Topic: Any ideas where this twisted Red Glass Vase is from. (ID Japan?)

[seanduxbury]

Hi.  Hope someone can help.  Found this twisted vase in the North-West of England and am hoping someone might be able to ID it.  It measures 16 cms tall x about 12 cms in diameter across the widest part and is heavy almost 1200 gms.  Unsigned, it has a polished pontil so my first thoughts were possibly Whitefriars but I'm now 90% sure that it isn't.  Any help on who when or where would be really appreciated.  I've attached 2 images, one of the item and one of the base.  If anyone wants more detailed images please let me know.  Thanks.

[seanduxbury]

Just found this on ebay - is this it?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Czech-Bohemian-Skrdlovice-Glassworks-Spiral-Twisted-Glass-Vase-by-Rudolf-Beranek-/151600788744?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item234c1c7508

[bOBA]

Hi, on the right lines.... They are both, very likely, nice Chribska pieces

Robert (bOBA)

[Anik R]

Hi,

Of course, I may certainly be wrong, but I'm inclined to say your vase is more likely Japanese than Czech.  Perhaps worth looking into.

Anik

[seanduxbury]

Hi - thanks.  The thing that has worried me about this vase and its Czech origin is the polished pontil.  But the only examples I've found that are similar on the web both claim to be Czech - see these links (I know they are ebay)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191509901547?clk_rvr_id=789866064399&rmvSB=true

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Czech-Bohemian-Skrdlovice-Glassworks-Spiral-Twisted-Glass-Vase-by-Rudolf-Beranek-/151600788744?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item234c1c7508

If anyone has any pointers for Japan I'd really appreciate it

[Lustrousstone]

The fist one is definitely Skrdlovice but it's quite different to yours. I'm not sure why a polished pontil mark should be worrying though

[seanduxbury]

Still trying to learn about glass and the only pieces I've seen with labels in our local auction houses have sheer polished bases not polished pontils, so I've assumed (probably wrongly) that these sort of pieces from Czech should have similar bases.  Unfortunately the Mark Hill book I have only shows the  pressed glass bases.  I've tried to get hold of the Sklo Union book without success (can't afford the new version) so is there any other reference book I should look at?

[Anik R]

The vase in the first link is Skrdlovice (but by Jaroslav Beranek and not Jan).  I don't recognise the second vase.  Your piece is not Skrdlovice -- Robert spent many years studying Skrdlovice and he would have told you it's Skrdlovice if it was. 

The majority of post-war Czech art glass has a perfectly smooth and highly polished base with no sign of where the pontil was attached. All Skrdlovice and Chribska pieces I've handled had perfectly smooth bases.  Though it's not visible in your photo, if your vase has got an indent from the pontil, then I would say it's definitely not Czech.  Also, 'swirls' in Chribska tend to go down from right to left rather than left to right.

Mark Hill's "Hi Sklo Lo Sklo" is a good start.  Marcus Newhall's "Sklo Union" book is very good, but it only addresses pressed glass production.  I can recommend "Beranek & Skrdlovice: Legends of Czech Glass" (by Robert Bevan-Jones and Jindrich Parik, published by Mark Hill) for a better understanding of Skrdlovice designs and designers -- if you are serious about Czech glass and wish to learn more, it's well worth the money.  Also, Jindrich's Ceskoslovensko Sklo website is worth visiting.  http://www.cs-sklo.cz/

Anik 

[seanduxbury]

Thanks - all excellent information.  I think I can safely conclude that this is not Czech as there is a indented polished pontil.  So as suggested perhaps I should look towards Japan - date wise maybe 1970's?  Maker - I haven't got the foggiest idea where to start.  The research I've done so far indicates that in the 1960's & 1970's some of the Japanese glass companies hired Czech and Murano designers to teach their own design teams but that's about all I've been able to find so far (and that took several weeks from a previous post I made).  I can't find any sort of reference guides (either web based or printed material) on Japanese glass, just occasional posts on forums such as these.  If anyone has any information or pointers it would be much appreciated.  BTW this vase was a £4 charity shop find so I feel it's already paid for itself through this post.  Sean

[seanduxbury]

After spending several hours trawling the web to try and find some info about Japanese Glass, I think I might have found a possible maker.  Sanyu.  I found this vase on a website (see link below) - not like mine I know but does show some similarities and does have the polished concave pontil.  Any thoughts anyone?

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/122737-sanyu-glass-japan-vase