Mdina Glass Identification Guide + Gallery
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Mdina Glass was founded in the Maltese town of Mdina, in 1968 by Michael Harris and Eric Dobson, a risky venture at the time as Mdina had no history of glass making. However the gamble paid off, and Mdina glass was an instant success. The company produced free formed organic glassware, often in colours inspired from the sea, sand, earth and sky, which proved very popular with tourists in Malta. Vicente Boffo and his son Ettore joined in 1969, having previously worked at Whitefriars. Two other workers at the factory were brothers Joseph Said and Paul Said, who started as trainees. In 1972 Michael left Mdina, and formed a new company, Isle of Wight Studio Glass, on the Isle of Wight in the UK, leaving Eric Dobson in charge of Mdina. Many of the designs created by Michael Harris continued to be made at Mdina Glass after he left, and new designs and patterns were added. In 1981, Paul Said left to form Mtarfa Glass, also in Malta. Eric Dobson sold the Mdina factory to Joseph Said, who was Michael's most skilled apprentice, in 1985. From the mid 1990's, Joseph was joined by his four children, Nevise, Olivia, Pamela and Alan, in various roles. The company is still active today.
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Other Mdina Glass
A large blue, brown & clear glass organic knot sculpture, by Mdina, signed to base.
A blue & white marbled Maltese glass vase, by Mdina, in the Lifestyle pattern, signed and labelled.
A pink & white marbled Maltese glass vase, by Mdina, signed and labelled.
A purple & brown Maltese glass Naia sculpture, by Mdina, signed.
A brown and black striped Maltese glass vase, by Mdina, signed and labelled.
A speckled yellow Maltese glass bowl with thick blue applied strapping, by Mdina.
A speckled yellow Maltese glass squat vase with thick blue applied strapping, by Mdina, signed.
A blue, yellow & green Maltese glass cut ice Lollipop vase, by Mdina, signed & labelled.
A blue, yellow & green Maltese glass cut ice Lollipop vase, by Mdina, signed.
A blue & yellow Maltese glass Fish or Axe Head vase, by Mdina, signed. Made in the Blue Summer pattern.
A blue & pink Maltese glass Fish or Axe Head vase, by Mdina, signed.
A blue & yellow Maltese glass squat vase, by Mdina, signed & labelled.
A pink & peach Maltese glass textured vase, by Mdina, signed.
A pink, black & white speckled Maltese glass vase, by Mdina, signed & labelled.
A pink + clear Maltese glass vase, by Mdina, signed.
A green + red Maltese organic glass vase, by Mdina, signed & labelled.
A blue Maltese glass vase, with vertical white stripes, by Mdina, signed & labelled.
A blue Maltese glass vase, with yellow stripes, by Mdina, signed.
A blue Maltese glass vase, with internal yellow green crizzle pattern, by Mdina, signed.
A speckled orange Maltese glass perfume bottle, by Mdina, signed & labelled.
A speckled orange Maltese glass perfume bottle with Maltese cross on the stopper, by Mdina, signed.
A blue and sandy brown Maltese glass pear fruit, by Mdina, signed. This pattern was created by Raymond Sultana, and was only in production for a short time.
Reference Books
Michael Harris: Mdina Glass and Isle of Wight Studio Glass
Reference Websites
For more information on Mdina glass, check out the following resources:
Mdina Glass Catalogue - A catalogue of Mdina glass including pattern numbers, sizes and some pattern names, by Austin, a USA distributer.
View more Mdina Glass examples in our Glass Reference Database
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Mdina Glass on eBay USA
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