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Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: CollectoMundi on March 29, 2020, 01:47:17 PM

Title: Is this vase Murano
Post by: CollectoMundi on March 29, 2020, 01:47:17 PM
Hi everyone, sorry if Im making mistakes in where/how im posting but I have a question: I have a massive collection of glass ranging from 18th century over art nouveau and art deco but Italian glass I tend to struggle with - I think this maybe Italian.

It crackled glass - blue opalescent on the inside, gold inclusions in the outer layer on a ruby base with a quality pointil mark.

It should be at least 70 years old

Any ideas?
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: glassobsessed on March 29, 2020, 06:26:54 PM
Can you add a photo of the base please.

John
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: CollectoMundi on March 30, 2020, 07:06:04 AM
Hi there. I have to admit this one is really throwing me for a loop. I've had this vase for years and im pretty good at detective work... but i swear I have no clue ... ???
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: glassobsessed on March 30, 2020, 01:58:46 PM
Thank you. The opalescent blue is a surprise but also very distinctive - hopefully it may help.

Another photo of the whole vase would be good that shows the shape without distortion - the camera really needs to be close to level with the middle of the vase - hoping the shape might offer a clue.
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: CollectoMundi on March 30, 2020, 02:33:42 PM
Hello there,

Agreed the blue interior is very distictive - in addition the gold inclusions are very fine and slightly darker then what you'd normally find. I've gone down the route of Bohemian glass too because of the crackled glass texture but I cant seem to find any maker that combined all these techniques. Pic in attachment

Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: glassobsessed on March 30, 2020, 02:42:32 PM
The closest on a quick look is Loetz Mimosa Rosa: https://www.loetz.com/decors-a-z/mimosa-rosa

but no blue interior. Still might be worth asking Loetz collectors for their opinion. Is the blue just in the neck or does it run into the vase?
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: CollectoMundi on March 30, 2020, 03:07:17 PM
Hey there  :) I've gone down the same route but the crackle is deeper than that of a Loetz piece plus I can't find any gold inclusion pieces and non with the interior layer - please find as attachment the interior pic of the vase.
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: chopin-liszt on March 30, 2020, 04:26:13 PM
This is a really interesting and mysterious beast. ;D
First thoughts were that it is very like (but absolutely isn't) Dartington Studio "Alchemy", then my guts veer to WMF, which I don't think it is either.
It is certainly something of serious quality.  8)

I do know of a Bohemian Tye shape Hyacinth, which was opalescent pale blue, (as is the internal pale blue in this) and it was also Uranium.

Does the internal layer react to ultra violet light? Is it Uranium as well as opalescent?
It would be such an unusual combination of things to find, they may be related?

http://lustrousstone.co.uk/cpg/displayimage.php?pid=2767
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: CollectoMundi on March 30, 2020, 06:20:37 PM
Hi Sue,

Thanks for your help & thoughts - I've just checked and it's not uranium - it may help to know the vase was found in Belgium and it came from an estate where most items came from the 1920s-1930s - the scuff marks underneath also indicate 100 years of wear.

I agree this is a high end quality piece - my collection ranges from Gallé to Daum and most is high end art nouveau and art deco and I think it's from this period - it's definitely not Belgian as I know their production quite well so Im torn between Italy & Bohemia.
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: chopin-liszt on March 30, 2020, 06:29:13 PM
My own major area is early European (and a little American) Studio Glass. I only really dabble around in other areas, but I know something good when I see it.  ;D
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: CollectoMundi on March 30, 2020, 06:46:33 PM
You'd love our fleamarkets - Belgium's the perfect conversion ground for all the big European glass factories and I've litterally found every major brand here - but it's these mystery pieces that really get me curious  ;)
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: chopin-liszt on March 30, 2020, 06:56:00 PM
I know I would.
But I'd be hoping to encounter a mysteriously unrecognised piece by Maurice Marinot.  ;D
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: glassobsessed on March 31, 2020, 05:07:04 PM
Another photo please! This time I am curious about the outer layer, can we have a closer look?

