hdesousa

view from the side

I don't think that's the same kind of doll. This one is primarily a hollow cylinder, about 5" tall (body and head), about 2 3/4" across at the base, tapering to 2 1/2" at the face. The 2"+ marble sits at the bottom of the cylinder., which makes the doll quite stable sitting on any flat surface, even at the edge of a piece of furniture.

Thanks Randy. That's the one I was thinking of! Nice clambroth marble.

I was thinking of a counterweight, but that would have been a relatively expensive way to go. Would you not think it more of a kid's present? No glass chips inside, which is quite well padded. Looking inside the doll, it seems the body is a semi-rigid cotton lining made from a men's shirt collar or cuff, with the following lettering: "Arrow Cluette Peabody & Co., KINDORE CLUPECO SHRUNK". Bet the doll was made in the US.

Thanks Lloyd and Mike. Any ideas as to where the dolls were made, how old they are and their purpose?

Bought this for myself for Xmas. Anyone have any knowledge about these things? Think I've seen one before, perhaps at a running rabbit auction?

These are all 1.5 inches diameter. Check out this site for more information: http://www.americantoymarbles.com/amertoy.htm

Nice marble! Is the color on the surface or is there a clear casing?

Hi JVV, I've had this bead many years - can't remember where I got it, and no idea how old it is. As rare as it is, bead collectors don't place that much of an additional premium on something that is already uncommon. For example, it's very difficult to find a genuine clambroth marble bead, but when you do, they don't cost 10+ as much as an ordinary marble bead. I probably did not pay much more for this 'lutz' bead than for a usual marble bead. Bead dealers seem less mercenary than marble dealers. regards, Hansel

Here's a bead of similar construction, 31 mm diameter.

Exactly! OTOH, it's been said (of any and every thing), if you can't eat it, and you can't f***k it, what use is it?

You may be correct (about where they come from). These are hand decorated, discarded ball mill balls. This is a ball mill: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_mill And here's where you can get "best price" ball mill balls: http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/1414284740/Better_wear_resistance_best_price_and.html But I think they are colored in the USA. The Chinese would do a better job decorating.

But if the previous one sold for 1/3 as much, and the next one also sells for 1/3 as much, would you agree someone paid too much for this one? (even though it's a free world and we're all over 18, etc.etc.)

Prices realized are now posted. http://morphyauctions.hibid.com/catalog/38452/december-13th-and-14th-2013-toy-and-marble-sale---24-

The marble Clyde pictured was a damaged small "gutta-percha" marble donated by an ebay seller from the UK. It's the one I dismantled and had analyzed Turned out to be made of silica (+ other fillers), cellulose, tree resins and shellac. No gutta perche. The big ones seem to have a completely different decoration than the small ones, and from what Jeroen says, are more dense than what I found the small ones to be. Perhaps they have a different core? Craig's damaged paperweight with the white ceramic core looks old to me. Doesn't it have the same decoration as the large "gutta-perche" marbles?

Craig, Thanks for posting the pics. Very informative. Now, to find someone or some website to tell us what we're looking at......... Ann, would you know the technique used to make this design and the materials used? (p.s.Still have not found my blacklight) Hansel

Jeroen, No need to get sarcastic. Crudeness in the making of agateware carpet balls is attractive. They were made to be played with, unlike some prized large glass marbles. Your carpet ball is very attractive and has a rare, possibly unique design. Any collector of agateware carpet balls, including me, would be happy to have it in their collection. But you attribute many things to this ball that are simply not true. I see little difference between what you are doing in promoting this ball and what you say Bernie told you about that large onionskin with mica. If you have decided to keep it, then that was a very recent decision, because a collector contacted me today, concerned that you were asking no less for this carpet ball than what Bernie asked you for his lady. Be careful, it's a small world.

