Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => British & Irish Glass => Topic started by: Helen W. on August 18, 2018, 07:44:08 PM
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Husband and I bought our first ever pieces of Monart recently. We were getting back into visiting antiques fairs to hunt for glass after a 20-year period when resources had to be directed elsewhere. In the interim, we bought one piece of contemporary studio art glass every five years.
So we should have been much more cautious about the pair of nine inch tall Monart vases that we were offered at a very reasonable price by a friendly Scottish dealer who had a lot of Ysart glass on his stand. Under the yellow indoor light of a room deep in the bowels of the fair's venue, they appeared to be in good condition. I spotted a string of manufacturing grooves on one, an emerald green bucket vase, but not the extent of them, nor the sheer amount of ash stuck in them. The real disappointment, though, is the sack-shaped vase of the same height and in the same green, but with a dark-toned, everted rim with aventurine inclusions. When we examined it in daylight back at home there were numerous cracks. Some are small, but several around the base and one in the wall are much more significant. Photos below, but please bear in mind that I'm still experimenting with exposure and white balance for glass photography. I've outlined the cracks with a soft water-soluble pencil.
Any thoughts about where and how I can get the cracks stabilised would be gratefully received, as would any observations about the commonness or otherwise of this kind of damage to Monart glassware. I did read the interesting forum discussion in the link below, but some years have passed and there may be additional knowledge about this subject now.
https://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,12801.0.html
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Take them back if the damage was not pointed out to you.
most dealers would have pointed out the faults before selling them regardless of the price that they were offered at.
Annealing cracks on monart happens and for me it’s damage and as such drops the value considerably but others I know aren’t concerned about it depends on rarity and your own personal choice.I would look at them and see the damage rather than the beautiful piece of glass.
Not sure about stabilising the faults sorry.
FB
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I think it's one of the hazards of buying at a general antiques fair that you can't return items to the seller, unfortunately. It would be our word against his at this stage. Ironically, we had decided to return to buying glass we could examine before purchase after getting our fingers burnt a couple of times when the online condition reports were somewhat, shall we say, optimistic. I think this might be one of those lessons in caveat emptor and a warning only to buy from reputable dealers, although we'd all love to save some money. :-[
Can anyone else help with the repair/stabilisation aspect?
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Monart "jig-saws" do tend to hold together, annealing cracks are sadly, very common in Monart because of the ghastly conditions they had around the annealing ovens which were in a cold and draughty old wooden shed. They had little control over the temperatures.
I am saddend and disappointed that the dealer did not point out these flaws, but do not know if the price you paid reflected the damage or not.
The first thing you should do with a bit of Monart is give it a gentle ding with a fingernail to see if it rings or thuds. A thud often indicates a crack somewhere.
But good bits of Monart with cracks still sell, folk will pay the reduced price for the decorative value alone. I have a very good piece I can enjoy which I only paid £20 for.
I wouldn't have paid a full price for an undamaged bit which was the same, I don't like it that much.
I wouldn't worry about trying to "stabilise" it. Just don't keep it anywhere cold or damp. It's mostly cold and damp, or sudden temperature changes, that will make any cracks grow.
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Thank you for your helpful advice, and the reassurance about the cracks. Next time, I'll employ the 'ding' test!
I had to smile at your advice to keep the cracked vase away from cold and damp conditions...I live at the north end of the Pennines, so cold and damp are what we do here. ;D I will give some careful thought to the vase's accommodation though.
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I've heard the best way to develop and encourage your annealling cracks is to wrap it in newspaper then put it in an attic for 20-30 years.
It should be fine in your normal living conditions. :)
I know a bit about cold and damp myself, in Dundee. Furry-lined thermal long-johns are the answer. ;D
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Phew, thought I'd have to turn the heating back on! ;D
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Only when the fourth extra big jumper and fluffy bedsocks fail. ;)