It’s Superbowl Sunday!  In today’s “big game” are you rooting for the Chiefs or the Eagles?

If the answer is “neither” then perhaps you would instead prefer Superb Bowl Sunday.  Take a look at these superb bowls made by Steuben glass across the Carder and modern eras.  They might be just the thing for you!

And if you don’t give a hoot about football or bowls, then we’ll throw in this superb owl just for you.

The previous Gazelle Gazette made mention of Shape #6023 as an “Amethyst transparent lamp shaft.”  This generated some follow-up conversations that we wanted to share with our readers.

#6023 Amethyst transparent lamp shaft is made from a Cologne bottle.  Never was listed as a lamp shaft.

— Cheers, David Donaldson, MFA

Page 136 of the Gardner book explains that Carder numbered items in the order in which he designed them for production beginning with number 1 in 1903 and ending with 7749 in about 1932. Gardner explains that this numerical arrangement was difficult and confusing for the purposes of his book, so drawings were separated into categories to assist collectors in locating objects by category or shape. He admits that objects could be placed in more than one category. Further, special shapes for certain companies, including lamp companies, were numbered in the 8000 series. However, regular production items also appeared and could be sold with exclusive rights by these companies.

If you look through the category of lamp shafts and bases, many of them have strong resemblances to existing vase shapes, cologne bottle bases, and decanter bases. There even may be a few candlesticks.  The point is, a cologne base is no different than a vase shape that is used as a lamp shaft.  We don’t identify vases that have a hole drilled through the bottom as a lamp shaft.  It’s a vase. It’s just unusable as such (ha ha).  There are many other vases that are identified by Gardner as vases that are also used as lamp bases, but are not found in the lamp shafts and bases category of Gardner’s book.

To David Donaldson‘s point, the only suggestion I may make is that the item is identified as “amethyst transparent cologne base” rather than “lamp shaft.”  This will help a reader find the shape number in its identified category.

— Bonnie Salzman

Thank you for sharing your comments!  Please feel free to share your perspective by writing to gazette@steubenglass.org.