Posted 13 years ago
KenResch
(3 items)
This bowl came to me many years ago by way of my father who said it was his grandmother's. If so, that places the bowl somewhere prior to 1870. There are no marks anywhere on the piece. The gold coloration is thick and applied from the back. The red grapes are three dimensional from the back and hand-colored. It appears to be pressed glass with the grape leaves pressed from the back. The inside of the bowl/dish is smooth and the edges are scalloped. The diameter is 10 inches and the height is 3.5 inches. Any help you can offer in identifying this piece will be deeply appreciated. Also, some of the gold finish has sadly flaked off so I'm also wondering if it can be restored or is it better to leave it as is.
This is known as "Goofus Glass" and dates to around 1910, not prior to 1870. These were "cold painted" meaning that the paint was not fired on, which meant that over the years it flaked and washed off. Enjoy it as it is, any attempt to fill in the gold paint will be obvious because this has a patina from the last 100 years that cannot be duplicated.
Thank you Paul! Now I can imagine my grandfather winning this at a carnival in Indiana in the early part of the 20th century.
Quite welcome.
So nice to have family pieces, isn't it?