Alan: Here is some more information on the topic of covered vases. I have consulted wiser experts than I, and hope that it might be of interest. Gail Bardhan

Exploring the topic of covered vases further, I turned to the online resources of The Corning Museum of Glass, searching both the glass collection and library’s online catalog. For Steuben covered vases, I found several, with accession numbers (and date of production) 61.4.125 (1925-1932); 61.4.126 (1925-32); 75.4.220 (1925-33); 51.4.703 (190?-1925; probably Steuben); 94.4.38A (“New York”, The United States in Crystal series, designed by Sidney Waugh)

The Rakow Library has 10 images in their online catalog of covered vases made by Steuben. Other materials in the library with covered vases include a book on Cambridge Glass, and a frog vase with cover made by Lalique.

The museum’s glass collection includes covered vases made in England, France, Italy, Germany and Austria. Accession numbers and details: 2003.2.42 (England, ca.1765); 2001.3.64 (Italy 1922-1935); 2001.3.63 (Italy, 1922-1935); 2006.3.54 (Germany 1815-1820); 73.3.18 (Austria: Lobmeyr, ca. 1876); 82.2.3 (England, 1760-65; similar to Chinese porcelain); 65.3.46 (France: Marinot); 67.3.12 (France, 1845; potpourri vase); 79.3.23 (Lobmeyr, ca. 1978); 2017.3.8 (Potpourri vase, France, 1786-94) These examples reveal a variety of techniques, including cut, engraved and enameled. For one image, click on the following: https://www.cmog.org/artwork/covered-green-vase (2003.3.42)

More images and details can be found by searching the museum’s website (www.cmog.org); typing in upper right box, and then clicking on “artwork” on left side to limit the search. Related terms are covered bowl, covered goblet, and covered pokal.

Scott Hansen reminds us that Gardner has a section of drawings for “Covered vases, urns and jars”, pages 305-309, and there is one other covered vase in the “Vases” section, #6702 on page 284. Gardner was responsible for setting up these categories. Scott also wrote: If you go back to the original line drawings for some of the pieces in that category in his book there are a number of different names used and many don’t have a name at all. “Covered Vases Urns and Jars” adequately described what they all had in common. Who knows, maybe that was the way these pieces were talked about at Steuben at the time. Plus, there are examples where vases could be bought with or without covers. And, when it came time to create the website categories (for the Carder Steuben Club Shapes Gallery) the decision was made to mirror the nomenclature of Gardner, so that it would be easy to move back and forth between Gardner’s book and the website.

Searching online will find additional images, such as the following link.

https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/a-beykoz-blue-glass-covered-vase-ottoman-5551086-details.aspx (Turkey, 19th c.)

Dwight Lanmon (formerly curator and director at both Corning and Winterthur) says:

As for covered vases, I’m not sure that I’ve seen the phrase, but I think a cover most likely would be a design element, as opposed to a functional addition. (But, thinking how often one dusts the inside of a vase — it would surely keep them dust-free.) There are plenty of examples in the Corning collection, and I suspect that most, if not all of them, would be additions for decorative purposes. Just as covers on German drinking glasses (especially the high-style ones) were features of the design (not just to keep flies out of the beer). For example, the matching cover on a Potsdam or a Nuremberg late 17th-century goblet makes a complete “statement”; view the same piece without the cover and see how “incomplete” it looks. This seems primarily a Germanic tradition, but I think far more Venetian goblets had covers than we know.

Another example is an Amelung goblet. There is one in the Winterthur collection with its original cover. Three comparable goblets, without covers, are in the Corning collection. See what a difference there is visually. I think the same idea applies to vases.”