The number of Gallé, Daum and Schneider  fakes and forgeries circulating the market is overwhelming. Shady antique dealers and auction houses with little to no expertise in this field manage to seduce unknowing buyers in purchasing these counterfeits, again, again and again. A chipped Schneider vase is made ‘perfect’ by grinding away a few millimeters of the surface, a broken Gallé lamp shade is substituted with another and a glass box original with a lid, which is broken or missing, is sold as a small vase.

Without doubt these fakes, forgeries and damaged pieces are sold by dealers and auction houses with the best intentions, but without enough knowledge. The number of scruples traders however that do sell these falsifications willingly, are more than can be counted on ten hands.

This is the reason that Mrs. Tiny Esveld, an acclaimed specialist in French cameo glass, wrote the article ‘Right or Wrong - Lessons in Art Nouveau and Art Deco Glass’ for Kunstpedia in 2008.

The reactions and feedback on the article have been so overwhelming that Tiny Esveld decided to write a book on the pitfalls one may encounter. With over 20 years of hands-on experience and a well documented personal archive, she set herself to write a practical guide for both the seasoned as well as the novice collector. The result Glass made Transparent - A practical guide to French art glass by Gallé, Daum and Schneider  will appear in September of this year.

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