Understanding The Craft: Canadian Art Glass Attribution Guide
- lunasabrina
- Jul 22, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: May 21, 2024
Bases: U-pushes and Indentations
Entering as a new reseller or new collector you’ll see this phrase a lot “Can I see the bottom?”, or “Can I see the base?” This question is important because the base is a great starting point for the attribution process. Since a large majority of art glass is not acid etched or signed, we are left to identifying the glass by what is called, attribution. Throughout the years a significant amount of art glass without etchings have lost their identifying features like hand tags or stickers. Once a piece of vintage art glass has lost its company identifier it becomes the job of the collectors and researchers alike to start the process of attribution.
An attribution is when one known, labeled or etched piece is used as an example in hopes to provide a possible identification on glass maker. Comparing pieces allows us to edge closer and closer to answering “who made this”. The base of the piece allows for this evaluation process to be a bit more thorough.
I consider this process similar to DNA profiling, where in fact ~99% of our coding DNA is identical, however that ~1% difference is enough to identify an individual. This means that something as small as 1% in variation can be helpful. This is similar to the differences in the tool marks in Canadian vintage art glass, they share a lot of similarities but the small differences can allow for identification.
EDAG has numerous bases, as does Lorraine and Chalet. Using bases as identifiers assists in only one part of the global analysis of the piece. As far as an evaluations goes it is best to go with the ground (base) up logic: Base > Tooling > Form Comparison / hue of clear glass if any > colour and how its applied/Country of origin/photo comparisons of etched, labeled pieces, catalogs and books. There seems to be a never ending world of bases within Canadian art glass; therefore, for the purpose of this article we will be focusing on three types of bases: ones with u-pushes, indentations or pieces that have neither.
Before we perforate (glass pun) this subject, let's describe what a push or U-push is. A push or a U-push are synonymous of each other and it occurs when a tool is used to push the molten glass in any particular direction. You may hear references like "U-pushes", "Down pushes", Side pushes"; or, alternatively, "Upwards U-push", "Downward U-push" or "sideways u-push". This process leaves behind a “U” mark in the glass (see photo below). EDAG, Chalet and Loraine glass all have U-pushes. These pushes can be used as design elements on the body or have a more practical purpose like stabilizing the base, for example the Canada Art vase depicted in this article.
Vintage Canadian Art Glass
EDAG Glass
EDAG ( Elio Danilo Art Glass) glass breaks the mold of what vintage Canadian art glass looks like. Maestro Danilo Pavanello, owner of EDAG, brought his technical skills from Murano Italy to Canada. EDAG was able to incorporate Canadian style with the technical art style of Venetian glass. The company maintained their Venetian background with freedom in form, creativity and artistic independence.
Over the years the myth that “Lorraine is the only company that did U-pushes” has been perpetuated so lets finally put this myth to rest. EDAG pieces were designed with or without U-pushes. If you were to ask Maestro Danilo Pavanello as to why? He would say, “Because I wanted to”. This freedom to choose design elements explains why some vases have 4 small sideways U-pushes and others in the same form might have 8 or 10. Sometimes putting a trend on EDAG glass is complicated. Sure form, quality, technique are all consistent but design elements like pushes or unique tooling appears to be artist choice. It is best to understand things like U-pushes in order to identify the glass. one thing is for certain: EDAG did not use U-pushes on their bases to increase stabilization.
When I photograph my pieces, I spend time looking at them, closely, often with 10 pieces around me - just me, Luna and my photo tent. This is a valuable lesson I learned from a friend who blows glass, you need to take the time to observe the glass in every lighting and at every angle. EDAG did not do U-Pushed bases, they did however do decorative U-push accents to the glass above the base (photos below). EDAG has four-toed bases and in some cases downward U-pushes over the toes (photos below). The U-pushes over the toes connect in pieces with upwards U-pushes and downwards U-pushes as one cohesive “wave” in the glass (photos below).
It is safe to say, that EDAG has unique U-pushes close to the base, however the base is not comprised of these pushes. They also have U-pushes along the body of their glass works. The unique nature of EDAG’s use of this technique and the unique look it creates close to the base is yet another identifying feature which can be a concrete identifying feature of EDAG glass.
Lorraine Glass Industries Ltd.
