Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => Murano & Italy Glass => Topic started by: escmode on August 02, 2019, 12:52:38 AM
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This is my first post, so hey all. I recently lost my job and having worked at home since 2002 the thought of having to find a real job both scares and depresses the sh*t out of me.
On the positive side it has motivated me to set-up a small business and I've recently started selling vintage on etsy. I'm building my knowledge, albeit slowly, so sometimes need a helping-hand ID'ing, hence why I'm here.
I have these 2 Murano glass birds… and I’m not sure of a number of things. I did search the forum and went through around 30 (of the 100 found) results.Mmost were very old and many of the image links were broken. Wish the search showed an image preview!
So.... questions...
1. Are they Ducks or Goose?
2. Artist? They were sold to me as Alfredo Barbini but I’ve found other very similar pieces being quoted as made by Archimede Seguso. I’m starting to think they are neither, and likely mass produced for export.
3. Would you say value is more than £25 / $30 / €27? (can we talk about values here?)
4. I’ve read that this duck can be seen on Page 147 Of Leslie Pina's Book, Archimede Seguso: Mid-Mod Glass From Murano. Does anyone have this book that could be so kind as to check?
5. Is the technique Sommerso? Having read a description, I’m not convinced.
6. I’ve included a close-up of the label, which I believe is the same generic label as shown in row 13 here: https://www.20thcenturyglass.com/glass_encyclopedia/glass_labels/glass_labels.htm (https://www.20thcenturyglass.com/glass_encyclopedia/glass_labels/glass_labels.htm)
7. Is the date likely to be the early 70’s?
Thanks very much for taking the time to read… and double thanks in advance for any advice.
Cheers!
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Hello and welcome! :)
I think they're ducks. I'm sure somebody will be able to help, but this isn't really my area. They do look to be really well made and an unusual colour combination. I would think they're something good.
Ducks are desirable collectables they should quite happily make their own price in an auction.
We don't really tend to discuss values here, they're too contentious. Something is worth the pirce it makes, in that place, at that time. Checking sold auctions can give you ball-park figures.
You have taken beautiful images of these, and thanks for posting them directly to the board - we won't lose them. They'll stay for reference, for others. ;D
Have you looked at these under ultra violet light? I suspect they might contain uranium - a desirable feature.
I am so sorry to hear of your scary situation. I am very impressed with your desire to be completely accurate about what you're doing, and your attempts to find out and track down the image of the label you think might be right and show both, before asking!
We'll do all we can to help. :)
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You have taken beautiful images of these, and thanks for posting them directly to the board - we won't lose them. They'll stay for reference, for others. ;D
Have you looked at these under ultra violet light? I suspect they might contain uranium - a desirable feature.
I am so sorry to hear of your scary situation. I am very impressed with your desire to be completely accurate about what you're doing, and your attempts to find out and track down the image of the label you think might be right and show both, before asking!
We'll do all we can to help. :)
Nice to get a reply from you Sue and understood on the topic of discussing 'worth', I thought that might be the case.
Thank you for your compliments regards the photo's. I really enjoy this part of the process...makes me feel like I'm being creative and making use of my long-forgotten Fine Art degree. I especially loved photographing these two beauties. Whatever pose I put them in they just made the most amazing negative spaces. Got tons more images.
Yea, I think it's important to represent items for sale accurately. I'd genuinely feel a bit crap if I unknowingly mis-sold something. My current issue is I'm taking too long on the whole process. Up to 2 weeks in some cases researching & then photographing... this means I only have about 1/5th of the total pieces I've bought, actually online.
Cheers!
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Your excellent photography will help your sales, I'm sure. :)
Please, do ask us anything about glass. We are always delighted to help somebody who wants to be accurate.
Questions are what give rise to interesting discussions and brainstorming about things we're not sure about yet. We'd be utterly useless and get nowhere if folk were not asking questions.
And I'm sure we'd all love to see your photos. 8) 8) 8)
Do that bit, :) then post them and ask here if you can't find something quickly. Don't drive yourself mad chasing after something for a whole fortnight. You don't need the stress and frustration. :)
We do have a "sister board" for ceramics. This one is just for glass.
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Some more images as a cheeky thread 'bump'.
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In Pina's book on Archimede Seguso, page 147, there is a red and amber bird with an outstretched neck described as Sommerso water bird. As to duck or goose (I had swan down for one) perhaps it is in the eye of the beholder.... Anyway, that water bird has the same characteristics (apart from the stance) as your two, I think the following are from the same flock as well.
They are sommerso - one colour submerged in another, where the glass is stretched to shape the effect is diluted.
