Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: glassamore on October 20, 2020, 05:24:16 PM
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Hello my dear experts,
Another glass vase just purchased for £8. My research points me to Stevens and Williams 1890's am I correct in my findings?
Description:-
Cased Glass Pink Satin Finish with "swag" design on main body then the pink gets darker as it moves up to the neck. The neck rim is pinched and has a ruffled top. Hand blown snapped off pontil mark. The vase measuring about 6 inches (15cm) high x 3 1/2 inches (9cm) diameter widest point.
I am learning about glass by the day - particularly from the Glass Message Board site. Have I got all the terminology correct? Such as Satin Finish, Swag Design/Pattern, Ruffled Top, Pinched Rim, Snapped off Pontil mark etc.
Thank you so much in advance for any pointers and confirmation of maker and date.
With Best Regards
Glass Amore
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P.S. Sorry forgot to ask - is the terminology Cased Milk Glass ? Thanks Glass Amore (Gary)
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Also, just put Vase under UV torch as is glows green slightly in the white glass suggesting the presence of uranium but does not glow like true uranium glass ie vivid bright green. i've attached another picture.
Regards
Glass amore
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I think you have all your terminology perfect. ;D
I'm not quite so sure about "cased milk glass". Milk glass is opaque white, but I can't tell from the pics if that is what it is, cased.
Your green glow comes from the manganese decolourant used in the metal.
The way to tell the difference between a manganese dull glow and real uranium brightness is to take your UV source away from the item. Uranium will still glow when your source is 6 feet away, manganese is a lot duller and the glow will fade to nothing long before you reach that sort of distance.
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I've found that with these opaque cased glass pieces you often get a much stronger UV reaction if you shine your torch inside. This may be due to the opacity or composition of the outer glass. Having said that I would have expected the white inner glass of your vase to glow much more brightly than it does in your photo if it contained uranium.
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It's difficult to tell from your photographs as they don't enlarge well enough however it looks as though it might be airtrap. I think it looks as though it has a polished pontil mark? Is it snapped off and rough/sharp or has it been polished into a circle?
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Thank you Flying Free your prompt mail. The pontil is polished out and slightly rough around it but not sharp. I have attached higher res images.
The last image is a new shot of the pontil.
With best regards
Glass Amore (Gary)
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I don't know but possibly Harrach? I have one that I've seen attributed to 'Riedel if I remember correctly, although mine has a cut rim.
This one the owner says has a polished pontil mark and also has the Harrach mark on the pontil. It's also graduated colour but a different design and in green:
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/156166-harrach-atlas-glass-vase-circa-1885?in=user
Hopefully someone will be along who knows more about these vases and can help you further :)
m
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Thank you NevB and Chopin-Lizst
Yes not Uranium Glass as you said must be the manganese in the glass ( as I am reading I am learning ) The "Milk Glass" is opaque and matt in appearance. I think it is cased glass as I can see clear outer glass when I look at the base. Attached two more pics.
Could it be from the 1890's and a Stevens and Williams?
Thanks
Kind Regards
Glass Amore (Gary)
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Hi, I posted just before you did so you may have missed it :) with a link to a Harrach vase in the post so you can compare. Harrach are a Bohemian maker.
m
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Thanks Flying Free
The Harrach site is very interesting its description is very close to my little vase ...
"...the satin glass surface has an iridescent sheen .Milk glass inner layer is covered in a green glass layer( Mine is pink ) that is deeper at the top and and shades to almost clear at the base in between this is an air trapped layer of circular bubbles that have been stretched towards the top when the glass has been hand shaped... there is stamp on the polished pontil the Harrach three feather mark"
Could my pontil mark have three feathers or is it an extension of the pattern?
This is so interesting to me and the knowledge I gain is so valuable.
Thanks again
Glass Amore (Gary)
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No yours doesn't have the three feathers Harrach mark on it unfortunately.
The pontil mark also doesn't look completely polished either but it's quite difficult to tell because of the decor on the vase.
I would come down on the side of it being Bohemian rather than English but I don't really know for sure.
m
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:) I can see some blues appearing, towards the top of that last pic - is that an artifact of photography, or can you find colours in what you are calling the milk glass when light is coming through it?
If you can find sunset colours - fire and blues when light is coming through opaque white glass, it is opalescent, not milk.
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Thanks Flying Free and Chopin-Liszt
Looks like I am going Bohemian thanks for all the information.
The last photo:- There is no Blue in the glass its a refection. There are no colours in the white glass so going on the information given I would say it is milk glass.
The only thing is the date which I guess could of been made yesterday or 100 years ago. How on earth do you tell the age of glass? Shape and colour must be the only thing one can go on. Or find similar which is dated - but they maybe wishful thinking saying something is older than what it really is!
Thank you all - so informative and knowledgeable - I have lots to learn.
With Best Regards
Glass Amore (Gary)
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;D Old glass feels different to newer. Recipes for the metal have been changed and improved over the years.
I can't really describe it too well - old glass is somehow more "brittle" and often more finely blown than newer - but modern makers use a lot of lead crystal - which is a lot easier to work but you end up with something thicker, more solid and heavier.
That's just very much in general - you need to get to know how each different sort of glass feels and how it sounds when tapped with a fingernail.
Nothing can substitute getting to FEEL the glass. We have had people here who even like to lick it. ;D
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I'm going with Bohemian too (although mid-20th century Italian is another option)
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Something has popped into my head. I think Glassobsessed showed a Franz Welz airtrap piece with these half moon airtrap patterns on. I might have misremembered and it may have been spiral stripes not moons but I'll try and find it.
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Last night, I was watching a rerun of the tv series "Heroes", and in about the last minute of episode 15 of series 1, there was a blue and white swagged, satinated lamp base sitting on a table which immediately made me think of this piece.
The programme was on bbc iplayer, and my machine doesn't like rewinding, so I didn't get a second look.
But it did make me wonder if your vase might be American? :)
I don't think this is airtrap, is it, m?
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Yes, it's airtrap
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I'm seeing shiney swags and matte swags - but no bubbles or air.
Is there not supposed to be air in airtrap? ???
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The shiny swags are the air
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Forgive me for being dense, the pics are not showing anything that looks like a bubble. Is there an actual air bubble, trapped under those bits which are left unsatinated - or is it just satinated on different bits?
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It's all satinated. It's the air in the bubbles reflecting the light. That's how air trap works
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;D Thanks. That's me done for today - you've taught me something I didn't know before. :-*
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;D :-*