Is it my imagination or can I see a ring of wear around the base?
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: chopin-liszt on March 31, 2020, 05:10:35 PM
You can add up to 4 pics per post. Just click on the bit under the usual box which says "more attachments" and another box will pop up for you.  :)
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: CollectoMundi on March 31, 2020, 07:07:26 PM
Hi there - yes there is where to the bottom yet you cannot rub the gold foil off the surface of the vase (I know trust me.. it took me 3 hours to get the thing clean)

As attachment a more detailed pic of the outer layer.
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: chopin-liszt on March 31, 2020, 07:49:10 PM
A soak in lukewarm, diluted, biological laundry liquid, in a bowl with a towel in the bottom (to prevent crashes), followed by use of a soft toothbrush might have saved you three hours of hard labour.  ;D
John would really like to see the ring of wear, if you can manage to bring it up - maybe talcum powder?
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: CollectoMundi on April 01, 2020, 06:16:48 AM
Ever since then I have found my magical solution to clean antique glass: "elbow grease" (not to be used on anything painted)

as attachment a detail of the wear of the base and two more to show how the vase changes when held up to the light.

The blue fades and becomes ruby again in the light.
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: glassobsessed on April 01, 2020, 08:42:21 AM
Thank you. This is a tricky bit of glass! The shape does remind me of many Nouveau examples, indulge me here.... Imagine it did not have an opalescent interior, what would we think then? I would say it looks very much like a bit of Loetz. What if the interior was not intended to be opalescent but was a result of a mistake in manufacture?

Just throwing some ideas around...
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: CollectoMundi on April 01, 2020, 09:28:36 AM
I absolutely agree - I went down the exact same path in the beginning and ended up discarding it because of the gold inclusions ... This thing has been annoying me for 4 years now  ;)
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: ahremck on April 01, 2020, 02:47:25 PM
A very interesting beast.  I would prefer Czech to Murano as an origin.  Most crackled glass with such heavy cracks thet I have seen was Czech.  Strangely, I have a blue over white crackle that I know was made here in Australia in a lighting factory over 40 years ago. 

You would expect the red to dominate the blue as you get nearer the base if the blue was getting thinner in the blowing process to create the crackle effect.   I know of a Jindrich Parik who has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Czech glass.   He might be kind enough to either tell you or point you in a good direction if it is indeed Czech.  You can find him at https://www.cs-sklo.cz/ Which is a site on Czech glass.

Ross
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: chopin-liszt on April 01, 2020, 03:51:28 PM
 ;D "a" Jindrich Parik ?
You mean THE Jindrich Parik, don't you, Ross?

I wonder too, if Craig, (Obscurities) might have an idea.
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: CollectoMundi on April 02, 2020, 06:52:03 AM
thank you! I' ll try my luck there and I'll keep everyone in da loop  ;D
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: ahremck on April 03, 2020, 07:13:21 AM
I certainly do mean THE Jindrich Parik.  I have always found a polite request comes back with a very useful response.

Ross
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: CollectoMundi on April 03, 2020, 07:33:44 AM
friendly email sent - fingers crossed  ;)
Title: Re: Is this vase Murano
Post by: rocco on April 06, 2020, 07:06:13 PM
I will through one of my favourite mystery pieces in the pot:

>> Mystery (art nouveau?) vase, opaque teal with golden iridescent crackle pattern  (https://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,58231.0.html)

The gold colour in my crackle pattern looks similar to the surface of yours.

How is the surface of your vase finished? - I guess it is gold iridescent coloured, not gold foil...? (Because on your pics with backlight the vase becomes transparent, which would be impossible for gold foil I think?)

Rather unlikely that they are both from the same maker, but there are some interesting links in that thread!


Anyway, beautiful piece!

Michael