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NUMBER 2 : Some of MAUREEN WICKHAMS FAVOURITE ROADSHOW FINDS ACROSS CANADA
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Spring 2007, Victoria, B.C. Silver Spoon Warmer Victoria in beautiful British Columbia on the Roadshow tour of 2007 was just full of surprising “whatchamacallits”.
This silver Nautilus shell with a rocky style base was a head scratcher. Examining the subject thoroughly showed a smooth, plated interior with a hinge on the top and an opening at the very upper end. Hmmmmm, obviously it was meant to hold at least one item, possibly more. There were scratches where something had been pulled out, likely on a regular basis so it could be surmised that this was meant to be used with some type of metal utensil. Give up yet? The answer requires some visualization, something that appraisers can be very good with! Imagine a beautifully laid dining table ready for entertaining guests in the Victorian era. The linen table covering with matching linen napkins and each place setting of china painstakingly set in the correctly measured places. The crystal stems appropriately placed and the silver, oh the silver! This dining room is drafty and the season is cold, how does one keep the boullion spoons from chilling the soup? The answer is…….a spoon warmer! The conch shell was filled with hot water and the spoons were placed inside so that they warm up before being put into the soup. This was, and still is, a very practical item for those of us who live in drafty Victorian homes. And there we have it, a lesson in learning about “whatchamacallits”.
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Silver spoon warmer Roadshow Victoria |
Firing Glasses with Air-Twisted stems |
Spring, 2007 Also from the Victoria, B.C. Roadshow Firing Glasses with Air-Twisted stems What is the true definition of an “antique?"
Most dictionaries will tell you that an antique is an item that is a minimum of 100 years of age. How many true antiques do the appraisers on the Roadshow actually see? The answer is easy, not as many as we would like! During our visit to Victoria, British Columbia, I was ecstatic to be able to appraise 2 air-twist stems that were circa 1750 in age, well over the definition of antique. Air-twist stemmed glasses were formed by denting a small gather of molten glass and placing another gather on top thus creating air bubbles. The inherent pattern made by the air was elongated and twisted with the glass blower drawing and rotating the molten glass until the required length was reached. Air-twist stems were heavily manufactured in the mid 1750’s right up to the early 1800’s. These two examples are both termed double series as they are more complex than a single twist. One stem has an opaque central gauze cable with 2 solid spiraling strands, one being in a cranberry shade. Colour twists, combined with air or opaque twists are deemed to be rare indeed! The other stem has 1 solid spiraling strand around the centre opaque gauze cable with incorporated opaque white glass. The colour twist has a funnel shaped bowl while the opaque white twist has a trumpet shaped bowl. However, if that isn’t enough, it gets even better! Not only are these stems air-twist examples of 18th century craftsmanship, they are also deemed to be Firing Glasses. Dram glasses or small wines that are short stemmed with an especially strong, thick foot were called firing glasses due to their use at various meetings of the time. Members would strike the table simultaneously with the glass when a toast was offered. The noise created was said to resemble the firing of muskets, hence the name “Firing Glasses”. What a privilege to be able to inform the owner that these 2 early examples of Firing Glasses with Air-Twisted stems should be insured for a minimum of eight hundred dollars! |
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