Sue
My glass research goes from 1840-ish to the present, and covers art glass, pressed glass, mold blown, individual artisan glass, utility glass (like railroad signal lights or stage lights), etc. I write a newsletter for our vaseline glass club, so I am always on the lookout for fresh story ideas. Your example of the student at Edinburgh college making dreamcatchers? NO, I have not seen that, but that fits under the same category as my fish goblet....an individual artisan design.
When a mold is made, it costs a lot of money. That mold is not going to be used just a few times. You mention Japan as a possible source of new production. There is now the world's only uranium glass museum in the southern part of Japan, and they actually make some vaseline glass there. They have large annual conventions, and the general public just comes through by the 1000s to see their exhibits. (at our convention, even with local press, we might have 2 or 3 curious souls who happen to be in the hotel and wander through our exhibit).
While the websites that feature photos of those conventions use an English translator, it is possible to figure out what information is trying to be conveyed. I have not seen one of this style of buddha in any of those photos either.
(p.s. did you know that there were UK vehicle headlight lenses that were once made out of yellow uranium glass?) My depth of knowledge on vaseline/uranium glass may have a few gaps in it here and there, and everyone can point out obscure minutia facts (like car headlights, or students at Edinburgh college), I have reached a point where if something was mass produced, I would have heard about it, even if it was made within the last 5-10 years. Heck, I usually hear about it from someone if it was made last month! LOL !! I don't always know who made something or when it was made, but at least I have seen a previous example....and this was is new to me. Roy knew the point I was trying to make.
Regarding current uranium glass production: Japan is dabbling in glass production through their new museum, but I don't see a lot coming out of Japan. The majority of stuff being made now (world-wide) is in the Czech Republic. There are individual artisans who are buying blanks and doing nice representations of old Biedermeier era cut glass work in vaseline. There are tons of buttons and beads in uranium glass coming out of Czech Republic.
In the USA, Fenton is now auctioning off everything, including their equipment, their name, their proprietary information, etc. Boyd Glass has stopped glass production and will sell off their inventory until it is gone. Pairpoint is still making cup plates if special ordered. I have not heard that Mosser has shut down, but Mosser is probably the only US maker who still might be making it in the future in the USA.
I am also suspicious of new glass, but also glad to see it when it comes on the marketplace, as it means that someone thought there was enough interest in my favorite glass to take a chance on making a large investment. To buy a pound of uranium dioxide salts to make a batch of glass is about $1700 USD, and as it takes 1-2% of total batch weight to make a nice uranium glass, that is only a 50-100 pound batch. Add to that the enormous cost of the natural gas to melt the batch, and it adds up very quickly.
The Japanese influence on glass was very big in the 1920s. Both Gillander and Cambridge made Buddhas. There is also a geisha made by Cambridge. I have also seen another geisha made from vaseline glass that is different from the Cambridge version. Other companies also made other patterns that had a Japanese influence to them during that time period and the glass was distributed world wide. My first impression is that this piece was made during that 1920s time period.
Mr. Vaseline Glass
Topic: Help ID Vaseline Glass Buddha (Read 6088 times)