Lorraine Glass Industries Ltd. is fairly different from the others. Its owner wasn’t a glassblower however he did assemble a team of Murano and other country specific craftsmen to make Lorraine a reality. Lorraine glass is often confused for EDAG. Both companies only used stickers for identification and many got lost over the years. The migration of workers between established glass furnaces creates current confusion between the three companies. Era specific designs and the migration of workers to Lorraine resulted in design similarities. With cross-over between the three companies Lorraine's identity within Canadian art glass remains pronounced. Producing what seems to be an endless variety of vases with deep colour saturation and highly distinguishable styles.
As for Lorraine-specific base identification goes, Lorraine has an extensive catalog of bases. One of the Lorraine specific elements would be a single indentations on each toe of the base. This tooling style leaves a clear indentation which isn't something we see in EDAG or Chalet bases (see photos). Lorraine made bases with “toes”, each companies "toes" have design differences but are very similar. "Toes" Refers to the tooled base that extends the glass in any particular way to increase stabilization. What's unique about this tooling is that its not only on vases but also baskets. This allows us to immediately separate the other two companies since this attributable technique is unique to Lorraine.
Enjoying the effort and skill it required to complete such a task by hand tickles my mind every time. The continued effort to complete several hundred a day with the idea of the finished product being as close to the one done previously always astonishes me. The vase exampled below shows the U-push with tooling that causes an indentation which runs down the body of the vase and into the toe. What's neat about Lorraine pieces is that one form of a vase can be found in a number of different ways. For those looking for a version without the indentations or possibly with a twist on the base/body you'll definitely be able to find one....its just a matter of time.
These indentations on the toes are unique to Lorraine. Lorraine also used U-pushes on the body of their glass as design elements.
Chalet Glass / Canada Art
Since the beginning of my glass adventure and throughout the years, I've heard and perpetuated the idea that Chalet glass never did U-pushed base. Even as recent as a few months ago I can recall mentioning this as it was fact. To me it was. It seemed like it was to many others as no one corrected me. In my research I was able to find out that this is only partly true.
Canada Art/Chalet glass is one of the most well known vintage Canadian glass houses, they utilized acid etching, engraving, stickers and hand tags, so identifying Chalet glass is a bit less of an arbitration process. Canada Art glass is the same as Chalet, however it was the companies name before the name change to Chalet. Under the Canada Art name the company did produce some glass with a U-pushed base, for example: the vase below which bears the Canada Art engraving. Under the Chalet Artistic glass name to date there has been one found with etching. The piece was completely clear, tulip petal vase top with an identical base. If there was one there are likely many. It is important to note that Chalet did use U-pushes on the body of the glass as extra decorative accents.
The etched Canada Art vase exampled above was the first of its kind found. It has two unique features not standard to the Chalet Brand: 1) the perforato technique at the top of the vase, and, 2) and most important to this article the U-pushed base. Since the discovery of this vase in 2022 a second was found in amber with the same Canada Art etching. As depicted, the U-pushed base allows for increased stabilization. This is also important to note since similar U-pushed bases have been found on confirmed Rossi Glass. Rossi Glass acquired aspects of designs and molds from Chalet. It is of my subjective opinion that the U-pushed base wasn't used while under the Chalet brand due to it not fitting the sleek, refined design Chalet produced. A U-pushed base is clunky, thick and adds robustness to its design, which stylistically was more of a Canada Art and Rossi Glass art style.
Returning to the question, "Did chalet do U-pushed bases"? The answer remains, "yes... and no.." It's partly true given context.
Article Key Words | Take Away Words for Collectors
Name of feature | Defiinition | Example |
U - pushes | Tool marks resembling a "U" . |  |
Indents | External hollows within the glass created by tool marks. |  |
Toes | Tooled or molded base extensions designed to increase the stability of the piece. Base style with extremities resembling toes. |  |
Etched | An imprint of the companies logo/name on the glass. |  |
Perforato | A tool is used to create a perforation into the glass. The perforation is then stretched into the shape the artist or company intends. |  |
Attribution | Technique using known glass pieces to help identify the provenance of an unmarked piece. | N/A |
Base | Bottom of the art glass | N/A |
Body | The middle of the art glass | N/A |
Canadian Vintage Art Glass | Hand blown and stretched glass from the 60-70s. | N/A |
N/A - not applicable
