Monday, February 13, 2012

I hope you don’t mind, but I have added an AURENE Color story to Michael Krumme’s explanation. I heard this from Otto Hilbert’s lips when I visited him many years ago. I quite frankly was stunned by the color of the Disc…That must be why I have always liked Tiffany’s Glass a bit better.
From Balmy Florida,

David P. Donaldson, MFA

“Hi Terry,

This subject was addressed in one of the issues of the Gazelle Gazette, but it may have been before you joined the CSC. You might try logging onto the website and searching the back issues for this subject.

Generally I find that the iridescence on Tiffany pieces is more colorful all over, showing lots of rainbow hues, whereas the iridescence on the Steuben pieces tends to be more uniform, and does not have a rainbow spectrum of colors in it.

Also, the Steuben shapes tend to be more classical, while the Tiffany shapes are more organic, more fluid and less symmetrical, and at times, even grotesque.

Michael Krumme, Los Angeles”

This is correct as Carder preferred the consistent even flow of the iridescence..this is evidenced in the wildly colorful large AURENE Disc which was fished out of Carder’s trash by Otto Hilbert….Carder stated the the color was “BAD”. >>> Also, if an piece is iridized all over but somewhat translucent, it’s more likely to be Tiffany.

Hello Alan:

As a long time dealer of both Steuben and Tiffany (as well as other art glass of the period) I thought I might add a few comments to the discussion of identifying Steuben vs Tiffany. I agree with everything Terry and Michael said, but as pointed out they are general rules. When approaching a piece of iridescent glass there are two issues to address. Firstly is it Tiffany or Steuben ( or one of the other companies making iridescent glass at the period such as Durand) and secondly is it genuinely by that company. The latter is often the bigger problem because not only do forgers grind the signatures off period pieces in order to resign them and turn them into a different company that commands more money, but they take new pieces(such as Lundberg) and turn them into period pieces. Sorting all this out can be like solving a murder, taking many little clues and putting them together. Those clues include the obvious such as shape and correctness of signature, but also the less obvious such as; what is the overall quality of the glass, does it seem a bit clunky, does it seem a little top heavy, is the base a little oversize or undersize for the height of the piece, does the weight seem about right, does the ground pontil seem right? I realize some of this takes experience handling many pieces, but if you take the time to relax with the piece for a few minutes it will often start to talk to you. If any warning bells ring in your head it may be best to walk away. It may be the photo, but the base of the Steuben Aurene piece pictured makes me wonder what’s gone on. The pontil is sloppy and irregular and it cuts into “AURENE”. One signature clue I can share is Steuben signatures on bases like this run clockwise at the top, whiles Tiffany signatures run counterclockwise at the bottom. Often the forgers get them backwards. Final closing point is try to buy from a person who specializes in glass or at least seems knowledgeable about glass and get a written guarantee. Do not be afraid to ask questions, as we are all continually on a learning curve. If the seller does not seem to know the answers or is unwilling to answer your questions and dodges them, beware! Thank you and keep up the good work.

Regards,
Harry Morgan
Beverly, MA

I have some comments on signatures as some of the recent information is misleading. The Tiffany and Steuben examples that Terry Smith shows are signed with a hand held engraving tool not by diamond point. Diamond point signatures are fine like a very pointed pencil would make.

Also, all modern Steuben was intended to be signed and is signed with a diamond point either “Steuben” in script or with the letter “S”. To add to the confusion some modern Steuben was copied, such as the olive dish. You will find these pieces, which on first glance appear to be Steuben, but are unsigned and upon close examination the glass lacks the clarity of authentic Steuben.

Bob Bjork