Featured Purple glass cat paperweight

hi folks

a few small bits i picked up around the thrifts today (nothing much to speak of)

i think the cats probably the best bit. bought it on the quality of the glass(£4)

anyone have an idea of marker/origin

the czech brooch i liked as its got touches of paint/enamel(haven't seen that before)

the coke bucket hats quite cool actually, very flimsy, but deadstock new
i'm thinking 80s but could be 70s........ but could be yesterday

any thoughts or info appreciated

 

i deliberately leave in typos just to ease the embarrassment factor of making one a little less every time

 

not sure if that blue(paint) is original to the piece as its sloppily over the back as well

think the paint(as little as is left) adds a nice touch though, common ?

 

I the cat is neodymium (aka "alexandrite") glass; put it under a fluorescent bulb and it'll turn blue. Sometimes it works in natural light too, but the other is your best bet. No idea who made it.

The pin is...oh the poor thing. The green is corrosion. Since it's gone pale it's "dead" and won't go an further. The base metal is brass, mostly copper, and the green is what happens when water or moisture and copper meet.

 

Too funny, i was just about to post that the cat had turned blue, but realised i was blabbering on too much already

hmm not sure evey as the petals are painted as well

 

Neodymium for sure then. It's got a big following. When it comes to the pin, I think it's more the leaves _were_ painted at this point.(LOL) The petals don't look badly off. The green did a number on the back of the pin though. You could remove it, but the coating underneath is gone and it's probably best left alone.

 

I like the coke bandana - is it a 22" square of cotton - made in the U.S.A.?
Seems it may be from the short-lived era of when walmart was proud to advertise how their products were "Made in the U.S.A." Is it marked?

 

Hi anti (long time no speaky )

its actually a bucket hat (sun rain type), i wouldn't think official coke merchandise by the label, but hadn't seen one before

its almost a folden giveaway type quality

 

thanks, I hadn't seen the hat before either!

 

@charlie cheswick
Yes the cat is Alexandrite glass. I have not seen that cat before so I can't tell you who made it. But it was a good score for you. They are very desirable. I would imagine that cat could sell for $30-$60 to a collector.

 

Thanks JD

the face is kinda asymmetrical, but quite like that fact, makes me think more glass studio than glass department in a store

 

The green is enamel, just like the white. The blue on the base construction could be the remains of verdigris.
A sweet brooch though, Czech, 1920s imo.

 

thanks Aj, that colour blue does seem to go with the others (if that makes sense) but doesn't explain why its on the back

i think the paint gives it even more of a bohemian look, common on this czech/costume type of thing?

 

wondering now if the paint isn't original to the piece, maybe an old spruce up or something

 

It looks original to me, and in a way a continuation of Austro-Hungarian Renaissance Revival jewellery, which was usually enameled.

 

Love the Coca-Cola hat. An inexpensive giveaway. Would likely have been produced by a distributor for promotional reasons. You may be able to date it by the care symbols as they've evolved over time.

https://www.thecollectorscompanion.co.uk/features/vintage-clothing/dating-with-care/

Debora

 

brilliant resource that deb, and not just for this item (bookmarked)

the first crossed icon fits into the 1980s selection, so that looks about right.

thats exactly the type of thing it feels like (promo) giveaway type

but these type of things can surprise you if not many about

 

@charlie cheswick, I should more correctly have written "bottler" rather than "distributor." Coca-Cola doesn't work with distributors; I was thinking of other types of packaged goods when I wrote that.

Debora

 

The paint is paint, the "blue" on the screen are what's called "greenies" or "green" if you're a jewelry dealer. Powdery blue/green is "dead" green, i.e. corrosion that isn' going to go any further. It happens when jewelery brass and moisture collide.

 

Exactly what I said, verdigris. Obviously it isn't called greenies outside the US, that is American colloquial, which we don't speak. We call it verdigris or simply copper oxidation, and yes it is green or blueish green and preferably avoided.

Exactly what I said:

Exactly, that is copper oxidation, also called verdigris.

So instead of "correcting" me, you just repeated what I said using different terms.