Portmeirion aluminium bowl

Hello,
I have arrived at your site because I have been unable to find anything out about my bowl. It has Portmeirion stamped on the base, and is metallic silver in colour, but sounds like glass when you tap it. It has a lovely "ring". It is about 7" in diameter and about 5" high. The design is as if leaves have been moulded into a bowl shape, with the leaf points creating a nice uneven rim to the bowl. It is quite heavy, weighing just over 1kg. The base is a round disc with the Portmeirion name stamped into it. Can anyone help point me in the right direction?

Yes, certainly....

Please let me know if it has worked.......it took me a little while to sort it out!

Is this definitely glass???? I'm a bit puzzled with this - as you're probably aware from your searches so far Portmeirion were mostly well known for their pottery although they did market some glass items under the Portmeirion banner which were produced by Dartington (Frank Thrower worked for Portmeirion before heading up Dartington Glass). But this piece doesn't look like any Portmeirion or Dartington production I've ever seen.

Can we see a clear closeup shot of the base stamp please (always required in ID requests).

Hi, Yes thanks for taking the time to think about it! The reason we think it is glass is the sound it makes when you flick it - it resonates very clearly, brightly and crisply, the brightness and glow of the piece, and its weight...
It doesn't feel at all like pottery, more metallic/glass. I will attach a photo of the bottom of the bowl. A note from the previous picture was the colour representation was not good it is a bright silver colour - not chromium coloured, or gold as it appeared....

I hope these pics are clear enough?

I know Portmeirion outsourced a lot of their glass to German manufacturers, but I don't know which specific companies.

Because it's a press-moulded bowl, I suppose Walther cold be a possibility... but I daresay there are other pressed glass firms still extant in Germany.

Thanks for that, it gives me more to go on possibly....

carolann wrote:Thanks for that, it gives me more to go on possibly....

Are you sure this is a glass bowl? It looks more like one of the late 1990s Mexican Aluminium items that were part of the Dusk/Dawn ranges.

That's interesting. Everyone that has looked at it thinks it is glass, because of the 'ring" it makes when you flick it, and the bright, sort of glow that it has. Could you give me some pointers on how to decide what it actually is made of?
Tanks for your interest.

carolann wrote:That's interesting. Everyone that has looked at it thinks it is glass, because of the 'ring" it makes when you flick it, and the bright, sort of glow that it has. Could you give me some pointers on how to decide what it actually is made of?
Tanks for your interest.

The first question is, is it the right silver colour of aluminium?
In your photograph it has a reddish glow but that might just be the lighting.
If it were made of glass you should be able to see light through it.
If it were made of aluminium it will be easily starched with a screwdriver or similar.

Yes it is the correct colour for aluminium, the lighting did affect the photo. It is a solid material, and I can't see light through it. I have managed to make a small mark with a screwdriver, and there are some discolourations on the inside of the bowl. I have done a little research on Mexican aluminium/glass mix, since your message. Don't they call it Mexican Pewter? It appears that this could be the answer..... Did Portmeirion work with this material? I couldn't really find anything out about that connection.

carolann wrote:Yes it is the correct colour for aluminium, the lighting did affect the photo. It is a solid material, and I can't see light through it. I have managed to make a small mark with a screwdriver, and there are some discolourations on the inside of the bowl. I have done a little research on Mexican aluminium/glass mix, since your message. Don't they call it Mexican Pewter? It appears that this could be the answer..... Did Portmeirion work with this material? I couldn't really find anything out about that connection.

I've just found the same item on E-Bay:

It is aluminium.
Steve

That's sorted out that puzzle. Thanks very much for your help. It's nice to know something about these things, and I like the bowl too.

Sorry, I removed the live ebay auction as its against our forum policy.

But thanks Steve anyway for the ID, and welcome to the forum again

xx

skay wrote:Sorry, I removed the live ebay auction as its against our forum policy.

But thanks Steve anyway for the ID, and welcome to the forum again

xx

Glad to be of service
Steve