(Probable!) "Vasart Ltd" Mixed Concentric

This weight, auctioned in July 2004, is quite special.

Vasart closepack weights with good quality complex canes are not common. In this weight, with the possible exception of the central element, every cane is of good quality and the dome is very clear, enhancing the structure of each cane.

The auction listing described this as having five concentric rows, rather than being a closepack design. This in itself is an interesting point. In most closepack weights differing size canes of many types are set without any regular pattern apart, perhaps, from an outer enclosing circle. Early Vasart "closepacks" are known where the mixed canes are actually set as tightly concentric rows. The weight shown here is of that type, albeit with a slight movement of one row. In fact, I believe that this is a four-row concentric around a large complex central cane which has an unusual feature of pairs of outer canes.

The terminology may or may not have already been used, but I have chosen to refer to this design pattern as a "Mixed Concentric".

The dimensions are 6.6 cm (2 9/16 inch) diameter and 4.7 cm (1 13/16 inch) height, which makes it relatively small. The glass, although appearing grey in the photo, is very clear and has virtually no scuffing or wear to the upper surface. I wondered whether it had been ground and polished at some stage to remove blemishes. However, the size and overall shape is consistent with other Vasart weights, some with labels, which also have very clear glass.

The base is consistent with some other Vasart items, but the "cracking off" has left deep scars which have not been removed by the central grinding.

"Early" Canes

The most striking feature of this item is that all of the canes appear to be early "Ysart", and are of very good quality. In fact, from just a verbal description of the cane types, including "Butterfly canes", and the overall quality of the weight, it would be easy to believe the weight was made by either Paul or his father, Salvador.

The Butterfly canes (there are three in this weight) are of a type generally accepted as the work of Salvador - although an identical cane has been seen in some of Paul's weights! [I also know of two other versions of "Butterfly Portrait" canes and a "Moth silhouette".]

My initial thoughts, based on the overall cane types, focused on the 1946 to 1955 Ysart Brothers days, with the clarity of the glass and the excellent setting of the canes making this a superb Salvador piece.

UV "Date Check"

Under UV light this weight fluoresces Green (longwave) and Blue (shortwave). This 'narrows' the dating period to:

a) Vasart Ltd (circa 1956 to 1964)
b) Strathearn (1965 to 1980)
c) Paul Ysart, Caithness (1963 to 1970)

As stated elsewhere in my web pages, I have no confirmation of when the Vasart glass batch changed and shows Blue, rather than Grey, under shortwave UV. Therefore, it is not possible to be precise about dating within the Vasart Ltd years.

Although not as early as I first thought, cane matching, as well as other features, shows that the weight is not by Paul Ysart. A selection of canes, confirmed as owned by Vincent after Salvador had died, are illustrated in at least three books and also in the "ysartglass" website. This weight has 16 canes with matches to those in the set owned by Vincent.

There are many known Strathearn weights having canes from the earlier Vasart / Ysart Brothers years. But these usually include standard Strathearn canes or have other features that identify them as Strathearn.

(Early Vasart canes are also seen in some unattributed "modern Scottish" work, but those items fluoresce differently - they are not Green under longwave UV.)

"Likely" Maker

On the evidence outlined here, my view is that this weight was made in the Vasart Ltd years, and quite probably by Vincent Ysart. This is backed up by having also seen a very similar three-row "Mixed Concentric" weight owned by Vincent's daughter.

Cane Analysis

In the weight discussed above, there are 43 separate cane types (with some repeated in the design). Of those, 16 are matched to the Vincent set mentioned earlier, these having been passed down from Salvador, who apparently kept all his canes in a locked box. I have also taken the opportunity to compare a Closepack, with 55 individual cane types, some also having a match to the Vincent set and with 11 matches to the "Mixed Concentric" weight. (I have seen a few other similar weights but, apart from one - where my cane photos are rather poor - I do not have images of the individual canes.)

In total, the two weights provide 87 different canes, 20 of which are matched to the Vincent set. This seems to be excellent validation of many very good quality "Salvador / Ysart Brothers / Vasart" canes. But ... as always, there are complications! Some of these canes can also be found in Paul Ysart weights, and I have seen some 'early' Scrambled weights attributed to Paul which appear to have a majority of canes of the type seen in the weights discussed here.

To view the "Mixed Concentric"cane analysis, click here (opens in a new window).

To see the comparison weight and all of its canes, click here (also in a new window).