiver on January 25, 2012, 07:04:17 PM
Here's a base shot of this weight.

Title: Re: Blue smokey swirls with bubbles
Post by: Lustrousstone on January 25, 2012, 07:07:32 PM
It's probably modern Chinese. Those matte bottoms often (but not always) indicate Chinese
Title: Re: Blue smokey swirls with bubbles
Post by: scavo on January 25, 2012, 08:24:53 PM
What are the little pin-pricks on the base? I've seen those before and have left on the shelf assuming that if it were good quality they would have been ground away.
Title: Re: Blue smokey swirls with bubbles
Post by: Lustrousstone on January 26, 2012, 07:41:47 AM
They are probably remnants of the pontil scar, but those in themselves are not an indicator of poor quality. You can find them on highly polished bases; you can only remove so much of the base without ruining the item.
Title: Re: Blue smokey swirls with bubbles
Post by: scavo on January 26, 2012, 08:29:06 AM
Thanks Christine,
I've seen very similar before. There are 3 in this pic and the pattern suggests 4 (tool) marks originally.
Good to know that I have to rely on other knowledge before dismissing other items in the future!
Title: Re: Blue smokey swirls with bubbles
Post by: Lustrousstone on January 26, 2012, 12:25:58 PM
They are not tool marks. Paperweights are made on the end of a glass rod and when the item is cracked off what remains is the pontil scar/mark. It may be a lump; it may be a hole.
Title: Re: Blue smokey swirls with bubbles
Post by: Sach on January 26, 2012, 12:36:02 PM
What are the little pin-pricks on the base? I've seen those before and have left on the shelf assuming that if it were good quality they would have been ground away.

From what I can see those "pin-pricks" are just air bubbles within the glass that were opened when the bottom was ground away.  A little more grinding might well remove them, and is likely to cut open more bubbles in the next layer of the glass.
Title: Re: Blue smokey swirls with bubbles
Post by: Lustrousstone on January 26, 2012, 12:42:28 PM
Or that  ;)
Title: Re: Blue smokey swirls with bubbles
Post by: KevinH on January 26, 2012, 05:41:04 PM
Or maybe even bits of grit (or similar) in the annealing oven that have caused indentations which were deep enough to partly remain after grinding. Possbly?
Title: Re: Blue smokey swirls with bubbles
Post by: scavo on January 26, 2012, 08:04:09 PM
I'm 'thinking too much' (as they say in Thailand) and seeing crop circles and all sorts!