Topic: moulded ruby red vase for id.

[Paul S.]

According to Raymond Notley this colour became easier to produce after c. 1920 when selenium and copper were found to give a result similar to gold, and most ruby red pressed material, he says, "is post 1924".         In the light of that comment I'm unsure how we're supposed to interpret Ray Slack's comments about Sowerby's 'Rubine' -  a deep red translucent glass -  which he says Sowerby first made in 1882.       I've had Sowerby pressed bowls in 'Rubine' and it's an attractive colour, probably much the same as the piece here, but for whatever reason, as a general comment there appear to be fewer examples of pressed material in this ruby red than either clear or other colours  -  perhaps the failure rate for red is higher.
I thought this vase could be Czech.  -  the slight not toward a bird bath base, and a geometric sort of patterning  -  but can't find the design anywhere so far, so hoping someone might have an idea.  Horizontal notching on corners is not uncommon, and bearing in mind the base wear I thought it could go as far back as the '50s or '60s.     Height is c. 6 inches ( about 145 mm).    Backlit with sunlight this red really is gorgeous.

[glassobsessed]

Another possibility is Polish made, it turns out that red is unusual for Sklo Union production: http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,70676.0.html

John

[Paul S.]

thanks John  -  yes, agree re the lack of Sklo Union material in ruby.     It was just that I had the thought this might have been Czech before I looked in Marcus Newhall's book, then realized that they didn't do ruby.         I did wonder - in view of their rubine -  if this might have been a Sowerby design, but again nothing to suggest it is.               This ruby seems to have been offered very rarely - in the 1930's Brockwitz (German) offered at least a couple of shapes in ruby - a celery and a vase, but apart from Brockwitz Pamela Wessendorf appears to have almost nothing on her pressglas-pavillon.de site in this colour.

[glassobsessed]

A couple of Polish designs in red, I did not manage to find yours though:

https://archiwum.allegro.pl/oferta/miseczka-diatret-drost-prl-i7636524998.html
https://www.auctionzip.com/auction-lot/vase-glass-factory-zabkowice-in-dabrowa-gornic_4A544518D4/

[chopin-liszt]

  I was thinking it is a very Polish red too, John. I have a beautiful bottle vase by Zbigniew Horbowy which is this deep red shade, and another interesting piece by Czeslaw Zuber.
It was certainly used by several Polish makers and around the '70s.

[Paul S.]

thanks for the sleuthing folks  -  much appreciated  -  so current thinking is quite possibly Polish in origin.           My knowledge of Polish glass is non-existent, literally, so unable to contribute that suggestion, but sounds a good avenue to explore.    Probably had this been any other colour I'd not have bothered, but there's no denying that this ruby is a real attention grabber, and as we know very thin on the ground.   thanks again.     

[chopin-liszt]

I have just taken the Horbowy, the Zuber and an AVEM red tutti frutti bowl out into the sunshine to check reds. I think they are very similar. The only differences can be attributed to shading of the colour from very deep to paler in the Horbowy, the colours behind the red on the Zuber and the dilution of colour in the casing of the AVEM.
It is a truly stunning red.

[Paul S.]

appearance - degree of redness - is likely to be dependent on thickness of the glass  -  certainly the vase in question is reasonably thick, which may account for the fact that it appears darker than - for example - the Sowerby rubine bowls now attached, which have long since gone.      Rubine is certainly a beautiful red, though sadly I've not seen a piece for some time.     Thank goodness for the camera.

[chopin-liszt]

There is a lot of orange in that red. The red in question tends towards the blue-er end.

[Paul S.]

just for the sake of mentioning it  -  in the early 1960s, Davidson produced ruby red in reasonable quantity.           Not remotely suggesting this is theirs, but just to include their name amongst those companies that had ruby in their repertoire.