Posted 6 years ago
racer4four
(620 items)
I have had someone recently asking me about Iwata Glass and why it's worth so much. The easy answer is that people want it. However I find lots of Iwata Glass sold as artist pieces, when the truth is most of it is production glass. That means, like any glass company, the piece was designed by someone (in this case Toshichi Iwata) but was made by whichever glass blower was employed at the time. That might be an Iwata, but just as likely to be one of the many artisans that worked for them.
How do I know what is a production piece and what is artist made?
Any stickered Iwata is production. If there is no sticker it comes back to what comes with the vase, and the work involved in it.
Artist pieces should have a tomoboko with them (wooden box, artist signed), should have an artist bookmark, and will often be a very different and complex work.
Japanese art glass is rarely signed, particularly if it is prior to around 1990.
This is a production piece. Lovely, well made, but does not carry the cachet or price than an artist piece will.
I was going to give it a "LUV", but your explanation talked me out of it ! LOL !!
Good one BB2! I love the no-love lol.
You continue to educate us all...... I do like the way the gold streak echoes around the ribs though!
Great information on your beautiful passion !~
Lovely vase, racer!
Thanks Peggy. This post was incited by a member of the Japanese glass forum on FB who is an Iwata fan. I posted similar on that page; never seen so many comments! So exciting! (not necessarily in a good way - the Czech glass group dynamic started to come to mind lol)
And yes, incited is the right word.....
Thanks Phil! Ditto
Thanks MrsT. I do really like this vase, production or not, it is a masterpiece of handmade glass, and more beautiful than the photos show.
lol, Karen, I have three Japanese vases in the garage, would that be enough to gain admittance and await further developments...... The vases by the way would not interest you, far too ordinary :)
All Japanese glass interest me Peggy. Post them up!!
Where did you get this information from on Iwata production vs artist piece interested to know?
Rhicon it started with my research and ended with confirmation by the curator of the Iwata family museum in Tokyo.