This a very attractive Mdina glass vase with a fine flared trumpet-shaped neck. It has an engraved signature to the base: Mdina.
It is an early piece with a very dark blue glass - with slightly lighter blue-green stripes to the main part of the body. The blue is so dark you have to look at it closely to see the stripes. This striped pattern is called Ming and dates to the mid 1970s. You can see the striped pattern much clearer and it looks much lighter in the neck section, when seen from above, as photographed. These are harder pieces of Mdina to find and this one was possibly made by Eric Dobson - it came to me with my other signed piece by him.
It is a lovely classical shape - measuring 5 1/2 inches in height - and the diameter at the widest point is 5 inches. The flared neck is 3 1/4 inches.
In excellent condition with no chips or damages. There is a little ting to the side in the making - perhaps a teeny weeny air bubble on the surface. It is so small and indistinct that I would not be able to photograph it - and you can only feel it if you run your finger over the area. I have never seen such a dark coloured glass used by Mdina - an interesting piece for your collection.
It will be sent to you with Royal Mail (tracked and signed for service). This will be applied to your order at the checkout.
HISTORY: Many thanks for the Glass Encyclopedia at 20thcentury glass.com for this short history of Mdina Glass.
Mdina Glass was founded in the Maltese town of Mdina, in 1968 by Michael Harris and Eric Dobson, a risky venture at the time as Mdina had no history of glass making. However the gamble paid off, and Mdina glass was an instant success.
The company produced free formed organic glassware, often in colours inspired from the sea, sand, earth and sky, which proved very popular with tourists. Vicente Boffo and his son Ettore joined in 1969, having previously worked at Whitefriars. Two other workers at the factory were brothers Joseph Said and Paul Said, who started as trainees.
In 1972 Michael left Mdina, and formed a new company, Isle of Wight Studio Glass, on the Isle of Wight in the UK, leaving Eric Dobson in charge of Mdina. Many of the designs created by Michael Harris continued to be made at Mdina Glass after he left, and new designs and patterns were added.
In 1981, Paul Said left to form Mtarfa Glass, also in Malta. Eric Dobson sold the Mdina factory to Joseph Said, who was Michael's most skilled apprentice, in 1985. From the mid 1990's, Joseph was joined by his four children, Nevise, Olivia, Pamela and Alan, in various roles. The company is still active today.