Thursday, August 9, 2012

Rande Bly started a fire storm by defending a red piece of glass with the Medieval pattern, as a piece of Carder Steuben. Since then we’ve had questions raised about its integrity. The debate continues. It starts with Marshall Ketchum suggesting it is sand blasted and not acid etch—therefore, not the real McCoy.

Alan

There has also been a blue vase in Medieval pattern on the market in the past few months. It also has been sand blasted, probably under computer control, rather than acid etched.

Marshall

Al Bradtke of Cayuga, New York wonders how this form comes in to the hands of someone from the nation of Monaco for sale.

Hi Alan –

If you go to completed auctions on ebay and type in “pair acid cobalt vases” you will find another pair of vases in the same decoration that were offered for sale by someone in Monaco. I believe Tommy Dreiling is correct that there were a pair of red vases in the same pattern offered on ebay several years ago. If memory serves me correctly, they were offered by this same seller.

I would certainly question how someone in Monaco could find two pairs of the same shape and same design.

Al Bradtke

Want to do some research on this subject concerning eBay sales? Jo Ann Godawa gives suggestions how to do an eBay search of prior sales.

Hi Alan,

In reply to this post:
“Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Yesterday we had Rande making the case for a red Medieval pattern vase. A couple question the attribution.

The first Thomas, is Tommy Dreiling of Brooklyn.

HI – These came up on E-Bay a while back, I assume they are Sinclair. – Tommy Dreiling”

I stumbled upon an amazing way to see past auctions on eBay. I had just seen the pair of red vases the day before the post above.

Go to Advanced Search on eBay and type in Steuben. Check the box for Completed Auctions, highest prices first and choose 200 items per page.

I was able to see auctions from 2009 and some older.

Best regards,
Jo Ann

To complete this discussion of sand blasting, Rande Bly responds to why he thinks this red must be the real thing.

A little research should show these are the Steuben Medieval Pattern and not Sinclaire

Charles Sweigart, I am surprised with the resolution of the photographs and I was able to expand or do a close up over and over without them going blurry and the red vase looked real good and quite deep to me and compared well with the relief shown in the black and white. Sandblasting cuts a very straight edge perpendicular so the surface at 90 degrees. The acid cutting method is more irregular making the cut more rounded on two edges. When magnified I did not see the straighter edges typical to sandblasting.

A fake does not make complete sense to me. If it were to be one I am pretty sure this would be the first time in history someone has done a forgery of a Steuben ACB pattern. What is the motive or profit. The cost of a perfect forgery (which this one looks perfectly identical to me) would be astronomical. Finding a blank, an artist that talented, cutting back the design perfectly. To top it off price was at $1200.00. A perfect fake would cost more than that. If they made it in Black or Plum Jade then it would pass and bring the same to three times that amount. It is not. It is red. Why would they go to all the costly trouble to forge a vase to perfection in every way but the color. It is kind of like counterfeiting pennys or 1 dollar bills you loose your rear while the 100 dollar bills are the same effort. We all would have loved this piece if it were in Mandarin Yellow. I have seen a blank to one of these vases before. The cutting and the work is very very nicely done on the red vase.

I would so love to see one in person!

Rande Bly

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2012 Carder Steuben Club annual Symposium will be held at The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY from September 20-22, 2012.