Most people are quite timid about using chemicals on glass. They’re afraid they’ll ruin the vase by removing the decoration or somehow damaging it. There are very few times this would actually be accurate. Cold painted decoration on a vase could be ruined by the use of some chemicals but Tiffany Favrile vases or French cameo vases by Daum, Galle, and others have no cold painting, so all of the steps I describe below are appropriate. If you suspect that your vase has cold painting on it, test a small area with one of the cleaners below, using a Q-tip. If the color of the paint comes off, use only the mildest cleaners.

Eco-House citrous thinner

The first step is to remove any substances that will dissolve in organic solvents such as mineral spirits or acetone (nail polish remover). There are some commercial products available that are also good, such as Goo Gone, available at stores like Office Depot, or online. Another product I like is citrous thinner, made from orange peels. It smells a lot better than the other solvents and is quite effective. Use this link if you’d like to order it. Eco-House, Inc.

Start by looking for anything sticky with your eyes and your fingers. Take a rag or paper towel and use just a little solvent. Rub the affected area until the dirt or stickiness is gone. Mineral spirits is a gentler solvent than acetone, so try it first. Mineral spirits is especially good for removing the gum from labels. Use acetone second, if you need a stronger solvent. These various solvents will also remove crayon, sap, or any similar substance.

Easy-Off Fume Free

Next we’re ready for aqueous cleaning. I suggest you do this in a sink. Most of the cleaners will make the vase slippery, so be very careful not to lose control and break your vase. The gentlest cleaners are dishwashing liquid or Windex. I like to use an old toothbrush. Scrub the vase with the first cleaner and see if the dirt comes off. If it’s stubborn, you can proceed to the next level of cleaning power with commercial products like Scrubbing Bubbles or Dow Bathroom Cleaner. Repeat the process. Spray the vase, let it sit for a few minutes and clean with a toothbrush or other similar brush. If that’s not strong enough, you can go to the highest level of cleaning power — Easy-Off. There are two types of Easy-Off available. The blue can, labeled “Fume Free” is the one I recommend. (It’s not really fume free, but not too bad.) It’s powerful and should remove any leftover dirt. Finally rinse your vase thoroughly in plain water and dry completely with an old towel. If it’s safe, let it dry upside down. It’s a good idea to use gloves to protect your hands, an apron to protect your clothing and glasses to protect your eyes. Easy-Off in the yellow can is lye (sodium hydroxide). It’s very powerful. It will eat through your clothes and skin as well as severely damage your eyes. Immediately flush with plain water if you have an accident. You’ll know you’ve gotten it on your skin as it feels very slimy.

To clean the inside of a vase, you’ll need various brushes to reach hard-to-get-to areas. Just use one of the sprays above, let sit, and brush away. Justman Brush Company sells hundreds of different brushes.

A vase whose glass has been etched on the interior

Vases that have been used with water over the years can present bigger problems. The first problem is the inside of the vase may be scratched. The second and more serious problem goes under the general category of “sick” glass and may include etching of the glass interior or depositing of lime or other minerals, which usually shows as a white deposit. Cleaners will not effectively fix these problems. The only real way to treat problems of this sort is to go to an expert who can “tumble” the vase to resurface the interior. It’s basically the same as sandpapering the entire interior — great for a transparent vase, but not as good for a vase that has a finish on the interior like an iridescent vase. Use this link for Paul Nulton, who does this kind of work.

Sometimes with a minimum amount of work, the results can be quite gratifying. Many vases were kept in homes where the owners smoked or the air was smoky from fireplaces or stoves. This shows as a dingy brown overall covering. Cleaning this off can sometimes reveal unexpected bright and beautiful colors.

Please send me your suggestions or questions about art glass, lamps, Louis Icart, shows, auctions, etc. If it’s interesting, I’ll answer your question in a future blog entry.

Call or write and let me know what you would like to buy, sell, or trade. philchasen@gmail or 516-922-2090. And please visit my website. chasenantiques.com

Bob Ogorek

Bob Ogorek of Plantation Galleries in Davison, Michigan, was a friend of mine. Bob died in 1999 and I miss him. He called me in early 1999 to tell me about a Tiffany chandelier that he had learned about in upstate New York. Since I was a lot closer than him, he asked if I could go look at it. I took a drive with my wife and met the couple selling the fixture in an upstate town. A blownout fixture of this type could easily damage, so I asked the owners to check the glass carefully in the sunlight to make sure it wasn’t cracked. They assured me that the condition was fine. I was concerned the whole time driving up because I figured the day would be wasted if the seller’s were wrong.

