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Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: woody58 on November 10, 2014, 10:43:09 PM

Title: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: woody58 on November 10, 2014, 10:43:09 PM
Hi all, my first post, could anyone ID this glass ball that i picked up its really heavy and very deeply cut with birds and wildlife scenes, looks like it is signed T. Storn was bought in Germany ... would be real happy for any input.
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: woody58 on November 12, 2014, 03:36:52 PM
Has anyone got any ideas to what it might be, I was thinking along the lines of an Award, Trophy etc, underneath is a sticker for 450 I do not know if that is a price tag, I have never seen anything like it before, what drew my attention to it was how deep the cuts are for the Animal and Tree scenes, maybe more than a quarter inch. Also at the top of the ball are a couple of lines as though its been turned on a lathe. Inside the ball is another ball but looks like one piece of glass.
I have used Google but can find nothing that even resembles it, come on guys help me out here.
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: Ivo on November 12, 2014, 03:53:20 PM
Herzlich Wilkommen aus dieser Seite.

Try to find something similar on google images by typing in "wig stand" or "Perückenständer". 
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: Lustrousstone on November 12, 2014, 03:57:06 PM
The "ball inside" is because your "thingy" is hollow.
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: chopin-liszt on November 12, 2014, 03:58:33 PM
 :)

Hello and welcome to the board.
I'm sorry you haven't had any response yet.  :'(
This is most likely to be because nobody who has seen it so far knows exactly what it is.  ::)

There are some folk who might have some ideas, (I'm not one of them, sorry) and I'm sure they will comment and offer whatever help they can, when they see it.
Not everybody "comes in" every day. You will just have to be patient for a little bit longer. :)

It is an unusual thing! I don't know if it's been cut or acid-etched, though.
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: woody58 on November 12, 2014, 04:07:17 PM
Hi Guys it is definitely cut glass, its 200 mm tall and 120mm wide it weighs over 6 kilos so i do not think it is hollow, I really appreciate all your input thank you so much.
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: flying free on November 12, 2014, 07:10:08 PM
Hi and welcome to the board :)

can you just clarify again that I have understood the size properly please -
it is 20cm tall by 12cm  and weighing over 6 kilos is definitely the correct measurements?

6 kilos is about 13lb of glass which is very very heavy so I was just wondering - sorry, I'm not questioning you, but just checking :)

And can we see a picture of the base of the foot please
thank you
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: Lustrousstone on November 12, 2014, 07:24:41 PM
It can still be heavy and hollow; the glass is very thick but that's still an air bubble inside
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: woody58 on November 12, 2014, 07:55:24 PM
Thats nice to know  :) your never to old to learn. Would that mean that the ball is attached to the base a bit like a paperweight stuck on a stem so its not a solid piece of glass please excuse my ignorance but this is all new to me.
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: flying free on November 12, 2014, 08:04:24 PM
Hi again

I posted just above Lustrousstone asking to confirm the weight please?
6kg sounds very heavy for size.
Thanks
And could we see a clear photograph of the base of the foot please to see how that is finished.
thank you
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: chopin-liszt on November 12, 2014, 08:13:09 PM
We were all new to it once. Don't worry.  :)
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: woody58 on November 12, 2014, 08:58:50 PM
Hi All, I can confirm the item weighs 5.6 kilo, I also used a vernier depth gauge and the carvings on average are about 5 to 6mm deep,
the signature is T or J . Storn or Stoun.
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: Lustrousstone on November 12, 2014, 09:46:39 PM
Yes, made in three parts. Ball, stem and foot; you can see the "wafers" at the joins
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: woody58 on November 12, 2014, 10:20:14 PM
Thanks for the input, so up to now could it be described as a Wig Stand that some glass artist maybe a German named ( T.Storn) has cut a wildlife scene into the ball and signed. Are these items very common ?
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: KevinH on November 13, 2014, 12:31:42 AM
Items like these are of interest to Paperweight collectors and are also known as "stem paperweight" or "mantel ornament".

Height can vary from say 6 inch / 15 cm to around 8 inch / 20 cm, but usually the "paperweight" top is no larger than about 4 inch / 10 cm in diameter. And even with a sold dome top, they usually weigh in at less than 2 lb / 1 Kg

So this example is unusually large in the "paperweight" section - unless others of this size are more common in Germany and other parts of mainland Europe.

I do not recall seeing another one like this, especially with the decorative cutting.
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: chopin-liszt on November 13, 2014, 11:23:21 AM
There is every possibility (as you have already guessed, I think) that it could have been engraved by somebody unconnected to the maker at a date later than its manufacture.
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: woody58 on November 13, 2014, 06:03:32 PM
Thank you everyone for you help, just one last question I am a metal turner and the pattern on the top of the ball looks exactly like it has been cut on a lathe, is it possible to turn glass with a diamond cutting tool on a machine ???  ::)
Title: Re: could anyone ID this glass item
Post by: chopin-liszt on November 13, 2014, 06:10:57 PM
Yes, absolutely. It's known as wheel engraving; a very common technique in cold glass work.