Topic: praying figure

[Sue C]

while trawling through Ebay, i came across a bowl and center figure which looks as though she is sitting on a stump praying, i have never seen this one, is it unusual, or has the picture been taken at a funny angle? item number 170065542303

[David E]

This is a Sowerby figurine, Sue

Edit: I don't think it matches with the bowl, although someone more experienced might help further. Might be uranium glass.

[Lustrousstone]

They both look like uranium glass to me. I think the bowl is also Sowerby, althought it's more often seen frosted

[David E]

You might be right, Christine. The bowl in particular looks like it's 'self-glowing' and I think the posy holder were normally like this.

Also meant to say, the figurine does looks to be the normal pose, but isn't praying, just placing an arm to protect modesty (although not very successfully!) 

[Sue C]

Yes i agree David ang Christine, the bowl dos'nt seem to fit, bit of a mis match, and an odd angle for the photo, wish i could see the bowl a little clearer, the roses look a little Macintosh'ish,will have to go on hubby's pc and use the zoom on his mouse, or get my eyes tested again
                 Sue C x

[Glen]

Yes, they are correctly paired - and they are both Sowerby. They were shown in Sowerby's Pattern Book - number 38 (1956). The bowl was described as a "Floating Bowl" number 2565 (that didn't mean it floated....it meant that you could float flower heads inside it). The figure and plinth were part of the whole set. Cottle (Sowerby Gateshead Glass) notes that Herr Schottner (a Sudeten German) came to Sowerby's in the 1920s and was possibly responsible for designing these items.

Colours - flint, amber, blue, green, pink. - with or without sandblasting.

I have the bowl and lady in a zingy vaseline. Of interest to Carnival collectors is the fact that the bowl (which can be found both cupped up and flared out) is known in a rich blue Carnival Glass. No Carnival figure has been found. They are hard to find, and oddly turn up in the USA rather than the UK. The bowl is known as Flora to carnival collectors (it has fabulous roses moulded underneath).

The figure is also sometimes called Flora...it gets complicated (I've written it all on our second CD).

There's a story that the bowls were sold full of Cadbury's chocolates - however I did follow this up some years ago when I was researching it. Cadbury's trawled through their archive but could find no mention of it. Maybe it was Rowntrees 

Glen

[David E]

Cadbury's: just a short walk for me

Darn, I can't eat too much chocolate though

Interesting they teamed the frosted holder with unfrosted bowl - I'll look for that in future.

[Lustrousstone]

It was probably one of those mix and match options

[Bernard C]

Christine — As you may know, I do not usually comment on live auctions.   However your suggestion of a mix and match here is wrong.   This combination of an acid-matted figurine / flower block and a clear bowl was issued by Sowerby — I have had at least two identical sets through my hands — although it is more usually found with both the figurine and bowl acid-matted.

Note also that this set is complete.   There is no base ring on this bowl to lock into a plinth, indeed it would be unsafe to place it on a plinth.

The slightly cupped bowl in the same pattern was from a different mould, as Glen proved some years ago here on the first? GMB, and has a base ring, so centrepiece figurine sets including the vertically-sided or cupped bowl should really include the proper Sowerby black plinth, although it may have been issued without.

Hope that helps,

Bernard C. 

[Lustrousstone]

What I actually meant was that a frosted figure could be chosen with either a frosted 2565 bowl or a 2565 shiny bowl as I have seen this combination more frequently with a frosted bowl