Thursday, August 09, 2012

Controversy. Is the red Medieval vase the real deal or not. Rande Bly started this discussion and defended it. However, today he is agreeing that it is likely a fake.

I concede. I see the possibility these are fake now. I guess there could be some sort of computer assistance to replicate the pattern. The pattern duplication was perfect. The black and white 1965 photo had the exact same pattern of the griffin! We are talking these guys had the nerve to copy exactly a Carder ACB pattern. Not just close but exactly.

I am not sure from a photo whether the pieces have been sandblasted or acid cut. Next step is laser cut. Somebody took a Carder design and copied it exactly and put it on a vase. Computer transfer may be a viable means to this end. If they are sandblasting these pieces it would not be any extra trouble to acid etch them instead it would be just as easy. Then all they would need is a black blank to cut it on and no one could tell the real one then. They could create some real havoc if they got hold of Steuben blanks like Rosaline over Alabaster and began to acid cut computer generated Steuben patterns into them. Wow tecno crime has found its way into even our precious Steuben. They could do any pattern they wanted. this is spooky. and all for a thousand dollars! I won’t even tile your kitchen floor for a thousand dollars!

Maybe they can start on the Portland Vase next week if they get the laser running!

Tommy Dreiling, hasn’t seen this latest concession speech from Rande, but Rande convinced him it was the real deal with his argument last night over the high cost to replicate versus the selling price of the piece.

Hi – I agree with Randy Bly about the cost of making Steuben fakes. The skill and more so the cost just doesn’t make sense to me. It someone were faking a $25,000.00 vase then I could see that being worth the time and expense, but a $1,200.00? I just don’t see how anyone could make enough money to be worth the expense and effort, there are a lot of other things out there to fake that would make the faker a lot more money than a Steuben ACB in a color that would raise red flags and bring lots of scrutiny to the piece, why not fake patterns like Hunting or Stamford in alabaster and black? They are well known color combinations and more expensive patterns than Medieval. It is well known that J. P. Sinclaire and Carder were good friends, there is a rare book about Sinclaire glass and the pictures of the colored glass, not the cut that Sinclaire is known for, are VERY Steuben like and could easily pass for Steuben. The book was written by J. P. Sinclaire’s daughter so I assume that the bulk of the pictures are from her collection. She also says that Sinclaire’s Rosaline and other jade glass is very similar to Carder’s. I think that Sinclaire made much, much more colored glass than is assumed and that the vast majority is thought to be Steuben because it seems that both companies did not mark the majority of their jades or transparent colors. There are a few shapes that most Steuben collectors recognize as Sinclaire but when you look at the line drawings in this book you can see how close, many exactly, are like Steuben. – Tommy

Finally, Mark Chamovitz of Pittsburgh asks, haven’t many of you seen this piece for sale. What was your opinion?

Hello Alan,

I corresponded with Lon Knickerbocker regarding the red vase cut with the Medieval pattern after I had seen it being offered at Don Pressley’s auction, and he indicated to me that he has seen a few of these, and he didn’t specifically say one way or the other regarding their origin. I did get the impression however, that he did not feel that they were Carder Steuben. I find it curious that no one in the conversation who has observed Steuben for many decades has said that they have seen examples of this vase in this color? With all the seasoned collectors of Carder out there that read the Gazette, no one has come forward and said they saw this example in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s? I see where Skinner also sold one of these examples on December 18, 2010 for $1,700.00. It was lot 479 and can be viewed through the Live Auctioneer website. They placed a disclaimer in the description which stated that their attribution felt that it could be a French copy of the Steuben Medieval pattern. Personally I do not feel that it is a Carder piece.

Well, Mark I must admit I’ve seen a red Medieval. Same one? I don’t know. What I do know is that I saw it for sale at last year’s (2011) Miami Beach Show. The dealer made a point to show me the piece of Steuben he brought to the show. No one bought it because a couple of months later the dealer still had the piece for sale at another show. Unfortunately, I didn’t look at it carefully because I just didn’t like the piece and I found the color just didn’t resonate. If it didn’t sell at the Beach show, I must say that was surprising. Certainly many of you also saw it.

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