An original Tiffany Studios photograph from the bookTiffany at Auction, showing an almost identical fixture but without a long rod

We met in the parking lot of a supermarket to inspect the lamp. I held it up to the sunlight and inspected it with a fine-tooth comb. Everything was in order and I was delighted. I had never seen a chandelier like this in person, only in books. It was beautiful and very unusual, with a hinged turtleback tile door on the bottom to change the light bulb. I bought it for approximately $20,000. My arrangement with Bob was that we would buy it together and own it 50/50. It was a very difficult item to pack because the bronze rod to the ceiling could not be detached from the glass and it was 32½” long, overall. The sellers packed the blownout glass end carefully in a box and let the bronze rod stick straight up from the box, which was no problem as they had a van. I only had a station wagon, so I carefully put the chandelier on its side and drove home.

I called Peggy Gilges of Christie’s New York to consign the lamp for auction and met her on a sunny day at their warehouse in Long Island City. I removed the fixture from my station wagon and showed it to Peggy. She was very impressed and was oohing and ahing (is that how you spell ahing?). I held it up to the sunlight to show her the beautiful color when lit and suddenly saw a crack in the glass! I was horrified! How could that happen? I was so careful with handling and transporting it. I immediately took it back and went home crushed. $20,000 down the drain. How was I going to tell Bob?

I called him when I got back to explain that it had probably cracked from the pressure of the rod on the glass when it was riding on its side. Needless to say, he was more than a little disappointed. He asked me if I had insurance. “Yes”, I said. “Can’t you make a claim?” I didn’t know if I could, so I called my agent and asked him. He thought that I was probably covered under the accidental damage section of my policy. So I filed a claim and my insurance company agreed that yes, this was a legitimate claim. “How much are you claiming?” “$60,000.” “But why, you only paid $20,000?” “Because what I paid is irrelevant. I’m the expert and I say it’s worth $60,000.” The claims adjuster at my insurance company didn’t want to hear that, so he hired independent appraisers who said it wasn’t worth $60,000, but more like $25-30,000. So I was at an impasse with my insurance company when my broker intervened. He asked me if I would accept my cost back, with no deductible, and the damaged fixture. Sounded fair to me, so he talked to the adjuster, who also agreed. They paid me back my $20,000 cost and allowed me to keep the fixture. I was now the co-owner of a damaged fixture, but with a new cost of zero.

I then turned to Sotheby’s in New York City. I brought the fixture to them and met with Barbara Deisroth and Greg Kuharik in their offices. I showed them the fixture and they oohed and ahed (that can’t be how you spell ahed, maybe aahed?). “But Barbara, there’s a big crack here.” “Well, Phil, it doesn’t look too bad to me and it’s mostly hidden by the bronze cage. I think my clients will still want to buy it.” So I consigned the fixture to them for their 20th Century Decorative Works of Art sale to be held on June 10, 1999, with an estimate of $20-30,000.

Sotheby's New York, lot 370, June 10, 1999

The Sotheby's catalog description for lot 370, with my hand-written final price

The auction day was fast approaching and I couldn’t wait. My reserve price was $20,000, which meant that if the bidding stopped before $20,000, Sotheby’s would return the item to me as unsold. The bidding started slowly, $12,000, $14,000, $16,000, $18,000, $20,000. Whew! Now at least it was sold. But the bidding kept going — $22,000, $24,000, $26,000, all the way to $50,000, which is $57,500, with the buyer’s premium included. How exciting! This was as good as going to the racetrack and seeing your horse win. Not only did I do well at the auction but I was totally vindicated! I had told my insurance company that the fixture was worth $60,000 in perfect condition and here it had just sold for $57,500 in damaged condition. Since our cost was zero, Bob and I split approximately $45,000 after paying Sotheby’s fees. I was one happy camper!

Knowledge is power. Sir Francis Bacon, Religious Meditations, Of Heresies, 1597.

Please send me your suggestions or questions about art glass, lamps, Louis Icart, shows, auctions, etc. If it’s interesting, I’ll answer your question in a future blog entry.

Call or write and let me know what you would like to buy, sell, or trade. philchasen@gmail or 516-922-2090. And please visit my website. chasenantiques.com

Icart "Lady of the Camelias", with original frame and mat

Some people like them that way. They show their age (usually 70-90 years old). They’re probably authentic (it’s difficult to fake the brittleness and other signs of age). They have character, with nicks in the frame and faded mats. The problem is they’re getting worse, year after year. The degradation continues with constant exposure to high acid levels, bright light and humidity. Remember the value is in the etching itself, a sheet of paper. It’s the cake, while the mat and frame are the frosting. Good restorers are capable of reversing most of the damage that’s accrued in almost a century.

