Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: bat20 on December 30, 2023, 10:40:53 AM
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Here’s another online purchase which I didn’t dare to believe could be what I thought it could be ! ,but it’s arrived this morning and I’m fairly certain it’s Powell glass circa 1900.It’s 5.5” in height and mould blown.I’ve posted many times before hoping for a Powell conformation, but I really can’t think who else this could be …let me down easy !!thanks .
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Just adding a couple more images , there is very subtle vertical ribs you can just make out .
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I would say not. All the Powell blue opal I've seen was much more delicate and ethereal than this. Is is lead crystal? A fair number of companies made opalescent glass...
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The neck is the thickest part and it’s not a heavy piece,the base is very even and thin and the body colour seems very right ?,Has anyone got any examples of other similar pieces from other companies as that would be really helpful and I’m having a bit of a fruitless search , apart from Walsh.I did find this on the V&A site ..probably earlier than this one though .
https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AT5383/full/1400,/0/default.jpg
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I’ve found another whitefriars jug that’s not particularly ethereal but in the straw version.Ninth piece down.
http://www.lovedecanters.co.uk/LDWhitePre1900.html
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But look at the blue opal pieces... Quite different to yours colourwise for a start. The problem with a lot of English glass is that it is so poorly documented, so many companies came and went, and so much paperwork was thrown away or lost in the war. And nobody even mentions most Scottish glass
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I would question the handle of your jug, it says not to me, squared off like that feels like the wrong style and it looks like clear glass unlike the body. The shape of the jug does not fit to my eye either. Is that a bit of iridescence around the neck too?
John
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No iredescence that’s the light,the jug in the last example has a green handle which again is different from the main body..(if I argue for the defence we’ll get a better balance ) The Roman style handle is something they did ,but I know this one is a bit more Loetz than Powell.The sea green is spot on for me and I’ve been here before looking at greens from other companies….could there have been a crossover period between styles ?It is well made and leaded , would we not see more examples like this cropping up more regularly let alone lost paperwork .?
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But blue opal and sea green are different colours
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I used to get opal effects on green ash glazes in wood fired kilns,something to do with the fly ash landing on the pots . I don’t know if the chemistry is the same with glass making ?,but I suspect something is added and the effects are very random .
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Opalescent glass contains arsenic and/or fluorides and is selectively and carefully reheated to produce the opalescence
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I would question the handle of your jug, it says not to me, squared off like that feels like the wrong style and it looks like clear glass unlike the body. The shape of the jug does not fit to my eye either. Is that a bit of iridescence around the neck too?
There is a jug on page 98 of Jackson’s Whitefriars Glass that looks to be the same shape, maybe very slightly different but it’s hard to tell. The handle is the same shape except maybe more fine and with no tail at the top running down the body. That one is just dark green, before 1878, pattern no. 1388.
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Thanks for the input Ekimp ,I thought I better keep quiet until I ordered the cheapest version of that book ,it arrived today so I could could study it in a bit more detail . It encouraged me me to take a few more images under different light conditions and I think it is still a possible for Powell blue opal ?
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And a couple more today with natural daylight .