Posted 3 years ago
IronLace
(928 items)
These vases have been packed away for three years & deserve some publicity after all that time spent in bubble wrap.
Photo 1 - Two overlay hand vases with a satin finish. The Blue Overlay I believe dates from the 1940s & the satin finish is probably quite rare. I've tried & failed to find out anything about the Peach Overlay, but I guess it most likely dates from a similar time. It is a strong orange/apricot/peach shade, definitely not pink.
Photo 2 - Two examples of crested hand vases. The Blue Crest (or is it Aqua Crest) could date from the 1940s or 1950s. The Peach Crest is from the early 1950s. The design was also made in the 1940s but the rim crimp was different, looser & wavy, not a tight frill like this example.
Photo 3 - A pair of Rose Overlay hand vases that date from the 1940s. Rare to find one, let alone a pair. I was pretty nervous about this parcel containing two huge vases with very wide top rims. The box they arrived in was absolutely huge, & thankfully, they were all good.
Snow Catchers ???
You said the last 2 are huge, are the hands life-sized?
LOL Kevin, that's a neat idea!
I didn't see any snow today - there was some in Lithgow, Mt Victoria & Blackheath though. Maybe I missed it by not being awake at the right time...anyway, it sure is cold!
Hiya Bernard, these are on the larger side for hand vases at around 26.5 cm tall, & 14 cm across the top rims. The average hand vase is around 22 cm tall. Though they can get as big as 30 cm, & I do have some of that size.
The top rims are definitely outsize compared to most hand vases.
As for the hands being life size, perhaps for a person on with hands on the smaller side, but not for me. Mine are pretty big, & would need a truly massive hand vase to match them! :-)
Love that peach one!
It's quite amazing how similar the style is from different manufacturers even though they have significant differences.
Your collection is vast but what I like is how much you know about them all and how beautiful each is individually.
Marin were hand vases made from Victorian times until when? 50s?
What is the symbolism if any?
Many thanks, vintagelamp! It's something special, that's for sure!
Hiya Karen!
Thanks for your excellent observations & pertinent questions, which I'm more than happy to answer...
Hand vases were made from around the 1860s, first in porcelain & soon after in glass. They seem to have been made on & off from then onwards, with a revival in the 1940s - 50s. Fenton made them in various forms over most of their near 100 years of operation. The most recent one was made in 2004. I think there are some modern ceramic hand related vases sold currently sold as giftware, too.
Symbolically, I think the cornucopia that the hand typically holds is a sign of abundance & welcome. The hand offering it also suggests the rather maudlin sentimentality the Victorians were notorious for...plus a certain unintentional proto - Surrealism & gothic kitsch (that's what I like about them, LOL).
You likely already know this but just in case - these were all made by Fenton.
Yes, just as I mentioned in the title!
My bad! So sorry - I missed it in the title.