U.S. Glass Cut Flowers Marigold Vase
Description
I have resigned myself to the fact that my Carnival Glass education will be a never ending adventure. Just when you think you know Carnival Glass fairly well, something comes along to show you how little you really do know. For me, this was one of those pieces.
During the 2015 Lincoln Land Convention, we stopped in Tom Mordini’s room to see what treasures he had brought. He always brings a very nice lineup and this vase caught my eye pretty quickly. My husband and I are intrigued with European, Indian and South American pieces, but we both have a lot to learn about them. When I first saw this beauty in Tom’s room I assumed (never a good idea) that it was European for three reasons: first, the iridescence was phenomenal (a la Inwald or Brockwitz), second, the vase is not swung and third, it has charming wheel cut flowers. I hadn’t seen this done on American made Carnival Glass before.
I asked Tom about the vase and he told me that it was American made, not European and he speculated that it was made by Jenkins Glass. Diane Fry’s Carnival 101 states it is the most readily found item among Jenkins patterns. But we’d never seen or heard of it before! I think most folks still believe it was a Jenkins product, but in Mike Carwile’s SEOCG 12th edition he states that Lee Markley was able to place this vase as a product of U.S. Glass. David Doty states it was found in U S Glass’s catalogs, so the maker has now been officially established as U S Glass. It is noted that it also comes in smoke and I sure would love to get my hands on one of those!
This is a substantially large vase, 10 3/8” in height and it stands on a 4” base. Empty, it weighs a whopping 4 pounds, 5 ounces. Most of the ones that I’ve seen online are really poor with weak iridescence, however Mr. Carwile’s aforementioned 12th edition shows a nicely iridized specimen, so good ones are out there.
Tom said this vase was found in an antique store in Lena, a small town in northwestern IL. I’m sure glad he found it and brought it to Lincoln Land. This vase has beautiful iridescence and we’re very glad to have it. It was put to work straight away here the day it came home as a vessel for peonies and is sure to be enjoyed in our home for many years to come.
The Kate & Bill Lavelle Collection
