lets play the forum's favorite game: NEW or OLD? Open pontilled free blown pitcher

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bottles_inc

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Hey bottles_inc, I think it is a recent piece. BUT can you please give us more background on where you got it? Flea market, antique store, junk shop, thrift store, yard sale, estate sale? Area of country? (you don't need to be specific). Sometimes the known provenance can give us clues....
found in a thrift store on Long Island, NY
 

bottles_inc

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i will say that when you see it in person it has a certain amount of *old* to it that dosen't come across in the pix. the scratches on the body and the base wear are very similar to scratches and wear on legitimate older pieces i have seen/handled. I do acnowledge the group concensus, seems like its new, i had/have my doubts about it before posting and now.
 
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Wildcat wrangler

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My un-expertly opinion…. Art class? It just doesn’t look right- and didn’t the blowers of glass have more experience back then to know where the spout should be? Well, I guess they all were inexperienced at one point, but it just seems like they got a lot of practice, quick style. The spout on this 1 is just crazy! Or like Len said, it would be great for that side pour needed for potted plants.


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K6TIM

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hey everyone. long time no see. would love some input from our resident experts on this piece i found.
Points for it being old: heavy ring of wear on the base (which i tried to capture in the pics), a couple of loose pieces of iron/slag in the base, light scratches on the body, water pours very well out of it (whoever pulled the spout seemed like they were experienced)
points against: the color, placement of the spout is pretty crappy (makes me think student glass proj), the handle is hollow/bubble which i haven't seen on many pieces

View attachment 235564

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tried to capture the wear
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pic from the inside, shows the pontil/wear nicely

thoughts? Old, and if so, how old? was it for water? and the age old question, if it's the real deal, how much is it worth? I don't collect free blown stuff and especially not pitchers so if its a good piece i'd like to sell it to buy a nice soda or some NYC flasks or something.
I vote old for one reason the bottom of the pitcher has a lot of wear!!
 

web

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Based on smooth application, I would say new.
 

DavidW

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i will say that when you see it in person it has a certain amount of *old* to it that dosen't vome caross in the pix. the scratches on the body and the base wear are very similar to scratches and wear on legitimate older pieces i have seen/handled. I do acnowledge the group concensus, seems like its new, i had/have my doubts about it before posting and now.
You know, it occurred to me that it may not fit into a neat label of "old" OR "new". I have the impression that handblown "art glass" and "studio glass" has been made for many decades, from as far back as the 1940s or before, and all the way up to the present day. Lots of it has been made, by many glassblowers from poorly trained amateurs to professional artists, at small studios and "garage" operations. Plus alot of blown glass imported from Mexico and other countries for many years.

Who is to say this doesn't date from, say, the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s? Not exactly new, but not truly old either. And that could explain the base wear. I have seen glassware just three or four decades old that can have considerable base wear, if moved around frequently (cleaned, dusted) often.
 

saratogadriver

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I don't give much credit to base wear. Anyone with a hand sanding block can easily make "base wear". It needs someone familiar with handle attaching techniques etc to give you a definite answer. To my eye it has a crudeness in the assembly process that smacks of newish, rather than 1850...

Jim G
 

Mayhem

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The color doesn't look right. The handle doesn't look like the way they used to pinch them on. The handle doesn't even line up with spout. It is just poorly made all around or made to look that way. Of course, I always like to handle and feel a piece to be sure but I would guess it to be recent. Possibly Mexican in origin.
 

Mayhem

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See attached. Very similar glass and handle. Definitely contemporary art glass in a size made for tourists. We see a lot of this stuff in thrift stores near the border which again leads me to think they are Mexican in origin.
 

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