Topic: Mdina or Kerry glass bell vase. ID = Phoenician Glass, Malta

[chriscooper]

Mdina possibly ? Isle of Wight Mmm. maybe ? Kerry probably?
Really nice example any opinions welcome.

[NMott]

Those colours look like Mdina

[chopin-liszt]

It's not Mdina, the colour isn't right and it is splodgy blue in clear, not something I've ever seen in Mdina.

It does look a bit like Shamrock, either Kerry or IoWSG, but as there is no mark, it is impossible to tell, really, where it's from.
One or the other I would think, though.
I'm not 100% sure.

[chriscooper]

Thanks Sue 2 other respected collectors have also said not Mdina so will go with that
My gut feeling is Kerry, by the way do you like it? my initial thought was 'wow' and having sold thousands of pieces of glass I don't say that very often and  in fact I have said it twice this weekend the other piece I will post too now it's an oil burner with some beautiful iridescent trailing

[chopin-liszt]

Another thought I had later is that it might be Phoenician.
They did, early on, use this shade of blue splodge in clear to give rise to a paler shade of background with silver chloride effects. You don't see much of it around though - I only have one bit, which I bought early on, not knowing it wasn't Mdina.

But it's not nearly as nice a piece as this bowl.

Yes, I do like it Chris.

[glassobsessed]

How big is it Chris? The design looks familiar but I can not place it, Phoenician may be a good call.

The thing that had me thinking maybe not Isle of Wight Studio bell vase is the tapering instead of vertical sides.

John

[chopin-liszt]

Shamrock had pale olivey green splodges, not silver chloride effects, but Kerry did use silver chloride, so although it couldn't be Shamrock, it could still be Kerry, although I am starting to lean very heavily towards Phoenician, because I've just tracked my bit down and I can get it to look exactly like your pics by turning it around in the light.
I don't have pics atm.

[chriscooper]

It's just a little over 3" John the splodges are pale blue Sue I have a photo with the light behind it and the blue looks like the Mdina one often described as 'jewel like'
Not a great photo but maybe also shows the shape better.

[glassobsessed]

Here is that Phoenician decor:

Glaskilian

on ebay

[chopin-liszt]

The batteries in my camera are flat, but my piece is a cylinder vase, without the heavy decor at the bottom.

The browns/ochres come out when light is coming through the piece, but reflected from the surface, it is all yellow.

I think we have reached the answer. It is Phoenician. I am absolutely certain.

(I've been saying for years that Phoenician is highly under-rated. They did diversify really well from Mdina in artistic terms, it's not all "variations on a theme."). This design though, I reckon is fairly early, before real diversification started.