Tiny hand blown blue glass cup with gold specks Origin? Age? Who made it?

[john_wade]

About 1 3/4" high. A beautiful blue translucent color with numerous tiny specks of gold. With pontil on the bottom. About 1 3/8" across at the top. Thin glass.  Had it over 20 years. Can't remember where I found it. Probably an old house. Reminds me of something the ancient Romans would do but shows no aging patina.

[lacemaker3]

It appears to be free-blown, and it could have been made anywhere. I have some hand made free-blown glass of about that age, which was made by friends here in the USA. Glass does not age or tarnish, so it doesn't develop a patina.

[john_wade]

I sold an ancient Roman vase on eBay several years ago. It had a very distinctive aged patina that I recognized from a hundred feet away. This tiny one does not but it reminds me of ancient glass so I'm guessing it's modern and probably made in Europe or Italy but could still be 200 years old. . 

[ltldpr]

I used Google Lens and found a pinterest post calling it:

Murano Venetian Blue Shot Glass With Gold Leaf Inclusions | Etsy

Vintage(maybe antique?) blue coloured shot glass with gold leaf inclusions around the outside and "pinched in" sides. These are often attributed to Salviati, but other glassworks are known to have made these. Made on the island of Murano, Italy. measures 6.5cm tall and diameter across the top is approx 4.4cm. Snapped off pontil mark on the base. Glass is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, scratches or bruises

I followed the link to Etsy, but it said "This item is unavailable". 

[lacemaker3]

You mean this one? It's on Pinterest Mexico, but the link leads to Etsy UK.

That example is a bit larger than the OP's one. There is a vague mention of a Murano artist's name, but the attribution that it was "made on the island of Murano, Italy" seems to have been pulled out of thin air. I don't think that should be taken as a reliable source. This one could have been made anywhere, and the rather desperate attempt to suggest it is from Murano is suspect.

They are both beautiful pieces of glass, but I think that OP's is even less likely to be from Murano because of the more pronounced asymmetry.

[ltldpr]

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@lacemaker3 wrote:

You mean this one? It's on Pinterest Mexico, but the link leads to Etsy UK.

That example is a bit larger than the OP's one. There is a vague mention of a Murano artist's name, but the attribution that it was "made on the island of Murano, Italy" seems to have been pulled out of thin air. I don't think that should be taken as a reliable source. This one could have been made anywhere, and the rather desperate attempt to suggest it is from Murano is suspect.

They are both beautiful pieces of glass, but I think that OP's is even less likely to be from Murano because of the more pronounced asymmetry.

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Was just sharing what I found.

I never claimed anything, either.

I do know, however, that no two pieces of handmade glass, regardless of where they're from, are identical. 

[lacemaker3]

I wasn't criticizing you.

I just didn't want anyone to be mislead by the Etsy's seller's unsubstantiated claims that their glass piece originated in Murano. Maybe it did, but the only way to know for sure would be a label, or COA or something like that. If the seller had had provenance or proof, I'm sure they would have mentioned it. I don't think that is a good source for information.

You're correct that hand made glass pieces are all unique, however, the highly skilled glass artists in Murano (and the equally skilled ones who copy them in China and India) generally produce much more uniform pieces when they are producing multiples. And if an item is expected to be symmetrical, like a glass (as opposed to an art piece) then a skilled glass artist can produce a piece that appears to be completely symmetrical, even if there are actually slight irregularities that are not apparent at first glance.

[john_wade]

Regardless pf its origin, I like it a lot. I especially like the color "Venetian blue". My instinct tells me Italy or Europe rather than Mexico or Central America. Took a lot of skill. I thank all contributors. All good answers.