Topic: can anyone tell us anything on these. we think are hyacinth vases

[kimanded]

hi we brought these a few days ago. and have tried to get info on them we think they are hyacinth vases.
they are a lovely green colour. and they are 15cms high. 9.5 diameter. they have a low pedestal foot.
crimped neck. and a flared mouth. also have a few bubbles in them. would greatfull for any more info. thanks kim & ed

[Lustrousstone]

I think they're just vases, hyacinth vases tend to have much more of a cup at the top and they are barely tall enough for roots.

[Patricia]

No they are not.
That is to say, they have everything that would work for hyacinths. They have the right height, the squat body to save the vase from toppling over once the flower grows, the cup could hold several sizes of bulbs flared the way it is.
But they are not hyacinth vases.
When people then ask, why is it not a hyacinth vase if it would work, the answer of our club people would be: it would work even on a jam jar (the method for poor people in the old days).
If I have to be more specific, the cup was not designed with hyacinths in mind and that is something you would realise if you see a whole collection of the real thing.
Hope I made any sense?

Patricia

[Paul S.]

an illuminating reply Patricia.    So do I understand correctly that you are saying we are wrong in calling even the 'cupped' pieces Hyacinth vases - and correctly we shud say only that all items designed to grow a bulb are precisely that  i.e. 'bulb vases'.
Your comment about toppling over is interesting  -   I have one or two  C19 'cupped' examples that are really quite tall ish  -  and although I wud never actually use them, can imagine them going over without too much trouble.
When you talk of 'poor people in the old days' (do you mean the C19)  -  (actually I'm quite poor after the boot sales of the past few days)  -  wud they have literally chosen a jam jar into which the bulb cud not fall, because it was bigger that the jar??     or was there some other method that prevented the bulb from falling into the jar?   Thanks for the English by the way  -  its 2000% better than my Dutch.    Paul S. 

[kimanded]

hi just thought we would come in on the debate. as we only said we thought these were hyacinth vase  after seeing one the same colour hight and size on ebay.  and showed a lot of intrest. if there not hyacinth vase any idea of age or any other info.  thanks again kim & ed

[Patricia]

Paul, it's skating on thin ice. But yes, we like to see our hyacinth vases in bulb catalogues, horticultural books, registered or in the patternbooks of the glassmakers before we are fully convinced. In a couple of weeks I'm going to Broadfield House again to do just that.
And jam jars meant just that: jam jars. They were used for bulbs just after WWII . Bulbs can be bought in different sizes so you bought bulbs that would fit your jar.
An American bulb catalogue suggested Mason jars if you could not afford the real thing, in France they suggested a hollowed out beetroot and even bulbs floating on a cork in whatever vessel was an option.We've tried every method and all of them worked.
And with September being the right month to start forcing bulbs....take your pick!

Patricia

[Paul S.]

hello Patricia  -  I remember seeing pics. of your upside-down Hyacinths  -  truly amazing, and of course since 'necessity is the mother of invention' I suppose people have used almost anything as a 'carrier' for the bulb.   As a glass collector I am reluctant, really, to actually use my pieces for practical purposes.  You must give me your opinion on some of mine some day.    However, we are sidelining Kim and Ed's question  -  apologies for that.   It is perhaps just coincidental that most of the 'run of the mill' bulb vases seem to be of a size to fit Hyacinth bulbs.    Does the piece in question react to U.V. - and is there any wear on the base?  Paul S.

[kimanded]

hi thanks for the info so far  ; D we have  tried a uv light and thet are not that. have also taken another picture of the base. there is some slight wear on base. would be greatfull for some more  info. thanks again kim & ed