Dimensions: 3-1/4" Diameter & 2-3/8” Tall

Makers Mark: Hand inspired to the side of the dome, "GS 03-04"

Provenance: Unavailable  

Condition: Excellent. No condition issues noted.

When talking about realism in glass it doesn't get better than Gordon Smith. For years Gordon has tirelessly honed his craft. Today he is at the height of his career - making some of the most realistic and biologically accurate compositions ever attempted in glass. This example features a  snapshot of a hyper-realistic tropical reef scene featuring two Wrasse fish tucked playfully amongst a bosk purple finger coral set over an ocean floor of seagrass churning on the sandy bottom flecked with bits of seashells fragments.

Every detail in this work is crafted by using a torch, colored glass rods and fine metal instruments. Take for instance the scales on the snake and fish, these scales were individually sculpted and placed one at a time - the same can be said for the polyps in the sponges and coral, all of these minute details are individually sculpted and then painstakingly applied one-by-one.  Another example of Gordon's careful attention to detail can be found in the broken bits of shell scattered upon the seafloor (as if broken by a Parrot fish or some other sea creature). What is perhaps not apparent is that these shell fragments were once freestanding tiny sculptures of whole shells that were then crushed into bits before being added to the composition. Few artists posses the skill, dedication and patients required to achieve such realism in a glass paperweight.