Topic: Zig Zag Bowl

[tmmorg]

Please forgive the indulgence, just showing off really, but this is my newest purchase (and likely my last for a while).
Thoroughly, exquisitely wonky in every way. Even the inside of the bowl is lumpy and uneven, clearly by someone still refining their craft.
It stands 5 inches high by 9 and a bit inches across.
As far as zig zags go, are they all as scarce as each other? How many bowls are known about? ( I think vases are up to 15? from trawling back through earlier posts. May well be more now).
Apologies again but couldn't keep this one to myself,
Tom

[tmmorg]

Another in different light showing the full depth of the beautiful cobalt.
Incidentally, the green colour has an unusual, uneven application. Rough to the touch in places and quite patchy with clear glass showing through and some creamy, bubbly areas. Is this a common early feature?
Many thanks in advance for any wisdom or responses,
Tom

[chopin-liszt]

I had one like that, but without the zigs and zags. John has it now.
I don't know how many there are - but they really do not turn up often. It took me about 20 years to find the cobalt cauldron vase I have now.

I'm afraid I really think yours is teal, the darker bits just look dark because they're thick. Cobalt is a very different, inky (as in Quink) sort of blue.
But blues do not come out well in photos.
To my knowledge, they are all Michael Harris' work. They are all from the period he was still there and there wasn't anybody as good as he was, at that time. 

There is no green in it. The appearance of the colour comes from some silver salts getting involved (as they did in the nonzigged and zagged one I had) and silver reacts with clear glass to create a yellowy-ochre opaque colour, or, depending on actual temperatures, can go amber. You get a green appearing when an amber swathe is over the teal.The roughness is from the metal coming to the surface in "biggish" bits. (as opposed to in molecular bits).

I do have some photos of the odd thing I had, but they're not "sorted" for posting and I can't sort them because my pc had to be "up"graded and and I can't do anything with it now.

[tmmorg]

Thank you very much for the response and information, Sue.  Very much appreciated as always.
My mistake about the colour, hand on heart I don't honestly know what cobalt blue is (I'm also colourblind which doesn't help 🤣). It's sat on my mantle piece, next to a 'psycahdelic' mdina vase, which I was told was cobalt. To me it looked the same, but if you say it's teal, I'll go with that. Not that it matters at all to me either way. Just blessed to have found one.
It was actually your comment in a previous post, about waiting nearly 20 years for one, that led me to bid (slightly above my limit) on this piece. Worth ever penny!
I've seen your bowl in the previous thread, a very nice, unusual piece.

[chopin-liszt]

You don't have an envelope under your username. If you did, I could contact you to send you the images I can't sort. Or you could contact me via my envelope. 
It is one of the few ways you will ever see something like yours!
The bottom line, whether teal or cobalt is that you like it, and it is a lovely blue, with paler bits and darker bits. 
Always use your love when buying glass.

We need to see your psychadelic bit.
There was only one pot of cobalt ever melted - everything cobalt came from that pot. It was melted when Michael Harris was still there.

[tmmorg]

How do I get the envelope under my name? It must be in profile?
The psychedelic piece im referring to, is the one shown here.

https://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,65084.10.html

I am the current cherisher of this piece, having bought it from bakedbeans a while ago.

And yes, whichever blue it is, I do adore my zigzag. So much so it makes me feel my small collection is complete. For me I couldn't find a nicer piece...

Until I do 🤣

[tmmorg]

Here's a couple of photos of the 2 together. This may be the part where I find out my vase isn't cobalt either 🤣. I  tried to get my broken trailed attenuated bottle in too, but couldn't get the framing right. I just find it astounding how quickly his skills progressed in such a short space of time. I love having the pieces on show together, its almost like a timeline, you can see the gradual development and refinement of the trailing.

[chopin-liszt]

 
Psychadelic strapping.    I assumed psychadelic colours. 
Which would not really have been consistent with early work.
That is cobalt.  Even in that pic you can se the blues are different, your bowl teal, the tall pot is cobalt. (I think vase is too common a word for it. I call them pots, in recognition of Chinese paint pots.)
I see you have an envelope, Look out for a message from the board so we can get in email contact so I can send you the pics of the "hat". I couldn't work out what it was for ages. With the big band of thick glass under the rim, it reminded me of a hat. Perhaps when you get the pics, you might be able to resize them to put here?
It would be really appropriate to have that illustrated here, beside your completed Zig-zag in all its glory. I have never actually seen a bowl in reality.
There is a drawing of one in some official early blurb.

Even a damaged attenuated strapped bottle is worth having. You just have to consider the damage part of the history and that a damaged one is far better than none at all.
Michael Harris technical skills developed very rapidly indeed, he did have an innate talent for the work, but what I love most is that even in the wonkiest, crudest bits, the art shines out from within.

[tmmorg]

The art and ambition. It seems he was always pushing himself to the absolute limit of his ability, even/ often beyond it. Hence some pieces didn't come out 'perfect'. This makes them far more fascinating. Wabi sabi.
I'm glad you can tell the difference between my pot and bowl they still look the same to me 🤣.
I remember your comment about my broken bottle when I shared a picture on here- you said it was better to have a broken bottom half than the broken top half. I often think of that when I look at it. Still makes me chuckle.
I've resized your images and will include them here for comparison. The similarities are striking and the rims near identical. It's uncanny!

[tmmorg]

The rim of mine. Twins!

Oh and the final picture was an attempt to capture the uneven 'swirl' inside. Not sure I managed it.