Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: Pat on December 06, 2006, 05:16:31 PM
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I've got this vintage brooch which I think was probably brought back from Italy around the time of the old mosaic jewellery. It has a brass surround and a cameo like portrait. On the back it has minor chips around the edge from manufacture and they are shiny which makes me think the item is glass but I'm still not really sure. Any opinions please?
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-4310
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i think it's cameo - not "cameo like".
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It is a cameo, and most cameos were carved out of shell which can be chipped, and some are so fine they resemble glass, i think the shell is conch?.
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Hi Ivo. I meant cameo like as not shell. The back od the brooch is all pitted like it's been on send when hot.
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True cameo is carved from semiprecious stone (agate & suchlike) and may show natural colour variation like yours does. Such stone has a high density and the back is usually polished flat.
If the back is pitted the material may be cast resin...
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Or glass?
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I'll try to explain about the small chips. They are shiny inside like a piece of chipped glass looks under a chip, especially coloured glass, and the portrait looks more moulded than carved.
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Photo of the inside? Also try scratching with something other than a diamond.
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Pat — Withou looking at any of the replies here, I immediately recognised your fabulous broach as pâte-de-verre. It was cast from crushed glass coloured with metal oxides, then the mould was heated to fuse the glass, so the back will look rough.
The four main names associated with the technique were Walter (1870–1959), Bergé (1868–1936), Décorchemont (1880–1971), and Argy-Rousseau (1885–1953).
Source:- Judith Miller, 20th Century Glass, Dorling Kindersley, 2004, pp104–5.
This is a beautiful and valuable piece of glass.
Thank you for the image.
Bernard C. 8)
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It doesn't look like pate-de-verre to me, it doesn't seem to show the granular appearance associated with the technique, though of course it is difficult to tell without handling the piece. The consistent white opacity and sheen seen on the face suggest to me that it may be milk glass with applied colours.
Edit. I may have been wrong with my previous line of thought, I should say it doesn't have the appearance I would associate with pieces by Almeric Walter or Argy Rousseau. I have just found this interesting site illustrating cabochons in pate-de-verre and describing how the use of finer powders allows for greater opacity and detail:
http://www.karenmoyerglass.com/karen%20moyer%20glass%20-%20Pate%20de%20verre.htm
Steven
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Its a Stunning Broach!!
If i were a woman, Id wear it!!
Are you sure its brass? maybe metal is tarnished?
Regards Andy
edit, sorry, Brooch! cant even spell the word!
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The answer may be Dalle-de-verre; this is a variation on pâte-de-verre used for making tiles with a cameo effect. Equally desirable and rare, with (I think) less control over the colours.
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Thanks for all your input. here is a picture of the back of the brooch.
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-4332
Well it is stunning and I love jewellery. In fact I have a box full and never wear it so the brooch will be sold which is partly why I need an id. I think maybe not brass but copper with the frame made of wires twisted together. It has green spots and I would love to clean it up but not certain how.
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Going by the back I would say it is cast and enamelled milk glass and not Pate-de-verre. The copper/brass mount would tend to confirm it as cheaper production. Still a very desirable piece even if not in the A-R class.
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Certainly looks like glass from here. Does it chink on your teeth or does it clunk? Chinking is glass, clunking is resin.
Dalle de verre seems to be slabs of cast glass for windows and tiles but I can see pate de verre working
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I agree, it really looks like cast milk glass.....I have a fairly similar one except it's a pendant rather than a brooch & set in silver.
Possibly made in Bohemia by one of the many glass jewellery makers of the region,& the description of the setting as made up of twisted wires suggests to me the "Gurtler" work of the Sudetengermans of Bohemia. It is a traditional style of metal-craft used for jewellery settings in this area.
A lovely piece & quite collectable.
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Presumably though if you cast glass, i.e., poured molten glass into a mould you would have a smooth back and not a pitted suface. Surely, there is no reason why pate de verre could not have been used and then enamelled. It would not have to be a paste containing other colours.
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For a smooth surface you need to either grind and polish or use a mould. P-d-V tends to be smoother although some modern P-d-V is less fused giving a more textured finish than you tend to get with early 20th C P-d-V.
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Look what I just found on ebay (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Beautiful-Victorian-Milk-Glass-Cameo-Brooch-circa-1890_W0QQitemZ140069340415QQihZ004QQcategoryZ67724QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)
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Oh you little star you! Thank you for that.
Pat