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Art nr: 3437
Dimensions: L: 25 W: 25 H: 25
Material: Glass
Origin: Shandong province, China
Age: c1950
Original glass fishing balls. These round glass balls were once used by Chinese fishermen to keep their nets or drop lines afloat. The hollow glass balls contained enough air to keep enormous nets buoyant in the ocean. The origin of these glass floats can be traced to Norway in the 19th century and a mere hundred years later, the balls had replaced wood or cork throughout the world. Today, most glass floats found on the beach or in shops originate from Japan, Korea or China. The balls in Asia were originally made from recycled sake bottles which resulted in air bubbles in the glass and a greenish colour. A glassblower would make a float with a blowpipe and seal the end with a drop of melted glass. Later on, floats were made using wooden moulds resulting in seams along the float. The used glass balls also show wear and tear by handling, sun, salt and water.
Colors vary between blue and green hues, although an occasional brown color is possible too.
Put them next to each other or stack them together. All glass balls in our collection are still able to float so they make great decoration in water!
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This section of the encyclopaedia is for Chinese glass, including glass made in Taiwan. There is a surprising amount of vintage glassware, found in the UK and elsewhere, that is often mistaken for Italian/Murano glass, or Scandinavian glass, but was in fact made in China. There is also a vast amount of modern glass produced in China, using popular Murano glassmaking techniques such as sommerso, which can easily be mistaken for, and sometimes purposefully misdescribed as, Murano glass. This Murano style, Chinese made glass used to be quite easy to spot to the experienced collector or dealer, as they contained many production flaws, and often certain features could give them away, such as a frosted, unpolished base, compared to the shiny, highly polished base found on most genuine Murano glass. However in more recent years, the quality of some of these items have improved greatly, and it can be very difficult to spot the difference. This guide aims to help with the identification of Chinese glass.
Buy Chinese Glass Products in our Online Glass StoreShown here is glassware made in China that I would class as vintage, i.e. made before the year 2000. Most of these are likely from the mid-century / retro era, 1950's - 1970's.
A white glass "Lotus Flower" vase with dark red and orange swirls, made in China, by The Dalian Glass Co. Ltd, circa 1950's - 1980's, labelled.
Reference: [click here].
Red & silver foil label used by The Dalian Glass Co. Ltd, reads "Lotus Flower, Made in China". The same or a very similar range can be found with labels that read "Snowflakes, Made in China".
A white glass "Lotus Flower" vase with dark red and orange swirls, made in China, by The Dalian Glass Co. Ltd, circa 1950's - 1980's, labelled.
A white glass "Lotus Flower" or "Snowflakes" cylinder vase with dark blue and orange swirls, made in China, by The Dalian Glass Co. Ltd, circa 1950's - 1980's.
An orange glass "Plum Blossom" vase with applied flower decoration and internal white casing. Made in China, circa 1970's, labelled.
Reference: [click here].
Red & silver foil label reads "Plum Blossom, Made in China".
A green glass "Plum Blossom" bamboo shaped hooped vase with internal white casing. Made in China, circa 1970's.
Reference: [click here].
A pair of orange and white striped glass vases with applied clear decoration. Can be found with labels that read "Made in Taiwan, Republic of China". Often mistaken for Murano or Czech glass.
Reference: [click here].
A blue and clear glass basket shaped sculpture bowl or vase. Made in China, sold by Crystal Brand, labelled. From the style and label I would estimate the date at circa 1970's.
Red & gold foil label reads "Crystal Brand, Made in China".
A red and clear glass basket shaped sculpture bowl or vase. Made in China, sold by Crystal Brand.
A red and clear glass basket shaped sculpture bowl or vase. Made in China, sold by Crystal Brand.
Shown here is glassware made in China in more recent, modern times, i.e. after the year 2000. Many of the items listed here can be found, or at one time could be found, on the Chinese trade website alibaba.com. We may refer to these listings where possible to confirm Chinese origin, but please note these links may become broken over time as listings on the Alibaba site are ended, or products are discontinued.
