Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: Helen W. on August 18, 2018, 07:03:03 PM
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I've only just begun to read up on mid-century Czech glass, but when I bought this vase recently I knew I'd seen this vertical motif before in Jan Gabrhel's designs. However, I don't know whether he ever designed heavily textured glass of this sort.
The vase has been applied with a thick layer of glass particles, some areas of which are actually pretty abrasive. There are several flecks of some red substance which has seeped between the particles, and which could be ketchup, or could be the blood of a previous owner... :o
The motif is formed by deep circular indentations roughly 30mm in diameter. The rim is smooth and rounded. The base has been ground to make it level, but left unpolished and with some areas of abrasive particles.
Dimensions: weight is 1047g; height 22cm; diameter 8.2cm.
The front view of the vase makes it look as though it's leaning - it doesn't. And I got the white balance wrong, so the colourless glass looks very grey. I've a lot to learn about this area of photography.
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It's a bit hard to tell from the pics, but the general apprearance and your mention of red bits makes me wonder a little bit about Peill & Putzler.
They do have a maker's mark, but it's not on everything. It's of two capital letters P, back to back and sharing the upright. It is quite small and etched on, often on the side, near the base. It might be worth having a very careful look for it.
Horst Tusselmann used tiny bits of red and yellowy-green inclusions in some of his work for them.
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Thank you, and tomorrow I'll try to add new photos that my camera hasn't tried to expose down to middle grey. ::) The vase actually has quite a sheen to it.
Will also look up Tusselmann, a new name to me.
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This is what the Piell & Putzler mark looks like.
Ross
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Thank you. That's useful to know, though sadly the mark is absent from this particular vase.
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An enhanced photo of vase and motif:
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I've been busy googling pics of P&P vases, and while there is a definite family resemblance, my vase would be their rough and rustic cousin. ;)
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I've given the vase and its painfully textured surface yet another clean with a soft brush, followed by a vinegar rinse and... Suddenly it looks much more respectable - like a piece of art glass. I knew there had to be a reason why I bought it!
Still haven't found the P&P mark, but I'm leaning more now towards chopin-liszt's suggestion that this is in fact a Tueselmann design for them, though perhaps an early 'brutalist' example. ;)
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Don't give up entirely on the possibility of Czech made, the rough surface from small glass particles attached to the outside is often called 'overshot' and this technique was used by Czech glass makers. It could of course be from elsewhere...
John
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Thank you. I'm sure I've come across that term before. I'll investigate further.
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Enzymatic laundry washing liquid is often good stuff for cleaning old glass. It gets into the nooks and crannies and gets rid of anything organic. Paint brushes and toothbrushes can be useful, and to dry a tall thing, give it a final rinse in deionised water (I just have that around because I have carniverous plants) if possible, and make a wick from a bit of kitchen roll and shove that in, down to the bottom - make the wick as thick or thin as required, and leave it to stand (upside down if possible). The paper will absorb the water as it evapourates.
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Good tips, thanks. I'd never thought of using a bio detergent, and I agree deionised water is probably safer than vinegar-water for the final rinse.
Years ago, I had a tool specifically for cleaning decanters and bottles without scratching, purchased from Lakeland. It was flexible and covered with pieces of a foam-like substance. I used it to clean an Edwardian decanter, but the foam covering soon disintegrated.
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If I lived in a hard water area, I'd use a little diluted vinegar before the final rinse myself, but I'm in a soft water place.
You can purchase small ball bearings covered in copper, which are soft-ish but heavy and can be used to swirl around the bottoms of difficult places. They're called "Magic Balls".
And if you time your trip to the ironmongery bit properly, you can embarrass a young man by asking him if he has ... ;)
I once ruined the rim of a vase trying to clean and dry the bottom of it, the rim had been cut and polished, it came to a really fine point on the inside, and I took chunks out of it by wiggling a bit of kitchen roll around on the end of a knife - I levered bits off from the fine rim. :-[
I'm now a lot more careful and have learned a few good tips from folk here. :)
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;D ;D