Mdina (Malta)

Mdina Carriage, anyone seen one before?

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styleinvasion wrote:

"Cut Ice" fish vase with polished facets

hard to read......signed:
Mdina Glass
Malta
followed by an unreadable signature which looks like Dopson's

The signature will be Eric Dobson, who was Michael Harris's business partner and owner of Mdina glass after Harris returned to England.

I am hoping this is an Early example of Mdina it is 15 inch tall 2 or 3 lbs in weight, beautiful colours where the ingrediants have oxidesed during making and it is triangular in shape.

How is the base finished? and is it marked? these are usually good indicators of the age.

Hi Davee, just a polished base not signed but I have other Mdina and the colours and technique is similar. I know a lot of the Early Mdina was not signed by Michael Harris and that he did make some triangular vases and bowls called "Tricorn" and only he was skilled enough to make them.

I do believe believe it is very early Mdina due to that the way that the top of the vase is finished as a button instead of being flared out like a plate as the vases were after Harris left or got forced out of Malta to start Isle of White glass.
Leaving Dobson and Joseph Said along with some Glass blowers from Murano to run the Mdina glassworks.
I am hoping someone can give a positive ID. Thanks Kev

This is an Mdina vase but unsigned, the glass in this one is a lower quality as you can see seeds in it if you look closely. I have a few mdina pieces and the glass quality is better in all but one of the others as they are all signed early seventies I wonder if it was one of the very early vases when Michael Harris couldnt get the highest quality of glass. Does anybody have any ideas, Kev

You obviously have all the info you need already, but from all the attributes you describe I would say that, yes it is a Harris period bottle. The reason I asked about the base was because some of the early pieces have a concave ground and polished pontil which indicates that they were definately made during that early period.

On a hunch I don't think its Harris period, but probably mid to late 70's. But I could be wrong

Hi Davee, I have a few choice pices of Mdina from the early 70s after Harris left they are all signed and dated on the bases , what makes this piece differ is the quality of the glass used is not to the same standard as the 70s pieces I own.
I know that when the factory first opened Michael found it difficult to purchase the top quality glass so maybe this is a really early piece, I am not sure of the exact colours used in the early days when he first began glassmaking but I know Michael Harris made most of these type pieces himself, kev

This shape was made from mid 70's into the 90's. So pinning it down to exact era and maker would prove to be difficult. If a peice was marked or not was fairly hit or miss and really doesn't provide clues as to the date. The earth tones fish vase that i posted in the Mdina thread was a late 70's/early 80's and was unmarked also.

I have just checked and have found one very similar in a picture from the 1970-71 catalouge so you could well be right. I always think the best way with Mdina is to handle it and see it in the flesh as you get a real feel for the age and quality.

Thanks for your help Davee, as you say you can never be truly sure but I have handled afew of these exact vases signed from the mid 70s but the quality of glass in this one is not quite as clear as those. It has seeds of impurities in the clear glass casing. Kev

Hi Davee, I spent most of last night searching the web for images of Michael Harris creations and found 2 that were very similar, one as near exactly the same style.
They were decribed as early atenuated Bottle vases, aparantly after Michael Harris was forced out of Malta, the Italian influence from the Murano glassblowers working there led to the tops being finished in a plate like way.
There are lots of these around but it seems no many with the button top.

It is a stunning piece as the silver oxide as reacted with the other ingredients in the molton glass and come to the top all around the vases body and kneck. Kev

Definitely an early Mdina Tricorn bottle, they are hard to find....

Here are my two: https://picasaweb.google.com/Johnmj100/EarlyMdinaGlass#5611797653915611202

This triangular shape was not used after Harris left Mdina, they made bottles with drawn out necks (attenuated) but they were mostly round (but I have seen a few square examples), the round base section was blown into a mould, like this example: https://picasaweb.google.com/Johnmj100/LaterMdinaGlass#5430029959407060082

John

Hard to tell date without handling (not necessarily easy even then) and without a signature. I suspect this is not very early and so made with the original batches of glass available at Mdina. That glass tended to have a quite bluey/green tint, you can see it in the clear casing in this sidestrip although I think it is accentuated in this photo: https://picasaweb.google.com/Johnmj100/EarlyMdinaGlass#5579154610127481202

Whenever it was made it looks like a nice example, for what it's worth, my guess would be anytime in the seventies.

John

Thanks John, not sure if Kev has seen this yet.

xx

Hi there thats it , thanks Jofish the one on the right is most similar but that is the one I have got. I paid 100 pounds in an auction room in Eastbourne around 8 years ago on a hunch it may be by Michael Harris and it seems I was correct.
Could you hazard a guess to its value, not that it is important as it is a part of my collection but its nice to know if or not it was good value. Thanks again for your efforts on my behalf Kev.

Hi Jofish/John thanks again for the info, I have a few Mdina pieces early 70s signed really good examples of the best stuff they did but this one unsigned has many seeds in the glass itself in otherwords impurities in the glass.

i have read a piece somewhere about when Michael first began with glassmaking there in Malta that he could only get a poorer quality of glass.

Looking at all the other examples that are signed in my possesion they are a higher quality of glass, also my mate has an almost identical vase his is signed 1973 and has no impurities in it.
I will try and get a better picture tomorrow that shows these seeds and then you will see what I mean. Thanks again Kev

I am surprised you had to pay as much as that eight years ago, somebody must have known what it was. My taller one which is an inch shorter than yours, has a big chip missing from the button rim. The shorter dark blue Tricorn is the only short example (12"/30cm) I have seen but there must be more. By shear good luck I paid forty quid each for mine.

The last one I saw offered for sale by a dealer was for somewhere around 250 or 275, it sold.

John

Hi John, well thats not a bad mark up then, I was browsing through the online catologue for the Eastbourne auction rooms when I saw this bottle vase and they didnt seem to know what it was.

I had a few pieces of Mdina and I recognised the colours thought it looked old and also recognised the tricorn shape, and I left a bid on it. As you say there were other people interested in it and after auction fees and shipping to me in Blackpool it was around 98 quid but I thought it was worth it as I liked it. Thanks for your help, Kev

Could this blue and gold vase be from Mdina. 22 cms tall x 8.5 cms diameter. If so any thoughts on date please, 1980s?
Thanks John



Info from Davee: Definitely Mdina, the colour is known as Ming. Probably mid 70's early 80's. How is the base finished? is it ground flat or have a concave pontil mark?

Thanks Davee, photo of base attached. John

Mdina earthtones is it an inside out vase or would it have fire polished rim this one cold ground and polished.
Thanks for any thoughts on this vase CMC

Base photo

From the shape I would guess it was originally a globe vase that had damage to the rim removed by grinding the whole thing away. Inside out vases are usually just a little squatter.

John