Jeroen, Nice pics of an unusual carpet ball. However, when promoting something for sale, you should not purposely add what is inherently false, lest your credibility becomes suspect. When the buyer finds out what they were told was not true, will you be prepared to issue a refund? For example, the reference from post #10 (Erickson and Hunter) says: "This so-called surface agate or inlaid agate, although seemingly a laborious method of decoration, was still practical enough to embellish these inexpensive earthenwares". If Galen is correct, "still practical enough" means enough of the surface agate vernier could be cut for many balls from one piece of stock. As you can see on this ball, the four main sections are assembled over the surface relatively crudely. It's an attractive design, but doesn't appear to have required any more care than the usual agateware carpet ball.

This explains some terminology. Agateware in Britain, millefiore in Italy and nerikomi in Japan. But mosaic is something different. "Using two clays of contrasting color to throw or handbuild pottery can lead to some very beautiful surfaces. Colored clays can be wedged together to the point at which they are marbled and then thrown on the pottery wheel or handbuilt into various forms. Or they can be stacked and sliced through the cross section to reveal a pattern, which can then be used as an applied, laminated decoration. These techniques have several different names: in England they are often referred to as “agateware;” in Italy they’re often referred to as “millefiori,” from a decorative glass-forming process meaning “a thousand flowers.” In Japan, the words “neriage,” “nerikomi,” and “zougan” are all used for specific colored clay processes and there is some confusion as to which is which." http://ceramicartsdaily.org/pottery-making-techniques/wheel-throwing-techniques/you-say-neriage-i-say-nerikomino-matter-what-you-call-it-mixing-colored-clays-makes-for-gorgeous-pottery-surfaces/ And here's how to make nerikomi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGSW2yC2JE0#t=26 And agateware:

Jeroen vV, what type of glazing does the marble have, that is similar to Dutch pottery from that period?

Virginity restored!

Yes, that is a nice find, but what do you base your estimated age on, or is it that just more "spin"? The reference I provided above (Erickson and Hunter) does give the date of some similar agateware as 1785, but it also says "...agateware continues to be produced commercially as well as employed in the repertoire of the contemporary studio potter." And also "Ceramics historian John Spargo writes that scroddled ware was manufactured in the nineteenth century exactly as it was in eighteenth-century Stafordshire." (Scroddle ware is an American term for agateware) How do you know Jeroen's marble may not have been made earlier, or more likely, more recently than 1780?

Jeroen, Marble collectors used to call these "paper-mache" marbles - some probably still do. It's been confusing. Search paper marche or gutta percha on the forums. Here's an example: http://marbleconnection.com/topic/8122-paper-mache/?hl=%2Bpaper+%2Bmache Now we call them gutta-percha marbles, but you can easily prove to yourself it's not gutta percha by measuring its density. Gutta percha has a density of around 1.0 gm/ml. I calculated the density of one of these small marbles at 1.4 (from the diameter and weight). What's the density of your marble, assuming it is not hollow?

Jeroen, I have no idea how the marble was made. Could the gold paint not have been applied same time the rest of the design was done? Actually I don't even know if it is a marble or a Christmas ornament or something else. Not everything round is a marble, but if you call it a marble, chances are it will sell better. I can tell you, if it's the same composition as the smaller ones with flame decoration as Clyde mentioned, the design is only on the surface. The interior is a dark composite material. A couple years ago a polymer chemist friend and marble collector analyzed a piece of a "gutta-percha" marble I'd given him. Ran it through $10K worth of electron and optical microscopy, infrared and X-ray spectroscopy. Turns out to be silica (+ other fillers), cellulose, tree resins and shellac. There was no gutta-percha in the marble. Another misnomer, but not of your making. However, you should watch and learn from this: http://www.booknotes.org/Watch/110971-1/Larry+Tye.aspx

Jeroen, If you clip and paste the link into your address bar, and after clicking "enter" go up to the address bar and delete everything after .pdf (%E2%80%8E) and then press enter again, it should work. Sorry, I don't know a simpler way of doing it. Perhaps Steph can fix the link? Hansel