A blue, green and clear sommerso glass vase with applied green lobed sides, and controlled bubble bullicante effect. Made in China, and was originally sold in Debhenams stores under the brand name "Star", by designer Julien Macdonald.
Reference: [click here].
A blue, green and clear sommerso glass bowl or candle holder with controlled bubble bullicante effect. Made in China, and was originally sold in Debhenams stores under the brand name "Star", by designer Julien Macdonald. Marked and labelled.
"Star by Julien Macdonald" marking, and "Made in China" plastic label.
A blue and amber sommerso glass bird sculpture. Made in China, sold and labelled by Shudehill Giftware.
A blue, purple and clear sommerso glass vase with applied clear lobed sides, and controlled bubble bullicante effect. Made in China, and was originally sold in Debhenams stores under the brand name "Star", by designer Julien Macdonald.
Reference: [click here].
A blue, purple and clear sommerso glass bowl or candle holder with controlled bubble bullicante effect. Made in China, and was originally sold in Debhenams stores under the brand name "Star", by designer Julien Macdonald.
A black, grey and clear bubbly fumato glass chicken sculpture. Made in China, still bears the "Made in China" import label, and the dull frosted base finish is typical of Chinese production.
"Made in China" import label.
A blue, green and amber "pâte de verre" / "liuli" style glass Chinese dragon sculpture. Made in China, by Xia Shi Liu Li, signed and boxed, with leaflet.
Signed in Chinese writing.
Xia Shi Liu Li company logo on presentation box.
Dragon shown with Xia Shi Liu Li presentation box and leaflet.
A turquoise and clear glass abstract sculpture. Made in China, unmarked, but these can be found with "Made in China" labels. Sculptures like these can be found in many different colours on the Alibaba trade website.
Reference: [click here].
A red, amber and clear glass abstract sculpture. Made in China, unmarked.
A dark purple and clear glass abstract sculpture. Made in China, unmarked.
A large amber and clear glass abstract sculpture. Probably made in China, unmarked.
A purple and amber sommerso glass teardrop shaped paperweight. Made in China, the teardrop shape and sommerso style is typical of Chinese production. These can be found in many different colours on the Alibaba trade website. The shiny, polished base suggests more recent production than others with a dull, frosted base.
Reference: [click here].
A pink and blue sommerso glass teardrop shaped paperweight. Made in China, the teardrop shape, sommerso style and dull, frosted base finish is typical of Chinese production. These can be found in many different colours on the Alibaba trade website.
Reference: [click here].
A pink and clear sommerso glass teardrop shaped paperweight, with encased bubbles and square glass base plinth. Made in China.
An orange, green, black and white mottled glass teardrop shaped paperweight. Made in China, the teardrop shape, mottled pattern and dull, frosted base finish is typical of Chinese production. Items with the same mottle pattern can be found on the Alibaba trade website.
A purple, blue and clear faceted sommerso glass vase. Made in China, and sold by Fifth Avenue, a USA retailer / importer. Labelled, with original box and certificate.
Label reads "Fifth Avenue Crystal Ltd, Made in China".
A green and blue sommerso glass paperweight with encased bubble. Made in China, the sommerso style and dull, frosted base finish is typical of Chinese production.
A green and blue sommerso glass paperweight. Made in China.
A pink, green and blue sommerso glass heart shaped paperweight. Made in China, the shape and sommerso style are typical of Chinese production. The shiny, polished base suggests more recent production than others with a dull, frosted base.
A black and white striped glass dog sculpture. Made in China, and sold by Crystal Clear Collectables. Items from this range are very often accidentally or purposefully wrongly described as "designed by Dino Martens for Aureliano Toso".
A pink, green and clear glass vase, made in China. The same design can be found with a label that reads "Pier 1, China".
Reference: [click here].
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As an eBay Partner, I may be compensated if you make a purchase.
As an eBay Partner, I may be compensated if you make a purchase.
www.glasspheme.com - Interesting article on Chinese made sommerso teardrop paperweights being sold as Murano.
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