Black vase with bubble inclusions

I've been trying to identify this vase for months with no success - I've concluded it must be European, which is not my strong point.

Roughly 9" tall, no pontil mark, rim is ground (and fire-polished?) There are bubble inclusions throughout, and I believe it is cased in clear glass. It has been given a satin/etched finish.

Would welcome any help in pointing me in the right direction!

We've had a few similar pieces with bubbles, although not one this shape, or black in colour. Most have been modern Egyptian or Spanish recycled glass (produced for museum shops and tourists), and this probably falls into that category, especially if it's something you've bought recently and it's quite light and thin walled.

It would be nice if it was signed.
Carlo Scarpa produced bubble glass for Venni in the 70s.
Baroviar produced bubble glass for Murano in the 30s.
I'm not sure it's that old or of that quality, but it is an unusual shape - all the Egyptian glass I've seen so far have been copies of classical Roman designs.

It's not thin or light, at least as compared with examples of Egyptian glass I'm familiar with. I'll see if I can get a decent measurement of the thickness at the neck, and maybe the weight as well.

Thanks for the tips re: possible Italian makers - I'll check those out.

Naomi - there were hundreds of glassworks in dozens of countries who have made bubbled glass in the 20th century.

It's incorrect to say that probablity dictates 'x' item falls with either either very high-end Murano or very low-end recycled Egyptian glass. There's a massive spectrum of quality and geography between the two.

On any spectrum, probability tends to lie somewhere between two extremes.

RE: This vase. The form and finish look quite German to me, although it could easily be from Murano. Also looks quite contemporary - c.1980s to present.

If you want to take issue on a single word, Nic, that's up to you - feel free to edit the word out if you're that bothered by it - but it's probably best to focus on the vase rather than my use, or misuse, of the English language.

I really didn't mean for it to read as though I were nitpicking your use of language - I was rather using the word to illustrate that not all bubbled glass has to be from either a high-end Murano factory or a low-end recycled glass factory... but rather that there are many options between the two.

Nic - thanks for the input. Are there any particular German makers you would suggest I look at?

Naomi with the right hook

reminds me of Habitat in the 1980s, but as you are in the USA i doubt it is.

would Cenedese fit this piece? un/il-informed guess from a non glass person...

subversivegrrl wrote:Nic - thanks for the input. Are there any particular German makers you would suggest I look at?

The thin bubbled glass with the matted surface treatment and monochrome colour-scheme originally chimed in as being quite like Peill + Putzler Glashüttenwerke's output... but I've not managed to find anything terribly similar.

The angular, slightly impractical, shape seems quite Germanic still, though. As someone who's had to clean more than a few German glass vases... they certainly didn't like to make it easy.

bistoboy wrote:would Cenedese fit this piece? un/il-informed guess from a non glass person...

Anything's possible, but I can't remember handling any Cenedese with a moulded base.

actually i'm quite sure it's not peill + putzler

Aye, I came to much the same conclusion after a rummage about on the internet..