Author Topic: Guilded and engraved green egg - help needed (Read 8169 times)

alexander · « **on:** November 26, 2006, 01:52:37 PM »

Hi, I found this very nice green egg at an antique fair this weekend,
it's about 9 cm tall and hollow.

The outside has some fairly good quality engravings that have been guilded.

The guilding has worn off some over the years, I'm thinking it may
possibly be an antique french ornament but I could be wrong :wink:

I've looked at some french banister finials (boule d'escalier),
most of the ones I found were solid tho and also with some kind of
threaded bottom to fit onto a brass or wooden foot, which would then be
attached to a banister.

The glass is a very nice shade green.
It has a rose on one side and a vine and butterfly on the other,
inbetween there is a dotted pattern.

Can anyone help me with this one?
Maker or year, and if it is indeed a banister finial?

Vine & Butterfly Side

Rose Side

Bottom

Thanks

Anne · « **Reply #1 on:** November 26, 2006, 04:01:22 PM »

I don't think it's any form of paperweight so I'd suggest you may get more help with this over on the Glass forum rather than in p/weights.

It reminds me very much of the Russian Glass eggs - see here:
http://www.stpetersburger.com/html/glass_easter_eggs_1.html

alexander · « **Reply #2 on:** November 26, 2006, 04:37:57 PM »

I'm pretty sure you're right - armed with your pointer to russian eggs I've
found eggs that look very similar, with the dotted pattern.

Now all that remains is to hopefully find it's an antique and not brand new.

Looks like I overpaid a tad but it's a nice egg.

Thanks for the help

alexander · « **Reply #3 on:** December 01, 2006, 01:40:57 AM »

Thought I'd post an update.

Armed with the info from Anne I found several with close design,
it appears new eggs like this are coming out of Russia marked
"Style Faberge Modern St Petersburg Russia" or similar.
There appear to be at least two companies making these.
Lots of them around varying in price from about $12 to $55.
This ebay auction shows both labels.

The bases of the new eggs I have seen so far have all been pretty rough,
one maker appears to just grind down the base, not even polishing,
while another maker has a finer grind and guilds the base afterwards.
So my egg could be by one of these, jury's still out.

Lustrousstone · « **Reply #4 on:** December 01, 2006, 07:41:03 AM »

Your egg may be Russian but it certainly doesn't look new 50/60s maybe, possibly older

Tigerchips · « **Reply #5 on:** December 01, 2006, 09:49:08 AM »

The colour, cutting and gilding reminds me very much of a glass rummer I saw once.

The rummer that I saw was the same shape as these.
http://www.yobunny.org.uk/gallery1/thumbnails.php?album=42&page=1