Tuesday, June 07, 2011

First response came from Norman Skolnick

I would personally suggest any of the options that would make the piece most appealing to you if you intend on keeping it for a long time. If you feel you might sell it in the foreseeable future just leave it as it is. I had the same vase in Blue Aurene on blue with some slight wear and wouldn’t have thought twice about trying to hide surface wear to a piece that was older then even I am!

Then John Styler of Prospect Heights, Illinois asks for a view

Alan, Scott poses some very interesting questions. I have one for him, could we see a picture of the piece in it’s present condition?

I am sure he will be receiving some very interesting suggestions and I for one would like to see what he ends up doing to the piece, if anything.

Then Greg Merkel of Corning adds

Hi Scott,

Your vase is a good example of the saying that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

My opinion, for what it’s worth, is to leave it as is. The material that is still left on the vase provides a record of the original substance(s) used to create the effect. Should anyone in the future want to chemically sample or otherwise examine that material to learn more about its nature, they could potentially do so. That would not be the case if the material was entirely removed. Worse yet, if a new finish was re-applied, then it would not only compromise the identity of the original material but, many years from now when the vase is in someone else’s hands who doesn’t know its past, anyone who examined the surface on the assumption that it was the original finish might draw false conclusions about the substances that Steuben used to produce these accents.

Greg M.

More to follow

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2011 Carder Steuben Club annual Symposium will be held at The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY from September 15-17, 2011.