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Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => Germany => Topic started by: Della on January 14, 2007, 01:28:18 PM

Title: Frosted glass bird under dome - ID = Hofbauer from the Byrde range
Post by: Della on January 14, 2007, 01:28:18 PM
Hi all,

I found this little chap in Belgium today and wondered if anyone could please provide any information about him, age, maker, use etc.
The whole thing is 4.5" in height.

(http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/albums/userpics/10026/thumb_bird.jpg) (http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-4554)(http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/albums/userpics/10026/thumb_birdbase.jpg) (http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-4553)(http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/albums/userpics/10026/thumb_birdin.jpg) (http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-4552)
:o Click to enlarge :o

I know nothing about birds either, except the robin that lives in our garden.

Thanks in advance  ;D
Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: pamela on January 14, 2007, 11:28:45 PM
Happy New Year Della, to you and your family!

Your bird seems to be a REAL find to me - never seen something equal  ???
Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Della on January 14, 2007, 11:34:53 PM

Hi Pamela,  :hug:

Thank you and I wish you and your family a wonderful, healthy and prosperous New Year, continuing throughout 2007!

I have seen 1 more, identical, on ebay, but it is also not attributed to anyone and is described as being a paperweight.

Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Glen on January 15, 2007, 07:56:19 AM
I think this is a charming item - most intriguing.

Just for info (but it doesn't help to attribute / identify this one, I'm sorry  :-\) there was a "bird in a cage" made in Carnival Glass by Summit Art Glass around 3 or 4 years ago. Unlike yours, Della, the Summit one is a solid item, and the little bird inside the cage is part of the moulded pattern.

I wish I could add some useful information - sorry I can't  :-[
Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Frank on January 15, 2007, 08:03:14 AM
I suspect it is Bohemian, but that is really a stab in the dark based on it being an unknown.

I have my own creature in a 'cage' though mine is a snake and part of a glass and lampwork http://www.ysartglass.com/Frank/JulesLang.htm
Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Connie on January 15, 2007, 08:18:39 AM
What a neat piece, Della.

It reminds me of those canary in a cage automated music boxes which are usually brass with a little canary inside.

Is the base recessed enough that it could have held a musical mechanism?

Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Della on January 15, 2007, 08:31:55 AM

Thanks for your replies,

Glen: :hug:
I am not sure what you mean by solid, if you mean that the dome is non-removable, the one on my piece isn't either. I called it a dome for want of a better word. I have tried googling Summit, but can't find anything along these lines.

Frank:
I love the glass in the link you gave, really unusual.  ;D
I will do some searching today, using the Bohemian angle, thanks.

Connie:  :D
The recess is a sort of 8 sided pyramid and is about 1" rising to 1.25," in the middle, deep. I thought when I bought it that it was supposed to 'sit' on something as there is a slight lip on the underside that gives the impression that it could have been the top piece of something. It is extremely heavy, so I ruled out a lid to a dish.  ::)
Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Glen on January 15, 2007, 08:48:58 AM
Hi Della - I haven't had a coffee yet, so I'm not really compos mentis  :o

The little bird on the one I have seen (it was in an antique shop in the Cotswolds, but I know the piece was made in the USA) is a figure that is moulded onto the piece. It's a covered jar really - but the "trompe l'oeuil" effect makes one think that it is a bird in a cage. The lid is an inverted V shape (like a coolie hat) on top of the circular jar. The pattern moulded around the outside of the jar makes it look like a bird cage with a little bird inside.

Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Della on January 15, 2007, 08:52:28 AM

Aha.... now I get what you mean (I have just had my coffee  :-[ ).
Thank you, Glen  :-*
Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Connie on January 15, 2007, 08:55:38 AM
Some more ideas. Unlike Glen, I have been up since 2 am and had 2 big cups of coffee  ;D

Could be part of the Hofbauer Byrdes series, although your piece looks better? made.  I don't know how long Hofbauer has been in business or when that series started.  I tried searching for history of the company but wasn't successful and Ivo's book didn't have a listing.

Another thought is a candy container.  The kind that was filled with those little pastel balls of candy and had a cardboard lid/bottom.



Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Cathy B on January 15, 2007, 12:51:18 PM
Isn't that gorgeous, Della! Connie, my immediate thought was Hofbauer as well -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220069251122

From memory, Hofbauer have been out of business from the 1970s - but that's just something I read on the net and should be taken with appropriate scepticism.
Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Sue C on January 15, 2007, 12:53:52 PM
It is Hofbauer, from the Byrde range.
Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Della on January 15, 2007, 01:00:26 PM

Connie, Cathy & Sue  :hug: :hug: :hug:

You are all stars!! ;D ;D

Thank you ever so much.  :-* :-* :-*
Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: KevinH on January 15, 2007, 02:14:01 PM
Just out of interest:

Della, is there no signature on your singing caged bird - as stated in the eBay listing mentioned earlier? And could you confirm that the dome is not a separate item (that is, it doesn't come off the base).

As an aside, here's a couple of Lovebirds in a Cage that is a paperweight:
http://www.kevh.clara.net/exhib99/Modern/Scottish/Caithness/ModCaithnessBird28.htm
Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Frank on January 15, 2007, 02:28:20 PM
Dated 1981 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230046972092 several in eBay shops

Could I have (larger) copies of the pictures for the Zoo please Della
Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Della on January 15, 2007, 02:31:57 PM
Hi Kev,  ;D
I can find no signature whatsoever, and I have looked, believe me. The dome definitely does not come off, not on the one that I have anyhow.
I have seen one that has a label on, where on the label it says Hofbauer c1981.

What a gorgeous paperwieight :mrgreen:

Oh course you can, Frank. What pixel size would you like me to use? These are just web size.
Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Frank on January 15, 2007, 04:33:38 PM
Full size uncompressed preferred please.

Perhaps the lid has just got stuck.
Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Della on January 15, 2007, 05:45:05 PM

I shall allow the little blighter to stand in some luke warm soapy water and see if the top comes of.  ;D

I will take photos first though, just in case something goes wrong.
Title: Re: Frosted glass bird under dome. Help please.
Post by: Frank on January 17, 2007, 11:14:39 AM
There is a new twist to this one, it would appear that the name was changed to Amaris Crystal and that this is in fact a brand name of Nachtmann, who themselves are a part of the Riedel Glassworks now. The question remains if Hofbauer was also just a trade name... seems quite likely.

This item might still be in production but info is hard to find...

http://www.rautmann.de/goods/amaris/index_amaris_e.htm