Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => Malta Glass => Topic started by: essi on January 09, 2022, 12:33:07 PM
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Did any products leaving the Mdina glasshouse have names or pattern numbers attached to them?
I have tried to find a name for my bowl with no success.
Any help appreciated.
The bowl is 135mm diameter, 75mm tall and the opening at the top is 40mm.
Thanks,
Tim
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It's a strapped ashtray. No name, no number. Dating to the early-ish mid '70s / possibly early '80s. Each one is unique in shape.
The body is clear and crizzled with silver salts, then strapped in teal/clear mixture with silver chloride. Sometimes they are not ashtrays, but have a more closed-in top with a small round hole, I suppose it is technically a squat rounded vase.
I really love these. 8) 8) 8) Great examples of good early work.
ETA!
Yours is one of the vases rather than ashtray. I've only just realised that! I thought I could seen the indents for the ashtray on the strapping, but they're just how the strapping went. I did have an ashtray in my mitts to compare and just launched into ashtray. Sorry.
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Thanks for the swift reply Sue.
What you have written is what i was finding yesterday looking online.
The closest i saw was an ashtray version of my bowl and it was described as an inside out vase.
I was not sure that was right as you have helped me out before on an inside out bowl.
I should have taken a better picture of the top opening
Are all the names we use for Mdina glass given by collectors and dealers over the years?
Tim
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There is Crystal Blue Stripe, a name given to a Harris design, but not until later.
There is Tortoiseshell, which is a deep reddish brown splodgy and swirly pattern, (not to be confused with IoWSG Tortoiseshell which is the same as Mdina's Earthtones). Again, both Harris designs and I think, named by him.
There is Ming, a Harris design and name for the teal casing over a bubbly yellow background with marvered in strapping to create the pattern, which can be striped or kind of jig-sawed. And Earthtones which was brown over yellow bubbly background.
So Crystal Blue Stripe was named later - when they started actually using crystal rather than whatever cullet they could get their hands on.
There was Tiger, designed by Boffo, but later the design was altered a bit to be more finely blown with much flatter colours and decor and renamed Marble. I think it also used silver nitrate rather than silver chloride.
All other names and or numbers are things that appeared after Said took over, as was CBStripe.
Inside outs and Fish are the only shape names I know of.
I christened another early pattern seaweed. It is not any official name, I just thought it looked like bladderwrack and discussions I was having required a shorthand for knowing what we were talking about. :-[
Clear?
I've underlined the original Mdina names from the early period to help a bit. ;D
All others are later additions.
No, this is not an inside-out. 8)
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Thanks for the comprehensive reply Sue. I think Mdina glass is underrated and will carry on picking up nice pieces
when i see them.
Tim
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It's the best way. Deciding you like it.
Sea and Sand was another fairly early name, but post-Harris. That is a band of Tiger around the middle of a piece which is all bubbly yellow.
I'm digging around looking for a seaweedy bit to show you. (note the lack of capital first letter, to indicate it is no kind of official name)
And how could I have forgotten the early range that ended up being called Rosenthal?
It was designed by Harris for the company of that name, but for some reason never got put into full production.
ETA. Found a good thread to illustrate seaweed. :)
https://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,57727.0.html
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The correct name for Crystal Blue Stripe is actually Crysal (= crizzle) Blue Stripe
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Right. :)
That's the new, new name. The current incarnation.
Designed for twit-speak? ;D
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Apologies for some early names of shapes I forgot about at the time. :-[
Chinese bowls. Verdala bowls. Japanese globes. Chalices. Lollipops. Side stripes. Side stripe Lollipops.
I am unsure if Chimney vase is an official name or not.