New Murano Vase.

[crazyrandy]

Would this one be a real Murano or more of the style type's. Thanks for any info

[glassman]

Doesn't look like it has a pontil mark....which usually means that it was mold made and not handblown.

What other info do you have on it?

[IluvItalian]

I have to disagree Glassman, and I respect your knowledge. However, a ground and polished base doesn't mean the piece isn't blown. Many makers grind and polish the bases of their pieces. And high end glass does indeed have polished bases. Then you have the ground and polished pontils. Usually an polished indented circle on the bottom. I know nothing of this piece, it looks like the newer pieces coming from China. I would check the bottom for age wear.

[IluvItalian]

Yes, China crazyrandy, I believe this is your vase...7384982165

[TxSilver]

Ouch! That auction hurt to look at it. I thought I recognized the vase from somewhere.

I've been looking at some of the pieces of lesser known Murano companies lately. These companies are not in the Murano circle of quality artisans. There are so many pieces out there. I have three pieces (Lavorazione and Crystal Clear) that are nice, but the glass seems more brittle than the glass on the vintage pieces from the quality artisans. Seeing some of the new Murano pieces, I've become uneasy about buying online unless I can identify a piece. I've also become uneasy about saying something is definitely not Murano. There are several companies that market wholesale Murano glassware to the public. It looks (and is) Murano, but it doesn't feel rich -- I think everyone knows what I mean. Good Murano glass has a certain feel to it. The only other glass that often has the same feeling is some of the Czech/Bohemian pieces, in my newbie opinion.

Forgive the rambling. I would not doubt that the vase is Murano. Did it have a sticker on it? The new pieces I see on eBay rarely show a sticker, so I'm suspicious of them. Lavorazione Arte Murano and Crystal Clear come with stickers and are usually easy to identify. Some of the other pieces, such as this vase, are harder to pin down. If a piece is new, the seller should know the maker. I always feel someone is hiding something if the maker is not identified (at least tentatively in the case of older pieces).

Anita

[IluvItalian]

There is a ton of glass being sold on ebay as Murano but it's from China. I myself have seen vases like this one in my discount stores, label's say "Made in China, Murano"

[TxSilver]

I was one of the unlucky recipients of a "Murano" vase that appears to be made in China. The workmanship on the vase is very poor. It is one of the ugliest vases ever made. Several colors of this vase are sold on eBay as Murano. I thought about running a 10-day auction of my vase under the Murano banner, but stating it is probably Chinese. It wouldn't sell, of course, but it may keep other people from buying these vases -- definitely worth the listing cost.

I'm attaching a picture of my ugly vase.

[IluvItalian]

I completely understand your frustration. It's exhausting trying to look for vintage Murano with all that new "Murano" on ebay. It's best to buy from a honest dealer you trust, if you don't want to take the chance on ebay. However, some of the glass I've seen coming from China is very nice. And I'm sure there are china glass collectors, but people need to know where it's from so they can decide if that's what they want to buy. I'm pretty new to Murano, but the first thing I do when I want to collect something is buy books first, before every buying a piece. It's worth the investment to learn and have reference. Then when you see something you can make comparisons and take the chance.

[glassman]

I completely understand your frustration. It's exhausting trying to look for vintage Murano with all that new "Murano" on ebay. It's best to buy from a honest dealer you trust, if you don't want to take the chance on ebay. However, some of the glass I've seen coming from China is very nice. And I'm sure there are china glass collectors, but people need to know where it's from so they can decide if that's what they want to buy. I'm pretty new to Murano, but the first thing I do when I want to collect something is buy books first, before every buying a piece. It's worth the investment to learn and have reference. Then when you see something you can make comparisons and take the chance.

Definitely, I have purchased a few pieces that I thought were murano, and later turned out to be misatributed. I believe in a few years, much of the Chinese and Indian glass will come into their own, with their own high end companies, innovative designs and the like. Its just a maturation process.
Mistakes, as long as they don't cost too much, is a learning process, Ive seen it referred to as "paying for your education"!


I have to disagree Glassman, and I respect your knowledge. However, a ground and polished base doesn't mean the piece isn't blown. Many makers grind and polish the bases of their pieces. And high end glass does indeed have polished bases. Then you have the ground and polished pontils. Usually an polished indented circle on the bottom. I know nothing of this piece, it looks like the newer pieces coming from China. I would check the bottom for age wear.

I agree, I wasn't specific enough.....In my experience for low end pieces, if its handblown, often times the effort isn't taken to grind and polish the base completely. But if there is a lack of any pontil mark and finishing there is a good chance it was mold made.
Then again, this always isnt the case either..... :)

[TxSilver]

I've had the same thoughts about glassware made in China. At the present time, glassmakers that produce large quantities of the glassware that we often see take shortcuts that reduce the quality of the glassware. The vase that I bought (pictured earlier) would have been a pretty vase if the glass flower had not been added. The flower was put in place so amateurishly that it ruined the vase (broken and unsightly crimp marks). I wish I could remove the flower without damaging the vase.

I believe that China employs factory workers, instead of artists, to make the lower end glass pieces. There is probably much quality glass that is made in China, but we don't see it often because it is not overproduced. Some of their pottery and porcelain is excellent. Unfortunately, right now the "Made in China" is not a respected tag. (But I remember when "Made in Japan" was not respected.)

When it comes to coins, one is advised to buy the coin and not the slab (piece of plastic certifying the coin is a certain grade). Buying the vase and not the label is probably also good advice. A beautiful vase that feels rich is always a good thing to display. Maybe it will have to become very old to have much value, but this doesn't lessen its beauty.

[IluvItalian]

Definitely, I have purchased a few pieces that I thought were murano, and later turned out to be misatributed. I believe in a few years, much of the Chinese and Indian glass will come into their own, with their own high end companies, innovative designs and the like. Its just a maturation process.
Mistakes, as long as they don't cost too much, is a learning process, Ive seen it referred to as "paying for your education"!



I agree, I wasn't specific enough.....In my experience for low end pieces, if its handblown, often times the effort isn't taken to grind and polish the base completely. But if there is a lack of any pontil mark and finishing there is a good chance it was mold made.
Then again, this always isnt the case either..... :)


Yes, that's why I like to buy as many books as I can afford, and then I still blind buy, but that's half the fun, isn't it?


From what I've learned a couple of things can contribute to grinding and polishing pontil/bases. Company quality of course, but also if the piece doesn't sit flat they will grind it, sometimes not all the way smooth. And I know of companies that always ground and polished their bases but if they received an large order to produce a piece, they couldn't take the time to grind and polish them. The design of the piece can also play a part in whether the pontil or base should be ground and polished. Makes it confusing for us collectors, we think we know what were looking for and then there is always exceptions!

[spartina]

Hi. I dont know as much about pontil marks, but I have seen them mentioned on ebay and the Murano Glass Society forum too, and it does seem that exceptions are the rule! :eek:

[TxSilver]

BTW, I found the Chinese vase that I pictured above at the following link: http://www.glass.co.nz/Chinese.html . So, it apparently is Chinese. They make it in many colors. I see about one of these a week on eBay being sold as Murano.

[IluvItalian]

Now if they only had a "Chinese Reproduction Not Murano" that would really help!

[spartina]

BTW, I found the Chinese vase that I pictured above at the following link: http://www.glass.co.nz/Chinese.html . So, it apparently is Chinese. They make it in many colors. I see about one of these a week on eBay being sold as Murano.

I will bookmark this! thanks.
It is a shame to see so much misrepresented glass, it makes you paranoid esp. if you are going to spend a nice amount of $$ :)

Tina