Featured 19th Century mystery glass vase

Hi. I'm a passionate (though not financially well-off) collector of Georgian glass. I'm always happy to buy pieces with minor damages, as it means that I can acquire better quality glasses than I would otherwise be able to. I can learn as much from a glass with a chip or two as I can from a perfect piece.

I recently bought the illustrated object on Ebay as a bud vase, but I'm not sure it is. Come to that, I'm not even sure it's Georgian; First half of the 19th Century at the latest, anyway. The decoration is vine engraving on the saucer, and barley on the bowl, which might suggest that it's table ware (though it might also just be that vine & barley decoration was all the engraver did!). It has stones and waves in the saucer rim.

It's the inbuilt saucer that gives me pause about its function: I can't see what functionality a saucer with a pronounced turned-up lip offers to a bud vase.

I wonder whether it's a spill vase? In that case, the saucer would provide a place for the burnt stubs. Is that plausible? And can anyone think of any alternative explanation for its function?

 

I'm wonderin if it started life as part of a table centre.

 

I was wondering the same, but glass isn't my forte.

 

I've seen epergne shapes like this as part of elaborate fruit and floral sets. The upturn might have allowed an ivy wreath more easily.

 

Its a single flute Epergne, with wheel-cut decoration. Its function is for a table display. Flower-arrangements for the flute, and either flower-heads or fresh fruit for the dish. Cannot help with the maker... The flute was originally removable, however as with like some period scent bottles & glass decanter stoppers, the flute could be stuck/airtight-vacuumed and would take a professional to remove it. Twisting it or attempting to remove it yourself could easily crack the glass. The vacuum as been caused by placing the flute back into its socket whilst both parts were still wet and allowed to dry over time.

 

If one were to wrap a warm hand about the lower part of the 'connection,' giving several minutes for the glass to slightly expand, the two pieces might separate.