“What Makes the Difference?“ - Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Blog – The name of course.

Jean Claude Novaro - $6600 on EBAY

I have been in love with art glass for many years, however, to make money with it you need to discover a name other than Tiffany, Loetz, Lalique or Steuben. Yes, you can make money with these names, but it is harder than if you discover a piece by an artist not so well known. Some years ago, Warner Smith and I visited a lady's home. She had a piece by Charles Lotton and to be honest it wasn't a household name for me at that time. Warner particularly like the Lotton so I encouraged him to start a Lotton Club because after a short search I found that there wasn't one.

This was the start of something special, even though Warner at first encountered a lot of resistance from the Lottons. His club prospered and the prices took an immediate jump because of Warner's efforts. However, today you are unlikely to find a real bargain in Lotton glass because it is in every major auction of art glass. These pieces seemed to have topped out but still they are holding their value and I believe only the best of this, the Lotton glass, will continue to appreciate over the near term.

So where does that leave us? I think it leaves us looking for exceptional art glass that isn't a household name yet. I have mentioned Satava and Smallhouse in previous blogs and Warner has taken them on in his new site "www.artglassclubs.com." But have you heard of Jean Claude Novaro? Neither had I but by searching for expensive art glass I ran across his name. If you are fortunate enough to find a piece of his work you have truly found a treasure. He makes all kind of glasswares: vases, lamps and sculptures and figurines that look like Murano pieces. The only difference is that his figures don't sell for a few dollars but thousands of dollars. Here is his biography.

Thanks to www.novarogallery.com

JEAN CLAUDE NOVARO Born in Antibes, France in 1943, Jean Claude Novaro apprenticed at a glassworks in Biot when he was only 14 years old. For fifty years, Jean Claude Novaro has perfected the art of creating glass sculpture with a singularity of purpose some might say borders on obsession. Novaro has said that his relationship with glass was “love at first sight. I’ve never even thought of doing anything else”. Today, Novaro is recognized as one of the greatest glass blowers of our time; not only for his technical mastery and innovation but also for his solitary technique, a rarity even among the most accomplished glass maestros. Each action of creation is pre-planned and intentional, designed to achieve a specific result. Claude Monet once said, “No one is an artist unless he carries his picture in his head before painting it, and is sure of his method and composition”. Given this definition, Jean Claude Novaro is an artist of the highest order. He has elevated the art of glassblowing to the level of contemporary painting. He became a master of glass at the age of 20. Since that time, Novaro has developed a style known not only for his delicacy, but for its weight, depth and complex layering of color using transparent glass, which is a particularly difficult effect to achieve. Novaro not only mastered the incorporation of gold leaf into his glass; he is the first in 3500 years of glass-making history to add luminescent elements, a spectacular invention of which he patented. His work appears in more than 160 individual and collective exhibitions around the world, in countries such as France, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Holland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and the United States. His work his collected by thousands world-wide, including actor Robert De Niro, world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, tennis player Jimmy Connors, entertainers Bill Cosby, Frank and Barbara Sinatra, Prince Albert of Monaco, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria. Novaro has been awarded “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” (Knight of Arts and Humanities) in 2003 by the French Government. “Novaro is a master; a master known the world over. His work needs no translation, no explanation, no glossary, no expert exposition – they need only an eye to see and a heart to understand” Bill Cosby