Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => British & Irish Glass => Topic started by: Paul S. on September 18, 2014, 03:53:38 PM
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unmarked, but quite distinctive with the fissure down the chest, and am sure the colour is lilac - had the impression this colour not as common as most of the others, but could be wrong.
According to Susan Tobin, the 'Fledglings' carry the factory code SG 429.
Hope this doesn't encourage another argument about Wedgwood colours, but just interested in hearing if I'm correct about lilac or whether it's just as common as any of the others. :)
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Hi Paul have you tried testing it for Neodymium? I have 2 Wedgwood elephants with this lilac coloured head, and a squirrel which are neodymium, so might well be worth trying. :)
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I also have a Neodymium bird which I have always believed could be Wedgwood, but as there are neither markings nor label, I can only go by the shape of the eye and general gut feel I have. The tail on this is different and it could be that it is a Scandinavian piece.
However, the ellies and squirrel are definitely lilac Wedgwood glass
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and here's me thinking "no replies and I'm unloved on the GMB" - sorry Rosie, I don't have a neodymium torch ;D ;D
Remind me, what do I do to test for neodymium - is it compare the colour in daylight and fluorescent tube light?? ............. and am I reading you right - are you saying that all Wedgwood 'lilac' is neodymium?
I don't see any birds in Susan Tobin's book that resemble your 'downturned' tailed example - so think you're correct in suggesting Scandinavian.
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have just looked at the colour change, using transmitted light, when comparing a fluorescent tube with an ordinary light bulb, and the former seems to drain the colour and leave the bird a sort of greyish shade.
The ordinary electric bulb heightens the colour and makes it look a rich lilac.
So I guess my 'fledgling' is neodymium - so thanks for that Rosie. :)
Don't think I've previously seen a lilac Wedgwood animal, so guess they're more scarce than the usual colour range.
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Yes it does sound like Neodymium Paul, and although I am not certain that my little bird is Wedgwood, I am not ruling it out until I have seen another in this same downturned tail shape with a label that says otherwise.
Susan Tobin does not show any neodymium glass pieces, however they did make them and I am always on the lookout for other pieces. They also made many multicolour speckled birds and animals that do not appear in the listings in her book, so maybe it was 'fun time' for the glass artists??
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There is a mention of lilac and alexandrite colours here, dont know if you would need fluorescent light to tell them apart: http://www.ronaldstennettwillson.com/Candlesticks_Sandringham.html
John
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An interesting site indeed John, and yes in answer to your question, I would always resort to fluorescent light , if only just to reassure the neodymium content.
No intention to hijack your thread Paul, but:
Interestingly, the final sentence where it says: 'and again some variation within the main colours, probably due to the colourings being hand mixed.' may have given us the definitive answer to Emmi's Wedgwood Dolphin appearing a little darker than some other Topaz pieces.
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I have a beautiful lilac/pink polar bear - have never checked if it is neodymium. Will do so next time he's out of the box in the shed. ;D
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That does look very like the colour Cranberry that Wedgwood produced Jak. I have a cat and a pair of ellies in that colour.
It is worth checking your Polar bear for colour change, but all my excitement of thinking these were neodymium when I got them was unfounded, then I read Susan Tobin's colour chart and saw that they were Cranberry.
But I am lucky to have them as they are a nice pair of ellies and the cat is the less usual style and is often mistaken for other makes.
Apologies for the poor quality of the cat picture, but I was in haste to post it here. :(
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Low energy bulbs show the colour change too, if you do not have striplight fluorescents.
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I have a little 'Humble Pie' to eat on the subject of colour names... Where I have said 'Cranberry'. please can you read 'Lilac', as Jak was absolutely correct calling it that name. Apologies for any misleading that I may have caused. ???
Another interesting piece of information about the cat I showed. In Susan Tobin's book, she calls this style of cat 'Pussy cat', and reserves the name 'Cat' for the more commonly seen upright version. Strangely in the colour list at the back of the book, colours are given for the upright 'Cat', but no mention is made of a 'Pussy cat' or the colours it was produced in. The only reference that I can see is a picture of a Mottled Topaz version of it with an Owl. For those of you with her book, the Cat and the Pussy cat are both shown as figures 36 and 37 respectively. Sadly the pages are not numbered.