Topic: Rainbow vase - English or Bohemian?

[Michelleb007]

Hi there,
   I am looking for some help on identifying a rainbow glass vase. I collect Bohemian glass, and feel this could be English, so am really out of my area of knowledge! I believe it is an old vase, based on wear, and quite a good size - 7 3/4" tall x 5 1/2" wide (19.7cm x 14cm). I just fell in love with it when I saw it - it is so vibrant. It has a cut and polished rim, but the few examples I have found of English attributed rainbow glass appear to be fire polished. Did English glass makers do cut & polished rims like this? Harrach made rainbow glass, but the rim doesn't feel quite right to me for Bohemian...any help would be much appreciated!

[Michelleb007]

I wanted to add a few images of vases that I found with English or Bohemian attributions, in case this is any help...the first is attributed to Victorian English production, while the jug I believe is more likely Harrach than English...thanks again for any help you can offer! Michelle

[Mod: Third party images removed. URLs provided below - see Reply #9]

[KevinH]

Hi Michelle, welcome to the Board,

I know very little about items in "rainbow" colours. And searching the Board for other examples I could only find one thread containing (or linking to) photos of similar items: Stourbridge satin rainbow quilted airtrap? vase

My own view is that the strong colouring on the items you have shown rule out British or American produce, as they (at least, the ones I have seen or heard about) were made in gentle, muted shades.

[Michelleb007]

Hi Kevin,
Thanks so much for searching the board for other examples; I really appreciate it. I will keep the 'softer colors' of English & American rainbow glass in mind, and try to look in the Bohemian direction, or perhaps even Sweden, more.
Michelle

[Lustrousstone]

I wonder whether this might actually be mid 20th C Japanese. The arris on the rim looks unusual for Bohemian and the colours are clearly delineated.

[chopin-liszt]

These are absolutely fascinating, I've had a "thing" about rainbow-stripey stuff almost all my life, I've never seen anything like these.
Thank-you so much for showing them to us - an absolute delight.
You've added something to my wish list in a very, very big way.

[Michelleb007]

Thank you, Lustrousstone. I hadn't even considered Japanese; I wasn't aware that they made rainbow glass. I agree with you about the rim - it has really been throwing me off, so maybe it is more modern than I have been thinking. The wear on the base led me to believe otherwise, but a piece from say the 1950's is still of course ~65 years old, isn't it?

And thanks also chopin-listz; I am so glad you like them! This one just really caught my eye, and it looks gorgeous sitting in a window.

[chopin-liszt]

These do seem to be pretty unknown to a fair few of us who have been fascinated by glass for a very long time, they cannot be at all common.
I wouldn't have missed any of it, if I'd ever seen any and it would have been coming home with me if I had and I could afford it. I love the way that "tartans" emerge from the colours.

[Michelleb007]

Sue, thank you very much. Based on all my searching, I'd say they are pretty uncommon, too! Loetz made rainbow glass, as did Harrach, and apparently also Stevens & Williams, and some American firms. But they are all quite hard to find. I just have never seen one with a cut rim quite like this, so need to start broadening my search. You know, the colors are very much like tartans, now you mention it!
Michelle

[Michelleb007]

My apologies for my second post regarding other examples of rainbow glass; here are a few links to some other examples I have come across:
English attributed rainbow glass: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/122863896058280961/
English attributed, but I actually feel more likely to be Harrach, based on some feedback I had from a Bohemian glass collector friend: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/320811173431959340/
Signed, Harrach: http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/103393-harrach-enamel-painted-rainbow-vase?in=loved-by-Michelleb007
- Michelle