I Hate Clowns but Need ID or Advice on This Creppy Blown Glass

He stands 9 1/2" tall and weighs 1 3/4 lbs. No pontail and VERY ugly.Before I chuck him I wa nted to know if he is anything collectable in the clown world????

His lips go on for days LOL

 

Hard to say where it came from. Such clowns did come out of Murano, but they are also being mass imported from China and South America.

 

Thanks Bob, I thibk it has to be a China special. My daughter brought it to me last week. EEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Used to retail the Murano clowns 30 years ago and most were pretty ugly - the majority had the same feet, hair and gawd-awful 'sock-monkey' faces...

~Cheryl

 

Well I hate him. When I was a kid BOZO scared me and I hated the circus, always seemed so dingy and creepy.

 

I just found one with the same hat,feet and green around the neck. UGLY. Thanks guys for telling me its Murano so I could look it up. I yhought Murano only made nice stuff?

VTG Murano Italian Art Glass CLOWN Figurine 10 1/2" Hand Blown
131276003563

 

There seemed to be a huge craze for these glass clowns about 8 years ago. I remember because my mom has one, and I was probably responsible for chipping it. Okay, I confess, I did it when I was 10, but I was just playing with it.

Yeah, her's had a different mouth, for sure. And your bow tie seems kind of try-hard. But the body had the same kind of Venetian glass. And I remember thinking the big clown feet were really cool, yours -not so much.

 

This one on eBay must have been made by the same artist,same hat,hair,feet and green around the neck.Oh, and a ridge around the shoes but the lips not so HUGE UGLY.

 

The feet on this one is obviously made with a press. But I still like it for the fancy glasswork. Even though this piece is "ugly', I have to admit that it does require a certain amount of finesse to manufacture and create.

If you are going to capitalize on a craze, you could go far worse. The artist has 'chosen her battles', so to speak, in an intelligent way: The standard pressed feet, which don't require leveling, the fancy S-curve in the bow tie, the candy mint, the cobalt hat. But I agree, where she looses it is in the monkey face. But, this may have been her attempt at a scary clown.

The inveterate collectors will know the difference. The best pieces from the 1950s will go for more. This isn't that. So, to the collector, it would be of nominal interest if just to fill out a collection, I would think.

But to someone who was gifting it to said collector, or someone who just wants one of these and won't pay the price for the 1950s one, it has potential. I would explain the merits of the item, as I listed above, verbally in my shop, or in the description in a listing. The ugly face is a benefit when you sell it as a scary clown.

 

EBay examples might be made in China but misattributed to Italy.

I know with beads, companies in China are importing Murano glass to make the beads, and then calling them "Murano beads," which is not the same thing as beads actually made in Murano, Italy.

 

Probably have more experience with these than I want to, and really doubt that this guy is Chinese, he really shows all signs of being Murano or Venetian made (though Toffolo made similar in England). Unlikely that he was particularly high-end, but despite my personal dislike for these, it's hard to miss the nice workmanship in his fingers and hair, the careful placement of his buttons and top-hat, what looks to be some nice foil inclusions in the guitar, the rich colors and just the overall balance of the piece - the molded feet, monkey-lips, even that goofy bubble-butt are pretty typical.

Have no idea on dating, could be anywhere from maybe the '60s to recent - my boss (and friend) at the some company where I sold them in the '80s had been collecting clowns for most of his life and his earlier Murano pieces looked pretty much the same as the newer ones (he enjoyed that employee discount).

If so inclined, might search for others with the same characteristics, perhaps finding one with the original label, though many are generic and not always helpful in determining the maker. Frustratingly, my memory has failed me in trying to remember the vendor we dealt with way back when - a family-owned luggage, leather goods and gifts retailer, they loved their buying trips to Italy...

~Cheryl

 

I found glass clowns like yours by accident while searching for Italian pottery last night with original sticker labels. If you Google Vimax Creation clowns or Vimax Creation Italy, you'll find some clowns holding a variety of musical instruments.
So, I would assume Vimax is the distributor, not the glass maker, but at least you can be sure it's Italian glass.

 

Thank you Laura,I found this on eBay.Well I will toss it in the donation box

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-VIM...197?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c45ce8b05

 

??? I thought I was on the give away thread? I just received this thread via email. I thought a boardie wanted it but then saw nothing here? LOL,wrong thread.