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Posted 2 years ago
Alfredo
(349 items)
THE DEALER FROM WHOM I BOUGHT THIS PIECE DESCRIBED IT AS SLIGHTLY DAMAGED: A PETAL WAS MISSING FROM THE LOWER PART OF THE FLOWER. WHEN I RECEIVED IT, I WAS TOTALLY DISMAYED: THERE WAS PRACTICALLY NO FLOWER, ONLY A CORE. YET, THE LEAF HANDLE WAS INTACT. 10" TALL, POLISHED PONTIL., THE FIRST EXAMPLE I HAVE SEEN OF THIS TYPE OF GLASS, WHICH I HAVE LABELED "KRALIK CHINE"--THE SIMILARITY TO LOETZ ZEPHIR CHINE IS OBVIOUS, AS ARE THE DIFFERENCES, SINCE LOETZ CHINE IS NEVER BI-COLOR. THE LAST PICTURE SHOWS A ZEPHIR CHINE SHELL, BY THE WAY, ALSO DAMAGED (THE TIP IS MISSING).
THE QUESTION IS: IS IT WORTH IT TO HAVE A DAMAGED PIECE IN YOUR COLLECTION? MY ANSWER IS: YES, DEPENDING ON RARITY. AS MUCH AS IT PAINS ME THAT THE FLOWER IS ALMOST NON-EXISTENT (EVERYONE HERE KNOWS MY FONDNESS FOR BOHEMIAN GLASS FLOWER ITEMS), THIS VESSEL, EVEN IN ITS POOR CONDITION, CONSTITUTES A SUPERB EXAMPLE OF KRALIK'S EARLY PRODUCTION. ANY COMMENTS?
Bohemian Art GlassBohemian art glass was made in and around the present-day Czech Republic du…
Art NouveauArt Nouveau architecture, furniture, jewelry, and graphics took their inspi…
My own take on it is that you can own this damaged piece until an intact one comes along, and then replace it with the new one. I like to have at least one example of each decor in my collection, and will often settle for a damaged piece until I find an (affordable) intact one.
The answer is given: ``DEPENDING ON RARITY``. Besides, the glass is already hundred years old and not for sale, not an investment, just saved and retired with someone who cherish it. I doubt very much an intact one will come along to replace this one. It happens sometimes, but life is too short to wait for rare intact pieces.
Yes is my answer. How much one should pay for it is another question. Even damaged pieces may have a value based on rarity and demand.
I love to look at and study my glass. While I would prefer to have all perfect pieces in my collection, I know there are many pieces that I could never afford if they were perfect. I also want to own at least one example of each decor so I will purchase a damaged piece if I know it is rare and it will most likely take a long time before I can find a perfect example. It is more important to be able to hold and study an example of a particular decor than to wait until I can find the perfect example. You can look at photos but they will never give you the depth of detail that having the actual piece in hand will give you. I have also found that there is a strong market for damaged pieces so if you purchase a piece right in the first place you should be able to get your investment back when you find a replacement piece.
One good answer is : every museum in the world has damaged pieces. I am usually a perfectionist........but I can think of one wonderful Quezal vase I have that was offered for sale with "a pontil fissure in the making". Maybe it is and maybe it isn't but I got a $8,000. vase for $2,000.