Chinese Glass Identification Guide + Gallery
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This section of the encyclopaedia is for Chinese glass, including glass made in Taiwan. There is a surprising amount of vintage glassware, found in the UK and elsewhere, that is often mistaken for Italian/Murano glass, or Scandinavian glass, but was in fact made in China. There is also a vast amount of modern glass produced in China, using popular Murano glassmaking techniques such as sommerso, which can easily be mistaken for, and sometimes purposefully misdescribed as, Murano glass. This Murano style, Chinese made glass used to be quite easy to spot to the experienced collector or dealer, as they contained many production flaws, and often certain features could give them away, such as a frosted, unpolished base, compared to the shiny, highly polished base found on most genuine Murano glass. However in more recent years, the quality of some of these items have improved greatly, and it can be very difficult to spot the difference. This guide aims to help with the identification of Chinese glass.
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Modern Chinese Glass
Shown here is glassware made in China in more recent, modern times, i.e. after the year 2000. Many of the items listed here can be found, or at one time could be found, on the Chinese trade website alibaba.com. We may refer to these listings where possible to confirm Chinese origin, but please note these links may become broken over time as listings on the Alibaba site are ended, or products are discontinued.
Gilde Handwerk
A blue, green and yellow glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A red, green and yellow glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features and controlled bubble pattern. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A green and blue glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features and controlled bubble pattern. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A red and green glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features and controlled bubble pattern. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A multicoloured glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A multicoloured glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A blue, green, yellow and cream glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A red and amber glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features and bubbly pattern. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
An orange and red glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features and gold leaf inclusions. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A green, yellow and red glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features and gold leaf inclusions. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A red and black glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A red and black glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A green, red and amber glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features and bubble pattern. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A black and multicoloured glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features and silver leaf inclusions. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A black and multicoloured glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features and silver leaf inclusions. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A black and red glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features and coloured patches. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A white and yellow glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A multicoloured glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A red, white & green glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A green and pink glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features and bubble pattern. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
An amber glass Picasso style face / head vase with applied features. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A decorative glass vase on metal stand, with feathers pattern. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A decorative glass vase on metal stand, with abstract pattern. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A decorative glass vase on metal stand, with abstract pattern. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A decorative glass vase on metal stand, with abstract pattern. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A decorative glass vase on metal stand, with abstract pattern. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A decorative glass vase on metal stand, with abstract pattern. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A decorative glass vase on metal stand, with abstract pattern. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A decorative glass vase on metal stand, with abstract pattern. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A brown glass owl sculpture, with bubble pattern. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A brown & blue glass abstract sculpture. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A blue & clear glass jellyfish paperweight sculpture. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
A blue, brown & clear glass jellyfish paperweight sculpture. Made in China, and marketed by Gilde Handwerk.
View more Chinese Glass examples in our Glass Reference Database
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Chinese Glass on eBay USA
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Reference Websites
www.glasspheme.com - Interesting article on Chinese made sommerso teardrop paperweights being sold as Murano.