Posted 9 years ago
Rick55
(130 items)
With all the recent talk about Chinese Murano glass, I thought I'd share another form of deception that clouds things even further... Fake labels. Here are a few examples. The first, is on a rather nice quality bird, but the frosted base marks it as anything but a true Murano. Let's assume for a minute that the frosting is due to wear... You would expect the "pristine" label to show some wear. However, it looks like it was printed yesterday... hmmm. The second example, "Cristalleria d'arte Ann Primrose Collection Murano", is probably the most commonly used label for Chinese "Murano". You can even find these "signed" by Ann herself which adds another level of authenticty. Ebay is littered with these pieces. The third, is another that shows up frequently, and I believe we've discussed it here at CW. The last, is probably the most confusing as much of it is written in Italian. It reads "Vetro Eseguito Secondo La Tecnica Dei Maestri Di Murano", which translates to "glass was made according to the technique of the masters of Murano". You have to admit though, it looks awfully fancy. Obviously, all of these are meant to deceive. Unfortunately, it's not enough for us to be able to identify the glass alone, as there are many good quality pieces coming out of Asia, Venezuela etc. We also need to be able to recognize real labels from the not-so-real. Here are a few excellent sites with gobs of examples of known labels:
http://www.20thcenturyglass.com/glass_encyclopedia/glass_labels/glass_labels.htm
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/thumbnails.php?album=102
https://sites.google.com/site/muranozoo/useful-links-books/murano-labels
Great post Rick. I've not seen the Ann Primrose one, although I like her name!!
Super Post Rick!! Here are a couple more from me to add:
http://www.fossilfly.com/Forums/album.php?albumid=5
http://www.the-loschs.com/sigitaly.htm
....and I am just going to *re-add* the ones you posted above, so all ya have to do it **CLICK** on them here to get to them. Hope you do not mind if I do it. Great links!!!! Yes, I contributed to some of those links myself and Links I always use too:
http://www.20thcenturyglass.com/glass_encyclopedia/glass_labels/glass_labels.htm
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/thumbnails.php?album=102
https://sites.google.com/site/muranozoo/useful-links-books/murano-labels
Again worthy post. I know how frustrating it can be for Newbies. It is a never ending learning process - even for me. The fakers always think of something new to do.
Also, I just wanted to add about *marriages*. Sometimes a Real Murano label is added on something that is NOT real Murano. This is done for deception purposes. Your are lead to believe that IF it is a Real Murano label -- it just gotta be a Real piece. Not so. You have to get to know your labels, plus learn about the Quality/style/makers/etc. Would not be the first time a person tries to *up-sell* an item by finding/putting a real murano on it. The world is full of fakes.
Anywhere where there is $$$ - there will be cheaters.
Thank you Karen. If you search for Ann Primrose on Ebay, you'll find at least 120 current listings. Also, thanks for the additional info Rose. We need to get out as much of this type of information as possible in order to hopefully prevent newer collectors from being unknowingly deceived by unscrupulous sellers.
Good information! Is there a good Murano website setup yet for people to go to?
There is Glassmessages (all types of glass, Murano included).....and Fossilfly (just Murano glass). See the links above
Those are the only two that come to mind Deb, but they're not like yours. They're more question and answer, with more questions than answers.
Thank you all for the love.
Thanks for the useful information.
You're welcome Deano. The more we can educate each other, the harder it will be for us to get taken advantage of by the many unscrupulous sellers out there.
This is great info Rick! I have also been fooled by labels that I thought at the time were authentic. Of course, it was not a big loss by any means but I am so glad that you brought this to my attention because it only verifies for me that I have to be positive before a purchase. You all that purchase glass off the web are pretty darn good at it, I have to say! This helps too because it reminds me that when I purchase a piece, to do it because I love it and not because it might bring in a dollar. Thanks again!!! xoxo
Look at this! Even a supposed 'reputable' auction house has sold 3 glass roosters/chickens as authentic Murano! What's good about it is that by the selling price, they didn't fool a large part of the knowing public. It has the blue label you show here by Ann Primrose! I'm so glad you put this info here!
https://new.liveauctioneers.com/item/13565536_three-new-murano-glass-chicken-roosters
Pretty crazy right?!
Yup Susie there you go. I see this all the time on either Live Auctioneers and Invaluable. One of the biggest culprits is Auction Kings who specialize in selling these fakes.
Thanks for the info Rick, we all need to learn from the import of fake 'everything' and Murano as well.
hello, broke the plafond from the lamp murano, where you can find shops or masters?
E-mail kowe4ka.kas@mail.ru
Thanks for this information Rick55. I was thrifting and bought a piece that didn’t even fit my style just because it said Murano. After reading the above , I realized it was a fake. I’ll just return, take my in store credit receipt and run.
Hi Rick. Thanks for the info. Regarding the 3rd label "Lavorazione Arte Murano Made in Italy", I cannot find the orther posts on this one. I understand that this is not made in Murano, but is it even made in Italy, or is that just a complete deception? I'm curious because I bought a piece with this label and now I'm regretting it. Fortunately I only paid $8 for it so not a terribly painful lesson. Any information you can share will be appreciated. You can reply to me directly if you want through CW... TIA
i don,t know how this label is discussed , i think it was part of the Kresge deal, a sort of auxiliari moonshine coming from near Napels i thought
judge the quality of the glass not the labels, if i want murano to sell which i do , i could get any kind of lable i want within a few days
if i want to have scavo , which actually is forbidden by legislation , they probably will acid grind it for me , put it in the ground for a few months and , we got"""genuide scavo ""
I resently bought at glass shell, thinking it was a Murano piece. The shell it marked with a label similar to the first one above. However the label is red instead of green. Should I believe this label to be fake as well?
For pictures visit my uoload:
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/306662-help-me-clarify-my-shell-bowl?in=user