The process starts by removing the etching from the frame. That’s pretty simple. There is usually a paper backing that can be torn off. (It can’t be reused so it doesn’t matter if you tear it off.) Below that is the backboard. That’s usually held in with many nails around the perimeter on older frames. Later frames may have framing points. Either one can be removed with a flat screwdriver and a needle nose pliers.

Framing points

Then the backboard is removed to get to the etching underneath. Depending on the technique of the original framer (and they had many different styles), the etching may be a loose sheet that’s taped on the top or the edges (that would be the best). Usually the etching is found within a glue sandwich — glued to the board in the back and the mat in the front. Every variation is possible — the etching may be glued only to the mat in front, or only to the board in the back or only glued around the edges or best of all, no glue at all.

The restorer then puts the etching in a full bath and begins the process of separating the paper from anything it’s glued to and then to removing the glue itself. Sometimes the glue softens and the job of removal is facilitated, but on occasion the glue is tenacious and removal becomes a very labor intensive and time-consuming process. It’s very easy to damage a soaking wet etching, so this job should be left to a professional.

Once the sheet has been freed, a chemical process is started that in most cases can reverse most of the effects of aging. (Sounds wonderful to me. I’d like to get dipped myself and see if I can reverse the effects of aging.) If it’s done properly, the foxing can be eliminated and the light darkening and acid burns can be reversed.  The etching is then thoroughly washed, which eliminates most of the acid. A buffering solution can be added to slow down future acid buildup and finally the etching is dried in a press. Most of the hand-painted details like lipstick are lost in the restoration process and have to be reapplied by hand.

Now the etching is a loose sheet that looks almost as good as the day it was made. It’s ready to be framed properly by modern standards. That means that non-acidic materials are used in the framing and mounting. Rag mats are made of cotton and are pH neutral (A pH of 7 is neutral). Anything that comes in contact with the etching either is acid-free or separated by an acid-free barrier. With proper conservation and framing, your etching will look great and last for many more years.

Contact me if you have an etching that needs conservation.

Please send me your suggestions or questions about art glass, lamps, Louis Icart, shows, auctions, etc. If it’s interesting, I’ll answer your question in a future blog entry.

Call or write and let me know what you would like to buy, sell, or trade. philchasen@gmail or 516-922-2090. And please visit my website. chasenantiques.com

Icart "Silk Robe" in original frame. The mat is glued to the etching and the etching is glued to a board.

The second problem is acidity. Paper is naturally acidic due to the acid in pulp, mainly tannic acid. Over time cellulose fibers in the paper break down and add to the acidity. The framer’s offense was to use acidic mats and back boards in framing the etchings. These materials were in constant contact with the etching, allowing acid to leach onto the paper. All of these acid sources contribute to the problem. The acidity causes the paper to weaken and degrade, making it brittle and yellow and eventually destroying it.

After the mat has been removed, the moderate light darkening of the image is evident

An Icart etching with foxing in the margins

Rare and unusual shaped Daum Nancy bowl with violets

When I first started collecting and selling French cameo glass over 30 years ago, there were red flowers and blue flowers and yellow flowers. Then one day a Japanese client asked me the name of the flower on the vase I was offering. What a strange question! Nobody had ever asked me that question before. Now suddenly I had to become a botanist and know my flowers. Well it’s a good thing I did because the market has changed dramatically since then.

Fine Daum Nancy ewer with poppies

Japanese buyers changed the nature of the French cameo glass market. They were very particular about which flowers they wanted and which they didn’t. Violets were their favorite, with roses and poppies tied for second. Then in 1990, Japanese buyers suddenly dropped out of the market because of a crash in the value of their real estate. As a result, one might think that Japanese buyers have little impact on today’s market, but their influence remains strong. The flowers favored by Japanese buyers earlier are the ones that are still favored today. As an example, Daum vases with violets can sometimes command double the prices of similar vases with different flowers.

Daum Nancy vase with wheel-carved tobacco flowers

Please send me your suggestions or questions about art glass, lamps, Louis Icart, shows, auctions, etc. If it’s interesting, I’ll answer your question in a future blog entry.

Call or write and let me know what you would like to buy, sell, or trade. philchasen@gmail or 516-922-2090. And please visit my website. chasenantiques.com