John
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Mmm, less sure about my blue and green 'duck', might be a different maker.
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It's got a puffed out chest the other hasn't. But that just makes it look duckier. :)
Is that a distinctive style by any particular maker/s?
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Murano is sometimes a bit of an identification minefield. Many makers sharing studio spaces and workers etc, those hard and fast divisions we like can be difficult to find.
All these birds have a tummy tuck, it is more pronounced on the duck.
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Thanks. :)
I just remembered I had seen pronounced duck "puffed out" chests before.
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In Pina's book on Archimede Seguso, page 147, there is a red and amber bird with an outstretched neck described as Sommerso water bird. As to duck or goose (I had swan down for one) perhaps it is in the eye of the beholder.... Anyway, that water bird has the same characteristics (apart from the stance) as your two, I think the following are from the same flock as well.
They are sommerso - one colour submerged in another, where the glass is stretched to shape the effect is diluted.
John
Thanks John for the additional info, I'm feeling reassured that these are Sommerso and ‘likely’ to be Seguso. This is a big ask, but I don’t suppose you could take a photo of page 147 and send the .jpg via PM?
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Click on the envelope icon below my name on the left and send me an email, I can then reply attaching photos. PMs are not in operation on this message board.
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Click on the envelope icon below my name on the left and send me an email, I can then reply attaching photos. PMs are not in operation on this message board.
Hi escmode, Don't think they are Archimede Seguso as I have not seen that label on anything of his. Check the labels files at top of the site.
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Here you go... Here's an example of your taller piece from my photo files as well as a screenshot of the smaller.... Classic Archimede Seguso... Rick
https://postimg.cc/gallery/2m1abvmee/
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Mmm, less sure about my blue and green 'duck', might be a different maker.
No need to guess John, the tall one is in fact by A. Seguso but in an ucommon color/shape combination. In a case like this, with very few comparables available, you need to look at markers Seguso used on these birds.
Fortunately, he used some easily identifiable design elements spread over different forms. I've attached a few screenshots as well a Seguso "Family" I sold a while back, and when you take them in their entirety, you can see the similarities between those and yours leaving little doubt as to its Seguso attribution. Rick
https://postimg.cc/gallery/vidvys7a/
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Here you go... Here's an example of your taller piece from my photo files as well as a screenshot of the smaller.... Classic Archimede Seguso... Rick
https://postimg.cc/gallery/2m1abvmee/
Fantastic... thanks muchly for sharing those images Rick. Following the comment just prior to yours, I was starting to doubt again.
What do you make of the labels on mine though? (photos in first post).
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Thanks Rick very useful, it has been a while since I last handled that duck, easier to be confident about an attribution when you have the item to hand.
Labels could be applied by an importer or retailer especially if they were trying to create their own brand. Some retailers did not want manufacturers marks or label present at all.
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I think they are lovely birds. However, you have to be really careful ascribing a particular piece to a particular glass master without a signature - and then you need to convince your self it is an original signature, and look at all the other features, colours, techniques, etc.
Masters and studios always talk about how their figures, water fowl, fish etc are inspired by the wild life they see around them in the beautiful Venice lagoon. However, i collect mid-20th C Murano, especially birds and fish and although some of them are stunningly beautiful - I certainly can’t be certain what species of bird quite a few of them are. OK, some are straightforward but a lot seem to involve a lot of artistic license.
In this case you can be certain they are somerso, you can be very confident they are Murano, both by the look of them and the label.
However, the label points away from Seguso and I can’t see an exporter peeling off a Seguso label to replace it with a generic studio art label.
The colours look more modern than I would have expected for Archimede Seguso, but it’s hard to tell in a photo.
I have visited Murano to research the source of some of my un-labelled collection - and found just one furnace making the exact same pattern, but with different colours. It does not help that a kind of retro fashion is popular in Murano now and there are many furnaces making very similar patterns and colours to those made in the 50’s.
What I also saw was how many furnaces are making near identical pieces making it impossible to trace a given piece back to a given studio without some other verification like a certificate, signature, or very distinctive technique.
So I would be reluctant to confidently describe your ducks as Archimede Seguso or even as Seguso when there are several elements of doubt.
I would confidently describe them as beautiful Murano, somerso, ducks, probably Mid to late 20th Century, and celebrate their beauty for what they are.
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Hi Just had a look at Leslie Pina's book and they look very similar. Their appears to be so many ducks etc on sale it is hard to definitively ID. They A.S. ones all have a plumped up chest or belly which is quite pronounced. They appear to me to be very well made so I suspect they are not mass market stuff.