Large Bird (Heron? Pelican?)

[cubby01]

Hi all. My first post. Apologies up front if I manage to break etiquette.

I've had a few pieces art glass, some Murano but not many. This is one I'm questioning if it is or not. Fairly sure it's old. it stands about 40cm (almost 16in) tall. There is a squiggle in the molten glass on the lower back side that I thought was intentional and could be a signature but I can't seem to find examples of where someone has signed in this manner.

So my main questions are is is it likely Murano? and does the squiggle appear to be intentional or does it look more like a flaw.

I've uploaded seven pics at image shack here.

Here's one of them.


And here's the 'squiggle' I thought was some kind of signature.

[artifice]

Hi Cubby01 and welcome in my opinion this is not a Murano made bird it lacks the quality ,for example the eye is no more than a small dot,the comb on the head is lacking in design or detail the colours dont look right to me ,the signature is in my opinion placed to decieve and unlikely to mean anything overall just not right ,dont let yourself be discouraged Murano glass is a never ending learning curve, Cliff

[fossilfly]

Cubby, welcome to the forums. Birds are a big part of the Murano repertoire, but I would guess that this is not from Murano. signatures are usually engraved after the fact, during the finishing process, not while the glass is hot. It looks like a pontil or tool mark that was not ground and finished.

[cubby01]

Thanks for the info. There were some elements about it that looked similar to pieces I'd seen in the past that claimed to be mid century Italy. I do believe it's old enough but there is something wrong about it overall. It doesn't seem to represent a recognizable bird species. Oh well, I've got a couple more pieces to ask about when I get some time this weekend.