Alan

I know these marbles. They were made by a caveman that lived in the area now known as Atlanta, Georgia. He hand crafted them from precious dinosaur bone. They were discovered by Civil War soldiers while digging defensive trenches as Sherman marched in. Very rare.

Based solely on the photos - I would presume it to be of modern creation. The glass and the figure look "all wrong". I prefer to not offer specific diagnostics to avoid helping an artist clean up their game.

^ Ditto what Griff said.

They had devices on most machines to sort and catch non-round marbles. A few get through the quality control process though.

Those particular pontils normally have a fire-polished top pontil that is a little "raw" (or open) and a faceted or ground bottom pontil. I recommend that folks not underestimate the ability of these types to fool even experienced collectors. That particular artist has caused more past problems than anyone that is better know for repros today. Quite a number of people paid big dollars for his work - mistaking them for vintage. If he spent 1-2 minutes more on each piece - they would be far harder to detect. Put them in a cigar box at a famous flea market and presto. Its not if they could cause a problem - they HAVE in the past. The examples I pictured were not made to fool anyone. I'll also note that collectors have plunked down several hundreds of dollars each for machine made fakes or reproductions that were far, far less convincing.

There is an "artist" that has been making fakes/reproduction for going on 20 years .................... (Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this ID content due to unchecked behaviors by others on this board. Moderators choose to humor it, but I will not. My apologies to those who will not benefit from it in the future.) The pink glass in this piece is almost dead-on to that found in Banded Opaques: Transparent blue core: Oxblood on opaque green: Transparent green glass core with mica:

(Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this ID content due to unchecked behaviors by others on this board. Moderators choose to humor it, but I will not. My apologies to those who will not benefit from it in the future.)

(Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this ID content due to unchecked behaviors by others on this board. Moderators choose to humor it, but I will not. My apologies to those who will not benefit from it in the future.)

Fake Sulphides that I personally handled: (Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this ID content due to unchecked behaviors by others on this board. Moderators choose to humor it, but I will not. My apologies to those who will not benefit from it in the future.) Fantasy "Atlanta Porcelains": Scott Patrick Guineas: (Note: Scott sold them for a dollar and was clear that he made them. People other than Scott sometimes re-sold them as genuine Guineas) I purchased these from Scott at New Philly many years ago. Fake Master boxes:

Click on the photos in This thread Do they open correctly for you? If not, minimize your browser after clicking and make sure they aren't popping behind your browser. If you have a second monitor - make sure it is on.

What browser are you using? Do you have popups blocked?

(Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this ID content due to unchecked behaviors by others on this board. Moderators choose to humor it, but I will not. My apologies to those who will not benefit from it in the future.)

(Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this ID content due to unchecked behaviors by others on this board. Moderators choose to humor it, but I will not. My apologies to those who will not benefit from it in the future.)

(Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this ID content due to unchecked behaviors by others on this board. Moderators choose to humor it, but I will not. My apologies to those who will not benefit from it in the future.)

That circular mark is not a pontil.

That was why I ask whether it was made out of flannel. Definitely looks like PJs.

That cloth wouldn't happen to flannel - would it?

As Sue noted - it is pretty much a contemporary show. I don't think I would go unless contemporaries are something you are interested in (or unless you live nearby). That said - I enjoy the show.

Second glance says the same.

I don't own any St. Clair work - but the style struck me as reminiscent of his work. So mine is a guess - not authoritative.

I was thinking St. Clair.

Fairly close - except that people were paying thousands for them as recently as last Fall, IIRC. Most handmade people new they were suspect as soon as they came out. I handled two of them several years ago. They were "sponsored". Some of use know who the sponsor is. An artist didn't just cook them up on his own.

Does anyone know if Ravenswood made industrial marbles?

Since vintage marbles were made almost exclusively to play marbles with - any marble larger than 3/4" would: 1. Be too large for a child's hand to shoot with 2. Not conform to marble playing regulation - which IIRC limit marble diameter to 3/4". We all know some vintage types that were made larger than 3/4" - but we should remember that they were made to be played with - not collected as we do today.

I have been several times. It is 90+ percent contemporary marbles. It is a very enjoyable time. It does suffer from two key problems: 1. The venue (WheatonArts) does not promote the show at all. You are left to find out about the show on your own. They have been uncommitted to the show in the past - canceling it without a clear reason. 2. The adjacent hotel fills up VERY early - and the next nearest hotel is not nearby. The hotel always has weddings - and the wedding party fill the hotel months in advance. I think it could make a great combined contemporary/vintage venue - but the adjacent hotel cannot support that.