Two Handled Demijohn

[WEB44]

I have had this two handled demijohn (18" tall) for several years.
It is hand blown into a 2 part bottom hinged mold with sheared lip, applied sloping collar & handles, rough open pontil.

The upper body, neck and one handle is decorated with swirls of slag/contaminates from the glass batch. Very thick walled, up to 1/2".



This is my second attempt to find out which country produced this one-of-a kind whimsy/show piece. It is a non-utilitarian piece. Yes, the handles are decorative, they would easily snap under the weight of a liquid filled bottle.
The demi has the look and feel of a late 19th cent. piece.
The first attempt to ID. the mystery bottle provided little consensus, from it being a modern fake to a late 1800's bottle. As far as it's origin, it was considered being American, Mexican, Asian and from the Mediterranean area.



All comments are welcome.

 

[LisaH]

You should private message "Harry Pristis" He appears to be very knowledgeable in this area.

By the way that is an amazing piece. Such a good find. /jealous

:fireworks:

 

[nhpharm]

That is a very nice looking piece, My impression is that it is the real deal. Probably 1850's-1870's. I think you might be surprised on the handles. They were probably used to have a rope handle on the demijohn (which was probably also covered with woven rope or something similar) and I bet they would hold up when laced through both handles. With respect to manufacture location, I think that will be hard to pin down. The mold form was used in the US and Europe; the sheared lip points towards European manufacture but the pontil is a more classic US style. I am sure some other people will chime in, but a beautiful piece.

 

[WEB44]

Thanks LisaH for the fire works inspired compliment.

Actually "Harry Pristis" was one of the contacts in the first attempt to ID. several years ago.
If my memory serves me well, he was on the positive side that it was not a modern reproduction.

 

[WEB44]

Thanks nhpharm, I still think it is a non utilitarian piece, there is no signs of usage, as I mention the glass is very unusually thick, up to 1/2".
Empty, the demi weights app. 20lbs., can't image the weight filled with liquids?
One unusual detail is the raised wide band mold seam which ends at the neck base, I hope this feature may be unique enough to narrow down the country of origin.



The demi came out of Baltimore many years ago. Here is the seller's email reply.

"Thank you for buying the demi-john. The family that i got it from were the Uhlmans. They lived in Baltimore and their father was a M.D. All of the children have passed away. I bought it from Alfred and he died several years ago. His mother was a serious antique collector. This is all the information that i have. I hope it helps." Tom

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[Harry Pristis]

Thanks LisaH for the fire works inspired compliment.

Actually "Harry Pristis" was one of the contacts in the first attempt to ID. several years ago.
If my memory serves me well, he was on the positive side that it was not a modern reproduction.

That's right . . . sort of . . . the piece is not a reproduction of anything. It is a whimsy, blown by someone for his personal edification or for an audience. It was never meant to be useful except for practice, maybe, or to be sold as a novelty souvenir.

The mouth of the piece has an amateurish finish; it's irregular and couldn't hold many stems of pampas grass, much less a cork. The glass handles are not well-formed and are a liability. Evidently, it was never intended to be wickered. From the standpoint of functionality (and that's what demijohns were designed to be, functional), this is a monster.

I think it was produced in Tijuana, Mexico, in the 1970s before the glasshouse was moved out of town because of the fire hazard. Remember the colorful glass clowns?

 

[WEB44]

Thank you Harry for your comments (second time)

Thought I would show a less dramatic photo of the demi, color is more natural, less pronoused, just in case
you were influenced by the earlier photos to compare the glass with modern Mexican gl. clowns?

If not, can you provide a clown photo, because I cannot see the similaries.

 

[Harry Pristis]

Thank you Harry for your comments (second time)

Thought I would show a less dramatic photo of the demi, color is more natural, less pronoused, just in case
you were influenced by the earlier photos to compare the glass with modern Mexican gl. clowns?

If not, can you provide a clown photo, because I cannot see the similaries.

You're welcome WEB44.
I vividly remember, after all these years, sitting among the other tourists, watching the artisan spin and pull and press parisons of glass into shape. The shop in front of the furnace area had all sorts of bottles, vases, pitchers with tumblers, and garish clown figures.

Alas, I didn't buy a clown fruit-bowl that day in Tijuana. I did buy a set of tumblers that I used for years . . . until I have only one remaining of the set. Free-blown, pontil-scarred . . . I loved 'em! I've retired the last one now at the back of a cupboard, but here is an image:

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