Glass bull sculpture - any info?

[artfan]

I picked up this glass sculpture of a bull at a thrift store recently, just looking to get more information on it. There's no maker's marks on it at all and I've never seen anything else like it before. Any idea who made it or the value?

 

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[DaveFreemanSoben]

Can't really tell how big it is to get an idea of value. How big is it?

 

[RW]

Is that a handle on the back? Could the horns have held something?
The legs/feet, back and "manhood" look like a Murano but I don't see any with the same tail. The 2 colored glass also looks Murano, but literally hundreds of knockoffs from around the world, many with fake Murano stickers. More pictures from different angles and something for scale might help.

 

[randazzo1]

Is that a handle on the back? Could the horns have held something?
The legs/feet, back and "manhood" look like a Murano but I don't see any with the same tail. The 2 colored glass also looks Murano, but literally hundreds of knockoffs from around the world, many with fake Murano stickers. More pictures from different angles and something for scale might help.

I agree. Murano style for sure. If it’s unsigned i would expect to get $25 - $50 depending on the venue ur selling it in. If you sell it online then prob $18.50 on ebay and $40 etsy.

Glass is a soft market right now, but that may improve in a few years. We used to sell murano pieces for $$$ - same with capodimonte. Nowadays it’s harder to move - which is annoying as all heck.

 

[artfan]

Here are more pictures with a pen for scale. The raised part on the back is solid glass, not sure if it's designed to be a handle or not.

 

[DaveFreemanSoben]

Would have been better if you had used a dime.

 

[tamrock]

The subject of being a bull, plus how well it's made leaves me to believe it's real Murano. Long ago I did okay selling art glass on eBay, but because the USPS takes up the slack on us small sellers for the deep discounts they give Amazon I can't feasibly sell it anymore, as the shipping cost way more then the merchandise when it comes to the heavy stuff like art glass. Of course that bull doesn't look real heavy, so shipping cost might not be to bad if your offering it internationally. Nice find!

 

[artfan]

Thanks for the info all. Do all Murano pieces have markings on them somewhere or not necessarily?

Another thing I should mention is it does have a few air bubbles in it which I've read could be another sign that it's a real Murano. Do you guys that have sold Murano before know a way to contact Murano to see if they could authenticate this sculpture?

It feels like it's around 5-10 lbs in weight, I don't know if that makes a difference in telling whether it's a real Murano or not.

 

[trdking]

Murano is seldom etched with a signature. Air bubbles would tell me not Murano unless it is deliberate. My first impression of this was Not Murano. One would really need to hold the piece to determine real or fake. Murano is a city not a single factory so contacting MURANO for authentication would be like calling Los Angeles to see if a Dodger jersey was real. There are many many glass blowers on Murano. They are all master craftsmen or they are not allowed to remain on Murano. So that is why you get overall quality of workmanship. If anyone is wondering it is the tail and the pointy feet that told me no. Just doesn't look quite right. IMO

 

[RW]

I do have one numbered Murano etched and signed by Barbini Murano. Every other one I have or sold had a sticker at best and a lot of the time I was not sure if it was a true Murano. Usually when Murano does bubbles they are "controlled" and obvious. I am far from an expert but my wife collects Murano and resells when we run out of space. She glanced at the pics and is 50/50 on authenticity but said she would have bought it also if the price was right.

 

[artfan]

Thanks, I got it for $5 without even knowing what it was.

 

[diggummup]

To me it looks like a Chinese knockoff. Not being rude just visual observations in the overall look and style when compared to an actual Sommerso bull made in Murano. You can probably resell for $15-$20 so it wasn't a bad deal.

 

[Red James Cash]

Might be lalique then again I doubt it.