Vintage French Sabino Paris Opalescent Sparrow Art Glass Signed

Description

Sparrow. Approx. 3" x 2.5" x 1.5".  Free of chips or cracks.  LOOK CLOSELY AT PHOTOS as this will establish the condition of this item.
Sabino Glass was and still is, made in France to the designs of Marius Ernest Sabino. Sabino himself was born in Sicily in 1878 but went to France at the age of four. He followed his father's footsteps in training originally as a sculptor, and that early training can be detected in the exquisite figurines that he sculpted to make the molds for his glass designs.
Sabino fought for the French in the first world war, and after the war he recognised the commercial opportunities for glass products in the newly-emerging electric-lighting industry. The company he set up made lighting products (lampshades, lamps, glass panels, etc) and a range of opalescent glass vases and statuettes. They had retail outlets in Paris as well as their production facilities. They won prizes at all the major international exhibitions between the two world wars.
Sabino's opalescent glass had a higher arsenic content than most of his competitors, and we understand that after the war the constituents of Sabino glass were changed to reduce the arsenic content. This is one of the ways in which post-war Sabino glass might be distinguished from earlier production pieces. It is said to feel and look different, pre-war Sabino glass is softer and feels "soapy" (a difference that could be detected in a laboratory). But not everyone has the opportunity to handle enough Sabino glass to know the difference. And there have been conflicting statements made about the constituents of later Sabino glass.
Originally Sabino glass was either marked "Sabino France" because it was intended for export, or "Sabino Paris" if it was intended for sale within France. Post-war production has all been made in France and then exported to the USA. The larger pieces still carry the "Sabino Paris" signature, which was etched onto the base of the pieces. Smaller pieces are marked "Sabino France" moulded into the side of the item. The Sabino Company still sells early stock of some items which can no longer be made because the moulds were destroyed.