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Jan and I will be sharing 10 funeral vases, 4 Elephant Foot vases (to my knowledge, the first complete ‘elephant’ sold at a single auction!), 2 old Poppy Shows, and a green Diamond & Rib jardiniere.

Let’s start with the jardiniere. As most of you probably know, true jardinieres have been found to date in only two patterns; Diamond & Rib and Rustic, both by Fenton. To date, no Tree Trunk ‘true jardiniere’s’ have been found, although there are numerous ‘jardiniere whimsies,’ the difference being that the ‘whimsies’ have all been hand-shaped after emerging from their respective molds. Regardless, they are all rarer then the proverbial hen’s teeth. The Diamond & Rib jardiniere being sold in April is green. It has fabulous iridescence. Maybe it would make a nice wastepaper basket for your den? Now that would really be flaunting it!

Next, let’s go to the large pachyderm’s feet. I’d have to say, in any color, these must be considered rare. Most frequently found in purple, I know of only six in marigold. When I coined the “Elephant’s Foot” phrase many years ago in an article, not only was I commenting on their height, but also their shape - they just looked like elephant’s feet!

We are offering two purple and two marigold versions - one of the latter being the only one I’m aware of with “pastel marigold” coloration. I think you will all agree that for pure beauty, this ‘ele’ must be the best. Tom Mordini has been pestering me to buy this one back ever since he sold it to me! Here’s your chance, Tom.

Just because there are two marigold Elephant’s Feet (I never know whether to say “Feet” or “Foots”) in the auction, don’t get the idea that these are readily available vases. One turned up at last year’s HOACGA, and my count has that as the sixth -- in the whole world! The dark, pumpkin-marigold version is one of the original pair that I found near the east coast in 1980! I’ve owned this treasure for 27 years now, despite George Loescher’s (rest his soul) best efforts immediately after my ‘find.’  Now it’s time to relocate it to your collection.

As noted, we are also selling two purple Elephant Foot vases, one dripping with the top-to-bottom multi-colored iridescence. And as a ‘spare tire,’ in case one of the four Elephant’s Feet suffers a blow-out, we are offering a rare custard, with blue stain, version that is 12 1/2” tall. Before leaving for home, you need to get some air in this ‘spare’ -- it has a major chunk out of the top rim, but it is oh-so rare.

“Elephant’s Feet for everyone!”

The purple and smoke Poppy Show vases came from Burney Talley’s collection. As many of you know, Burney’s sister, the late Norene Duran, was nicknamed “Mrs. Imperial” after her fabulous collection of Imperial carnival glass. I’m not sure if Burney obtained these from Norene or not. What I can tell you is that they are both outstanding examples of Imperial’s best. I haven’t seen all of them of course, but if there’s a more beautiful purple Poppy Show vase in existence, I’d love to see it! This one is absolutely dripping with color! There are electric greens, electric purples, electric mauves - you name it! This baby has it!

The smoke Poppy Show, which may be even more rare than the purple one, has sparkling blue-gray and mauve iridescence accented by subtle yellows and pinks. Truly a gorgeous ‘vahse’, as my UK friends would have to agree.

Of the six (yes six!) Rustic funeral vases being sold, four are the harder-to-find “plunger-base” variants. In my opinion, two of these can be considered rare colors, green and marigold. I’m not sure I’d call the green one “emerald green,” but it’s close, and it’s super tall height (22 1/2”) makes it a very statuesque and desirable ‘lady.’ The marigold plunger-base variant is also super rare. How many have you seen? Also plunger-base variants, are a simply gorgeous blue example and an equally gorgeous purple example. These have been on our fireplace mantle and simply sparkle with diamonds of brilliant iridescence.

We are selling blue and white versions of the ‘regular’ base Rustic funeral vases. The white example is hard to photograph to show it’s beautiful iridescence. It has beautiful pink, blue and yellow iridescence. The blue one is also a ‘sparkler’ and is among the best I’ve seen.

Our three Tree Trunk funeral vases are an incredible electric blue example, a gorgeous amethyst example, and the rarest of them all, a marigold example. I bought the electric blue version from Tom Burns in 1982, and I’ll be grateful always. Thanks, Tom. To be honest, I can’t remember the origin of the amethyst Tree Trunk as I have owned several, but if you buy it, at least you’ll be able to trace it’s lineage ‘one generation.’ I bought the marigold version by telephone from an auction in the southeast somewhere. It has a ‘slice’ out of the bottom, but I was overjoyed to be able to get it anyway. To be honest, the ‘slice’ is so clean that it wouldn’t surprise me if it happened when the vase was made. At the time it was the 3rd or 4th one known. I still know of only 4 or 5.

And last, but not least, of “The Magnificent Seventeen” (wasn’t that a movie with Yul Bryner and my favorite, Steve McQueen?) is a marigold Ripple. I’m not sure if it’s truly a “funeral vase,” but it is the largest size, 4 3/4” at the base and 12 1/4” tall - a “Hippo’s Foot?” Why I bought it of course, is that it has gorgeous dark marigold iridescence top to bottom.

And that’s it! A “Big Vase” for everyone! To see pictures of these vases please go online to www.woodsland.com/johnm, and click on the January Article. You will be able to read all the articles highlighting specific themes of the auction glass on this same site. If you are ‘computer challenged,’ try the public library or one of your many carnival friends. They will be glad to assist you.