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The following is an 'Editorial
Comment' column that appeared in
the March 1997 ACGA 'Hobstar'
(monthly publication of the
American Cut Glass Association).
Yasemin
Cut Glass Company
In reply to inquiry and comments
of ACGA members, we feel
obligated to present to the
entire membership an overview of
the Yasemin Cut Glass
company. This is neither
an affirmation nor condemnation
of the company and its
practices. It is rather an
article of information for the
membership's contemplation.
The Yasemin Glass company,
located at 5257 Grimes Lane,
Larkspur, CO 80118, has become a
major marketer and distributor
of new cut glass produced
at their factory located in the
Black Sea region on the border
of Russia and Turkey. They
advertise in Antique oriented
newspapers; the advertisement we
are most familiar with is one in
the Antiques and Arts Weekly (The
Newton Bee). This ad
piqued our annoyance meter in
two areas: the statement
of: ...."Previously
found only in high-quality
antique auctions, now available
in limited quantities direct to
you," and ....Proudly
brings you the finest in
20th-century cut glass,"
etc. This advertisement
also bears an illustration of a
Yasemin cut glass vase in a
mixture of motifs, typical of
Yasemin work. With respect
to the fact that Yasemin Cut
Glass is a fairly new product,
to associate this glass with a
high-quality antique auction
seems a gross impropriety.
To state that this recently-made
glass is the finest of the 20th
century seems a highly
imaginative stretch in time
definition as the 20th century
began in 1900 -- or 1901 to
those purist -- therefore
intoning the product has been
around for a long time.
The ad recommended calling for
their photo collection and
pricing, which we did. The
catalog is, by printing
standards, quite good, being
done on good gloss paper and
containing complete information
and 35 photos of Yasemin cut
glass. The photo bordering
is a bit heavy -- but that's
just an artistic opinion.
Also received with catalog #0197
were three pages of prices in
retail, wholesale and
distributorship categories.
These lists were divided into
four price groups:
Unsigned, Signed,
Slow Stone Signed, and
Slow Stone and Polished Signed.
The pricing ranged from
Unsigned being the lowest to
Slow Stoned Hand Polished
Signed being their
highest-priced.
Definitions as to quality,
process and signing accompanied
the four price groups. Of
the higher-priced items, signing
was stated as consisting of a
signature by the cutting artist
plus a star following the
signature, and of the most
expensive items, the cutting
artist's signature stated as
being followed by two stars
after the name. We have
yet to see an item of signed
Yasemin cut glass.
We had earlier received a
Yasemin Cut Glass company
distributor brochure from an
interested ACGA member (which
was passed on to the ACGA
Authenticity Committee for their
review) that illustrated a much
greater variety of available
glassware products.
The introductory information in
the Yasemin catalog conveys the
virtues of the company's care
and concern in production of
their glass products.
However, from the statements,
one does gather the lamentable
impression that uniformity is
not one of their highest
priorities in production or in
patterns. There is more
than one disenchanting statement
to that effect.
Most regrettable to ACGA members
and other interested parties in
antiques, is that freshly-made
Yasemin cut glass is being
mistaken for Brilliant Period
American cut glass. A
notable national magazine
devoted to Victorian Homes most
embarrassingly exhibited a
Christmas edition cover photo of
a punchbowl and cups in a
Victorian table setting,
intoning to the viewer that this
was an antique cut glass set
when it was really a Yasemin
product. The Antiques &
Collectors Reproduction News
(which has contributed to the
Hobstar -- see
January 1995 edition), in a
succinctly admonishing article
in their January, 1997 issue,
summed up the situation
concerning this huge faux pas
quite well: "You can be
sure unethical sellers will be
quick to use this national
exposure to "authenticate" the
new punchbowls they have in
stock. Remind your
collector friends and customers
that a photograph in a national
magazine is not proof of age or
quality. It's just another
sad case proving many antique
authors and publications don't
recognize reproductions or warn
against them."
Interested members, especially
our most recent ones, would be
recommended to obtain a copy of
a Yasemin Cut Glass catalog*
to view and recognize the
differences between these
recently-made items of cut glass
and the superb craftsmanship of
American cut glass produced
around the turn of this century.
* House of
Brilliant Glass does not believe
that a Yasemin catalog is
currently available. A
copy of one of their earlier
catalogs has been copied and is
shown on our website as
Yasemin Cut Glass - 1
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