Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => British & Irish Glass => Topic started by: petet63 on June 06, 2012, 06:12:57 PM
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With the number of fakes turning up I was wondering if anyone could confirm what this is/isn't. It is around 5.5cm in height. It is darker than shown in pictures, more maroon. The iridescence shows in the right light. Has the familiar lily style and Marked J Ditchfield 1980. I have seen the sig and 1980 on pieces listed as JD and the sig on this is very close in style. I have emailed the Ditchfield website and hope to hear from them soon but thought it would be good to have the opinion of people on here. If it's genuine, it would be nice. If it's a fake, it is here for future reference and still a nice piece of glass.
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Hi there....not sure, but here is his website: http://www.glasform.com/gallery.asp (http://www.glasform.com/gallery.asp)
I have a Mushroom that I had ID here on the Board....but have no signature on it to compare yours with.
Here is my mushroom by him: http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,42603.msg236909.html#msg236909 (http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,42603.msg236909.html#msg236909)
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It would be great to collect some of his work but far too pricey for me sadly. Looking at pictures will have to do :( That is the site I sent an email to. Will post answer on here if I get a reply. Thanks antiquerose123. :)
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I've just had a good look at 3 signatures - there are variations between them. This piece of yours is very small, although beautifully formed - it looks much more like a proper "miniature" than simply a small piece - although I do not know if John Ditchfield makes miniatures
I'm trying to describe how there is so much attention to detail for such a small thing - a sign of quality.
The broken pontil mark is right.
My only tiny worry is in the execution of the capital letters J and D. In all 3 of mine, the J has a top bar on it, and the D is executed differently too. All the other letters look fine... particularly given he must have been trying to get his writing small to fit on to your bit.
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I have a signed John Ditchfield paperweight, and on it the J has a top bar the same as Sue's and the D is also of different construction, as Sue says. It has serifs.
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:'(
I'm going got have to get the camera out, I see. My D's are all slightly different. You need pics. Please, bear with me until I can manage it.
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??? My mushroom by him is small. Only about 3 inches tall. Some other mushrooms glass I have here - they are about 5.5 inches tall.
So not sure if that qualifies as a miniature or not ?? :-\
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I don't think so Rose. The mushrooms are a bit more sort of "bread-and-butter" pieces produced by the studio.
Please, this is only a rough sort of outline of what went on - I may get some details wrong, do not take this as accurate information.
Initially he mostly made individual pieces - each signed and with its own registered unique number, although he did make some mushrooms and weights with silver things on them too.
Then, one of these caught the attention of a TV presenter of collectables programmes, it got a lot of publicity.... and suddenly the mushrooms and pwts were going like hotcakes and he went into overdrive making them.
The publicity and demand rather changed his operations and production of the unique numbered pieces went into decline and he started marking things in a more general manner.
:) I mean by miniature (rather than a small thing) a similar thing to the Monart miniatures - where the object is a scaled model of the larger thing - all the details are in miniature too. It's a much harder thing to produce than the large scale item, or indeed, just a small piece with it's own design.
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I have had reply from Karen Ditchfield.....
Hello
I will check with John as there are no records pre Glasform that I can check with. Please forward your phone number and I will ring you once I have spoken to John.
Regards
Karen Ditchfield
I will post as soon as I get an answer. I think it's great that they take the time to answer an email and quickly. Not all of my emails get an answer, I dont send many, but dealing with Glasform is a pleasure. Hope I get the answer I want.
I have noticed that a few of the signatures differ slightly and have seen the sig on mine matched to another piece on line but can never be 100% sure that wasnt a fake. Do they differ on the pieces that are confirmed as J Ditchfield ? I am looking forward to the answer :)
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I haven't seen a faked Ditchfield signature. ::)
(Not that I know of.)
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::) One pic came out. More will follow when I can.
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I had a phone call this morning and Karen (as I now call her) ;) ;) confirmed that John :) :) did indeed make this piece. It was nice of them to take the time to answer and confirm it. Not many do.
I think it possible sigs could differ easily from piece to piece for various reasons, flat or curved surfaces, different engraving tools etc. Saying that, the sigs on pieces vary a lot and make it very confusing. Have they not heard of lasers !! ;D ;D I have seen lots of Murano signed pieces that are by the same artist and they look so different.
The board can use the pictures and messages as they see fit. Thanks all...again. Pete
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Well I've done them now - so you can see some variations. (and a shot of the 3 vases)
;D great news about your piece - I doubted it was a "fake" - it's lovely and it looks right.
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Thanks Chopin-liszt. I do like the iridescence in the glass. Not that you asked but the one on the right is really nice. If only I could afford to keep my Glass finds. : ( I would have a house full, a nice sunny day and crystal and glass everywhere would make anyone feel better. My other half is used to me rotating ornaments, I have them for a few weeks to enjoy and move them on to someone else who will enjoy them. Always seems to be something I have to save for. Last one was my son's wedding, now its a long weekend in Cumbria.
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It's a lousy pic - the light here is appalling and my eyes aren't working well, but it seemed silly to put signatures in without some indication of what they're on. The one on the right is my least favourite - I lurrrve the other two!
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I like the clean lines of the one on the right the other 2 are busy, all over the place. Im a bit OCD and need order and everything in the right place do the other two show any of your Characteristics ;D ;D The psychology of glass ;D :D :D. I must take less medication I think !!!
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I'm a serious case of OCD myself, I've learned to deal with it though - no thanks to CBT which is a load of utter codswappol.
But it's clinical sterility that bothers me, not tidiness.
Tidy stuff is still dirty. :P
Something sitting on its own for 30 minutes gathers enough dirt for it to need cleaned before it can be eaten from or used for food preparation.
I'm so tightly controlled and focussed on every tiny detail myself, that I love the expression of freedom of the abstract and wild - I just can't do it, and I'm so jealous of those who can express it.
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Thanks Chopin, I feel so much better now ;D ;D ;D Im off to express my wild side and mix the towels up with the bedding in the cupboard ;D ;D
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They can always be tidied up later... enjoy! 8)