Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => Malta Glass => Topic started by: brucebanner on March 23, 2015, 03:08:00 PM
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Any thoughts to an age on this one, it's almost black with a matt finish, with sun shining through it you can just see some purple mottling.
7 1/2 inches in height, 3 3/8th inches across the rim.
Regards Chris.
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A shot of the paper label.
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I think they started acid surface treatment in '86, I would suspect this might be from around then.
This black/deep purple mottled background was normally used in a very attractive design with a painterly, loopy ribbon of shiny silver chloride effects (silver/blue/yellow) in a garland around the background, rather than being acid treated. It's not the most common of designs to find and it's not a Harris design, I don't know whose it is, they're very attractive. It is found with both paper and plastic labels, so that takes it into the '90s.
I've not seen one of these before, acid treated and without the silvery ribbons. You may have something a bit experimental there.
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Going to keep this one ,i have a soft spot for Mdina glass i could collect every piece, even the sea horses, i like the simple design and shape on this one.
Thanks Sue.
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I recently discovered an art gallery in Perth which seems to be collecting the seahorses. ;D
When I first went in, they had two really battered old ones, in use, on the main desk. They didn't know what they were, but said that loads of customers asked to buy them. I told them what they were, and I've been back. They now have 5 seahorses in use.
I find it quite exciting, watching somebody new to Mdina first seeing it. 8)
I just gave a straight-sided Chalice to my nephew-in-law - and was able to see it with new eyes again too, through him. He was stunned and enchanted. He knew nothing of art glass, or anything retro, but has a background in antiques and understands quality. I might have another convert. ;)
It can be too easy to get a bit jaded sometimes. :)
I'll get some images of my few bits of this deep-purple-splodgy-black background stuff with the silver stuff on shortly.
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What are your thoughts on this one Sue,? i can not find another in this colourway.
7 1/2 inches in height.
Regards Chris.
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This is earlier, I believe. (than the purple/black design). Early-mid '70s.
There are a few bits like this around, always in early shapes. I suspect it's a variation of "Tortoiseshell" when they were running out of silver nitrate - so they didn't use too much of it and ended up with red streaky design, rather than brown with some remaining reds. ;D
I've got a big wide cylinder vase in this red streaky with a little bit of brown pattern, a textured bottle of uncommon dimensions, (suspected early experimental shape) and a couple of little stoppered bottles.
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Thank you Sue.
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Another feature which might indicate an earlier cylinder is having a smaller round "foot" part on which it stands (as your one does), rather than the base just being the bottom part of the cylinder.
Although your later black/purple also has this.
It is pure speculation on my part that they might have been running out of silver nitrate - they might just have been ecomomising on it, or simply experimenting. :)
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Bought this today, and was wondering if sue was correct in thinking that mdina ran out of supplies from time to time.
There is a very small streak of something running vertically in the first image, is this artistic input or shortage of materials.
Tim
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:)
That's the wide cylinder and an early shape. I have one, but mine does not have the "foot" yours does, and has no more than a broken vertical streak of brown, very like the slimmer cylinder first shown.
I really have no idea if the might have been running out of the silver nitrate - they might just have been experimenting. ;D
There is the well known pattern in blue, with a large swathe of ochrey-coloured bits, spreading from one line and being swept over the rest of the body, which were created using silver chloride salts.
They might have been trying to emulate that effect with the nitrate, but found it didn't work the same way.
Silver nitrate is expensive, but not as expensive as silver chloride, and they do both behave differently.
Silver chloride melts into a liquid when it gets hot.
I don't know what silver nitrate does. I've never tried heating it. ;D
It used to burn holes in my lab coat, to the point I kept that coat for silver nitrate use only.
It's very nasty stuff.