Posted 7 years ago
IronLace
(928 items)
These Victorian hand vases are by no means a pair, however, I've shown them together as they are an example of how a manufacturer could create different effects with the same basic form.
Both are made from opaque white glass with a pink interior, & even though the painted decoration looks quite different, it is the same design of a spray of stylised red & blue flowers made up from dots - except that one has a more minimal treatment of the theme, the other, more lively.
The left vase measures 21.5 cm tall, 6.5 cm across the four way single crimped top rim, & 8 cm across the base.
The right vase measures 22.5 cm tall, 9 cm across the double crimped top rim, & 8 cm across the base.
This particular shape of hand vase I like to refer to as the "puffy hand", due to the rather chubby fingers, & the billowing shirt (or blouse) cuff. Unlike most hand vases, the puffy type is ringless. To me this hand is somewhat gender neutral in appearance. It is to be found in a wide range of colours & decorations, including the rare Coralene decor.
Another point of interest regarding this shape is that the cornucopia held by the hand does not have a "tail" - it is curiously truncated. Most hand vases have a curled tail to the end of the cornucopia which is visible between the fingers & thumb.
The puffy hand vase was also reproduced in the 1970s - 1980s era by a Romanian glass manufacturer, who reused the old mould to create a thick, spatter glass version, which almost always gets misattributed as Murano.
Bohemian origin.
Hello IronLace. I too collect glass hand vases - I have about 150 of them. I'm very impressed with your collection!
Gorgeous!
Hi aftica1, I'm looking forward to seeing your collection!
I've been collecting since 1995, after seeing a picture of a hand vase in a book on collecting. I soon found one & then another, & another, etc. I think I got to around 200 or so but have sold some of them over the last year. What with the rest of my glass collection, I don't have the space to display them all.
Regards, Marin.