Inkwells - "Monart", "Vasart" or "Other"?

Above are five millefiori Inkwells. One has hearsay evidence of manufacture in the 1930s suggesting that it is truly a "Monart" item. Another is of a type that has been sold as "Monart" but is actually of unknown make. The remaining three were all sold as Vasart but only two are genuine. Which is which, and how can we tell the difference?

Individual views of the Inkwells are available in discrete windows and these contain details of my own opinion on attribution. If you wish to shortcut the fun of analysis, click on the section of the image above for each item or use the links below - otherwise, just keep reading.

Individual Details:
Back row, left - Back row, centre - Back row, right - Front row, left - Front row, right

Most people have regarded the main feature for identification to be the millefiori canes contained in the item. The problem with the five examples shown here is that they all have "Vasart" canes. As stated in all of my other pages on "Vasart" paperweights and related items, the use of canes cannot be taken alone as proof of attribution - the canes travelled to various quarters! We need to look at other details to make our assessments.

An obvious feature of note is that the stopper of one example is much larger than the others. It is well known that Vasart Inkwells have stoppers of approximately 3.2 cm (1 1/4 inch) diameter. It is therefore likely that an Inkwell with a much larger stopper is not a true Vasart piece.

Although not always the case, it does seem that the majority of Vasart Inkwells have a striped neck and well portion and that the underside and stem of the stopper match this pattern. There are a range of Inkwells similar to the type discussed here that have a clear neck etc. but these are possibly restricted to Vasart Ltd (or perhaps early Strathearn?). It may be true that all Inkwells from the Ysart Brothers years (first period Vasart), and any actually made in the pre-war Monart days, have the striping. With this in mind, we can now look again at the five comparative items and raise doubts on two of them - one without any striping and another that appears to be striped but actually has more of a mottled finish. These features may not be very clear from the group photo - but the following stopper details highlight the points raised so far.:

Clearly the largest stopper stands out from the rest and its mottled, rather than striped, colouring can be seen. But now study the stem of the one to its left - is that striped or mottled? Is this a true Vasart? Nothing is ever easy - we will need to study the main body of that one for an opinion! The plain colour of the one to the lower right is quite obvious. The striping to the example centre right can just about be seen whereas the example at the lower left stands out from the others with its deeply contrasted stripes. This latter one is also comparatively large, so does that cast doubt on it being a "Vasart" item?

One other feature that may not be very clear from the image is the shape of the stems of these stoppers. All are tapered to some degree but three have well-finished chamfered (or rounded) lower portions - lower left, centre left and centre right. The mottled-pink example is very roughly finished with many chips around the shoulder and the lower edge; more so than would be expected from even hard wear and tear. On close inspection, the stems of those at the top and lower right are seen to be more severely tapered and this explains another feature that raises doubt about a "Vasart" attribution - the stoppers do not fit at all well into the necks!

Although not a fully definitive method of identification, UV checks can aid the investigations. Under longwave UV (blacklight) the clear glass of Ysart items shows as green, whereas later "studio" work usually does not. Using shortwave UV, the Ysart pieces appear as a dusty grey and later items are often a bright blue.

Use the links below to view the UV reactions for the stoppers. The items are in same positions as for the main group photo but turned with the heads together to show the best UV results. Both links open in a separate window for ease of comparison and in fact the best understanding is gained by having both windows open side by side. It should be quite clear that three pieces are green in the longwave image and two are bright blue in the shortwave.

• Longwave (blacklight) UV Image
• Shortwave UV Image

The thoughts and analysis so far are enough to distinguish two groups from the five example Inkwells. The stopper sizes, the colour striping (or lack of) and the UV checks all suggest that two items are unlikely to be "Vasart" or "Monart". The item with the plain dark blue body and stopper is one of a few that have been seen and which have appeared in auction as "Monart". The piece with the largest stopper and the mottled pink glass was auctioned as "Vasart". Both of these fail the "Ysart" UV test! [Some may query whether the UV evidence could indicate Paul Ysart manufacture from the 1960s/70s. This could be a valid thought, but pieces from 60s Caithness period, which are indeed blue under shortwave UV, nevertheless show as green under longwave. And from the 70s period, although having a similar longwave result to other "studio" work, under shortwave they are not bright blue.]

Base

For these Inkwells, the base views are not very helpful, although some possible clues do exist. Images of each can be seen via the link below. What will be apparent at first site is that there is no easily identifiable feature common to any group. On further consideration, some points of interest do arise:

• Two items do not have a central concave ground area. Does this suggest that these are the odd ones out already identified? No - the one with the "button pontil" is believed to be a genuine Vasart!
• The green and pink item (which is the one with the largest stopper) as well as having an unfinished pontil mark has a very "rippled" finish to the base. To some degree, a similar finish is also known for Inkwells from the later Vasart Ltd (or Strathearn) years, but the feature does seem to be a reason to doubt an early "Vasart" or "Monart" attribution.
• For the third base image, which is for the plain dark blue example, a noticeable feature is the "stepped" form of the base. This is also seen, to a slightly lesser extent, in the green and pink piece. The other three all have a smooth transition from the base to the sides. This may be a form that is consistent amongst true Vasart Inkwells - but until I have examined a much greater number, I recommend this only as one clue amongst many.

Click here for the base views.

Canes

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, it is difficult to assess items of this type by cane analysis because every piece contains what are probably genuine early Vasart canes! However, if an item contains canes from known later work, such as 1970s Strathearn, then it can immediately be given a "non-Ysart" attribution. But how many of us can be sure about later, non-Ysart canes?

As with my other articles, I have constructed tables grouping canes by type and these can be seen by clicking the link: Cane details.

The more I study details, the clearer it becomes that there are a vast range of "Vasart" (or "Monart") canes. Although I have suggested within the cane tables that some are likely to be Strathearn, I cannot be 100% positive about this. It is only with all the other evidence taken together that a reasonable attribution can be assessed.