Topic: Mdina maybe MDG Whale?

[chriscooper]

No label and no signature on this hitherto unknown piece but then one offs and friggers usually don't. That's the  beauty and the mystery of them there only unknown till one turns up.

What known boffo pieces from MDG and Mdina, I presume your talking animals do you mean I can recall a fish and a duck in a similar streaky pattern. I don't think there is any doubt concerning the time frame this  whale was made though the general consensus regarding the colours leans towards a Mdina piece rather tham MDG and as Mdina production at that time just didn't include fish I came to the conclusion the only person at Mdina at that time with the skill and inclination to make fish in the style of Murano would have had to be Vicente Boffo himself an Italian.

[Nemmie]

I would say Chris has the same amount of provenance as other pieces that have been previously posted as being by Boffo and seemingly accepted as being so.

I can think of a duck and a fish off the top of my head. This piece is very similar both in material and construction.

Why would you think it wasn't by him?

I think the market will decide.

[glassobsessed]

I agree looks to be the same hand, the attributions to Boffo have always required a small leap of faith for me (I may well have missed some of the chain of provenance) but there is a logic to the argument - including some distinctly Whitefriars like shapes etc. Maybe when the auction is finished a new thread bringing all the various items together with an overview would be useful.

That whale is flying away, must have hidden powers.

John

[WhatHo!]

I agree that this is possibly Mdina (but plenty others did similar colours) but its nothing like any Boffo I have ever seen. I have been collecting Boffo aniamls etc (and have several fish) for many years and the techniques to produce this whale are not what I would expect to see. The way the mouth, fins, tail and eyes are formed simply do not look like Boffo. To my eye this is amateurish and nothing that could have come from Boffo's skilled hand.

[Nemmie]

I don't think it looks amateurish at all. In fact I would rate it as a better piece than the fish which does nothing for me whatsoever.

We all have our own opinions and tastes. As I said before the market will decide.

[WhatHo!]

Hi, I really cant see what part of this you think is Boffo, I see so much stuff trying to be attributed to Boffo nowadays. It's not really whether you rate a piece or not, its quality of Boffo work and the techniques he used to produce his pieces that counts.

When you have a frigger, (unless its a 'known' piece),  you can only then look for similarities in the way its produced to try come to a conclusion to its maker. The obvious thing to my eye is the way the fins have been crudely applied and also every other fish I have seen Boffo crimped the fins. Also Boffo always held the fish on the rod between the fins, which leaves some sort of scar or grind mark and I see no sign of this either. On no other fish does Boffo have a pushed in eye, he always used a bit of pipe either pushed straight into the glass or applied a blob and pushed the pipe into that.

As you say we are all entitled to are opinions and mine as collector of Boffo (and all evidence I can see), I have to say, that this is very unlikely to be right.

Of course there will be some that disagree and if that is the case please tell what part of this is Boffo-like so I can learn something new

[Nemmie]

Who else was given license to produce animals at Mdina at the time this made?

Whales don't have fancy fins. Whales have different eyes. I don't think you can base the construction of everything he made on the few items that you have decided have been made by him.

[WhatHo!]

Anyone working there could make bits in their lunch break etc.
I'm just basing my observations on what is known about Boffo and the techniques he used, none of which can be seen here. I think there is a very good chance this was made at Mdina but when and by who is another matter and certainly does not fall into the 100% Boffo category as stated.

[chopin-liszt]

Not looking at the modelling, (which isn't anything I know about), it is the way the colours are used that make me suspect Boffo. In the early days at Mdina, it would only have been one of the Boffos or M. Harris who was able to get the colours all so swirly and cloudy and looking as good as that.

I would have though too, that perhaps it might have been two makers working on it? Both Boffos or one and somebody else? That might account for the internal colouring and the external modelling being by different hands?

I collect the glassware from MDG, very often the colouring  and design are beautifully executed, but Boffo must have been wotrking on it with an apprentice, because the form of the thing can be very lumpy, and have really wonky thick rims, yet the colourway is simply stunning.

There are also pieces which can easily be attributed to Boffo on the grounds of having delicate fine rim flanges as well as glorious colouring.

At MDG, Vicente Boffo was supposed to be training up a load of apprentices from scratch.

[WhatHo!]

Hi Sue, I greatly respect you and your views and like yourself I have a great passion for Boffo.

I think saying that this Boffo because of its colour is a bit tenuous and they would have had 'boys' working there, Joseph Said would have fallen into that class. Boffo and Michael would have been showing others how gather the glass for sure.

My concern here is that without my thoughts on this all of a sudden we have an example of a Mdina Whale which could be referred to in the future as Boffo.
 
A large 9" piece like this if made by Boffo would have some of his traits about it and this has none. For the good of Boffo research there has to be doubt about this piece IMHO.