Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Unresolved Glass Queries => Topic started by: Foxfurie on August 04, 2012, 12:52:34 PM
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I am pretty new to collecting as most of what I own I inherited a couple of months back and I have really caught the bug.
I recently acquired a pair of Aubergine textured vases, rectangular with a ground pontil from the 60s/70s. I am sure they aren't Whitefriars despite often being marketed as such. I would really love to know what they are (maker isn't going to upset me I love them, I just have a really curious nature).
I started off thinking they might be Ingrid Glass but I am not sure at all.
I'd be really happy if someone could identify them for me.
Thanks
Fox
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I'm not sure who actually made them, but these were being sold brand new at British Heart Foundation charity shops a few years ago. Ingrid did a similar shaped bark vase in a similar colour, but the rim is ground flat and polished.
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Are you sure these are the HFS ones, Wayne?
I don't remember them having such "proper" base finishes, or looking quite so substantial.
It's hard to tell with the photos showing different shades of purple! The HFS ones were much more like the last images, but if the true colour is more like the top ones, they could be from elsewhere.
I'm afraid I can't remember the actual texture of the HFS ones to compare. :-[
Oh, welcome to the gmb, foxfurie! :)
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The colour is more like the top two images. They are very dark in colour. Although I didn't pay much for them, the seller was absolutely adamant they have been in the family since the 70s at least. I mean obviously that could be an obfuscation but they don't seem new, and they are very thick glass.
Oh and thanks for the welcome!
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Well, it's been a while since I've seen any in the flesh Sue, but I agree the last 2 pics look more like what I'm thinking of than the first 2 pics, so hmmm, not so sure then! And sorry yes, welcome to the GMB Fox! Oh, what size are they please?
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I am 99% sure they are the Charity shop ones, they were fairly substantial and had a pontil mark on base. They came in several different colours - from memory this mauve, pink and clear. There were in the shops in my early days of collecting Whitefriars, and I was almost fooled! also in about three sizes if memory serves me well. There are several on ebay at the moment. I don't rule out these being the HFS vases could be something else, but I am 100% sure they are not Whitefiars.
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Agree Wayne, these were all over the message boards a few years ago, mostly being described Whitefriars definitely the BHF one's I am in no doubt same colour, pattern and base finish, modern Chinese around 5 or 6 years old would be my guess.
http://www.whitefriars.com/isit_contents.php?ID=8722
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They are 1 foot tall and 4 inches wide.
Definitely didn't think they were Whitefriars, they didn't do bark in a rectangle.
They could be the BHF ones, they just seem too dark, more brown than purple, and the pattern is very raised. On the BHF ones I have seen the colour seems washed out and the pattern very shallow and more uniform. Even if they are the BHF they do actually look rather pretty and I wasn't buying them for the maker.
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Hi, no problem buying something you like, after all it would not do for everyone to like the same thing, the problem within the collecting community over the years that unscrupulous sellers have been describing these as Whitefriars and have often changed hands for good money to unsuspecting new collectors..
Chris
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I definitely agree with that, Chris. I suspect I have paid a little more than I would have done if I had known they were not 60/70s as the seller said - though she never claimed they were Whitefriars. I just don't think it's worth getting all uptight and upset about, though stern words shall be had with the seller!
I think if I didn't like them in their own right, and they didn't hit the spot with my study decor I might have been really upset!
Fox
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One here that thankfully didn't sell :)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item41688c7000&item=280926908416&nma=true&pt=UK_Art_Glass&rt=nc&si=mxvA89WX9EUzFBe27iWECAR8tDY%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
The usual ploy is to list them with a high BIN seen hundreds over the years haven't we Emmi :o
Did see 'your' pair when they were listed and thought there was a lot of ambiguity in the listing with the subtle mention of 'similar to items in my parents Whitefriars collection' etc. if you are happy with them and the price paid then no damage done, personally I would sending them back though having said that they did word the description quite cleverly with just enough information to make an unsuspecting buyer think they were Whitefriars ::)
Chris
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Yeah, that was pretty much it, Chris. I didn't think they were Whitefriars for one instant. I did even ask them outright if they were modern and was told they were definitely 60s/70s. Thought they might just be some generic Czech glass.
Oh well you live and learn. I don't expect to hear from them!
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Looks as if the texture is exactly the same as the ebay one, foxfurie, so HFS it is.
(sorry the welcome seemed a bit of an afterthought - I'm afraid I just dived straight into the glass side of things. :-[ )
Sorry you got fibbed to about their origin. :(
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If you are thinking of staring a collection of Whitefriars, then perhaps I can point you to my "Wannabee" blog which may help you Foxfurie. I make mention of these HFS vases there as it happens.
http://whitefriarsglasswannabees.blogspot.co.uk/
Good luck
Emmi
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Thanks Emmi
I have seen your blog before, it's really good. It was the reason I checked with the seller about the age - guess that's a lesson in how unscrupulous people can be!
I would love to collect Whitefriars but I think my husband would probably kill me if I started buying those lovely but very expensive pieces! I especially love the TV vases and the Banjo but definitely too expensive. I think I'll have to stick to picking up nice bits of unnamed murano and stay away from ebay! I do have a very lovely Whitefriars lamp stand from the knobbly range though it is a funny shade of blue, not Kingfisher - much darker but definitely Whitefriars as he bought it for my Nana from new; and a beautiful Mdina decanter in blue and yellow. They were given to me when my Grandfather died earlier in the year and started me off wanting to collect glass.
Best
Fox
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Your lampbase sounds as if it may be "blue cased in clear" c 1964. Here's a photo comparing Kingfisher blue with Blue cased
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Thank you! That is it exactly. I could never work out if it was just a Kingfisher that had gone "wrong" but the cased blue is a perfect match. I really do love the knobbly design.
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Here is a couple of better photos of them. Please feel free to use the photos elsewhere, on blogs perhaps, to make people aware of what they are.
I still like them, I wouldn't have paid what I did for them but you live and learn :D
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8)
You can still use them for dead vegetation, without worrying about them!
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Hmmm don't like dead vegetation, the dog eats it and then throws up on the carpet!
Good news, though. I nearly died when the seller sent me a full refund and told me to chuck them in the bin! Wonders with never cease!
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I don't like dead vegetation either.
Beranek does glass flowers.... (see below)
But great news on the seller front! Particularly after the fibs. :o