Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: Glen on April 29, 2006, 09:27:05 PM
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I posted yesterday about an iconic piece of Carnival Glass that was about to be auctioned today in Kansas City. It is the blue Millersburg Peoples Vase - the reserve was $60,000.
The auction has just finished, and courtesy of the Carnival club, wwwcga and webmaster Brian Pitman, we have had "live" auction results throughout the day.
The blue Peoples Vase sold for a record $100,000. The highest price ever for a single piece of Carnival Glass.
The entire auction was the highest grossing Carnival Glass auction ever.
Glass History was made today.
The auction grossed $615,950 for 314 lots. Well over half a million dollars.
If you want to read about the Peoples Vase, see my previous thread here.
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,5267.0.html
Glen
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(http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/confused/confused0018.gif)(http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/confused/confused0018.gif)(http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/confused/confused0018.gif)(http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/confused/confused0018.gif)(http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/confused/confused0018.gif)
OH MY WORD :!: :!:
(http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/sign/sign0153.gif)
Unbelievable........................when do you get it? :wink: :wink: :lol:
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I wish!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Glen
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We have a feature just posted on the wwwcga Home page - it has a link to a video clip of the vase actually selling. If you want to watch go to http://www.carnivalglass.org (wwwcga website) and you'll see the feature right there!
Glen
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That's one to look out for at a boot fair. :shock: :shock: Amazing price. I wonder if it'll have a knock-on effect on other carnival ware?
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Unlikely we'd find one of those - only ten known. Shame....
It will very possibly raise general awareness and keep prices healthy. But then Carnival is already one of the hottest collectibles in the US. The UK "experts" on the TV just haven't been listening to what goes on in the rest of the world when they sneer at Carnival.
The trend that we have seen over the past few years is for the rare and /or really beautiful pieces (not always rare) to hold their prices very well indeed, and often set records. This one certainly bore out the trend.
I need to correct the price, by the way. I will edit it above. Brian just emailed me to say it actually sold for $100,000. If you watch the video you'll see it sell. American auctions are absolutely fascinating to bid in and watch. They are so fast. I'm always to scared to bid - Steve has had to do it when we have been there!
Glen
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On a serious note though, an amazing sale. The lady at the front was very excited. Thanks for clarifying the price. I watched the video 3 times and wasn't sure if the sale price was $100,000 or $102,000, but I couldn't hear the 101. However, as you said, the sale was soooo quick, it was quite hard to follow.
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Good grief! Glen, that is astounding!!! :shock:
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Della, the lady standing at the front was Paula Bingham - it was the Binghams' glass that was being auctioned. The guy who was holding the vase and walking with it as it was being auctioned was her husband, Pete. (And Della.... :lol: :lol: to what you said about shipping it to you...I don't think I have a box big enough :lol: )
It's absolutely fascinating to attend a US auction, as the auctioneers have a pacy sing-song style that mesmerises. Unlike British auctions, they "call" the figure ABOVE the one they have a bid for. That's why Jim Wroda was calling $102,000 - he was inviting a bid for that amount. In fact the bid he had was $100,000 and he was going in a two thousand dollar increment.
Not many people have ever seen something go over 100,000! At the lower prices, the increments are like $5 and then $10 - then they jump to $50 and $100 increments. I don't know what the breakpoints are, but maybe one of our US members can tell us that.
I have to say that the items on sale in that auction were top notch. Unusual and scarce colors, rare shapes and patterns. Beautiful, sought-after glass.
There was one piece that wasn't glass - and it's kind-of interesting to me, as it was a miniature painting of the carnival "Good Luck" design that I did. I had taken it with me to a USA club Convention a few years ago, and I donated it to the carnival club to raise funds in their mini club auction. Pete and Paula bought it, and it was included in their auction as item 211a, with my name. So in a tiny way, I was part of the biggest Carnival auction ever. :shock:
Glen
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Thanks Glen, that was wonderful. I attended an auction yesterday myself.
As to breakpoints, I believe that is up to the individual auctioneer.
The auction I attended only had two pcs. of carnival. Both marigold, the Imperial Wedding ring rose bowl was damaged, but the Fenton orange tree mug wasn't.
For those not familiar with American auctions, they can be quite fun and very fast paced.
Again thanks for sharing that with us. Terry
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In the hoopla over prices paid, let's not forget the history of this piece. The fanciful story is that the vase was created by John W. Fenton to somehow honor the Amish plain people in and around Millersburg. In fact, the people depicted are not in the dress or custom of the Amish, and the vase was called "Holland vase" in an original inventory of the failing Millersburg plant (see Marie McGee's book for details).
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Where did it's current name come from?
I realise that Carnival collectors are naming vases on discovery, but why not revert to the original name when it is uncovered?
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The name "People's Vase" was given it by Marion Hartung, who was one of the first writers and researchers on Carnival. Contemporary with Hartung was another well-known early researcher/writer - Rose Presznick. Rose gave the vase another name - she called it "First Thanksgiving".
Both of these names were given and in use long before the Millersburg (court ordered) 1911 inventory was found in which item number 70 was called "Holland Vase". It is extremely likely - but not 100% possible to be certain - that this was the People's vase. This is noted in Marie McGee's "Millersburg" book, edited by Dr. Measell.
So why not revert to the original name when that is discovered? A good question and I'll try to answer it.
First, the name People's Vase has been in use by collectors for a long time. Longer than the knowledge that it might have been originally referred to as "Holland". The name is in the collectors' language and terminology. Making a fundamental alteration like that may be a scholarly thing to do, but it isn't the way it works in practice.
I have found many "original" names for patterns in my research. But it would be impossible to hope that the original names might become common currency in the collector's vocabulary. A good example would be Brockwitz' "Rose Garden" pattern. The Brockwitz name for this was "Rosen". The Eda name for it (yes they made it too) was "Rosor". I have made all of these names known to Carnival Glass collectors....and so which of the names do you think is the one that the pattern is known by? "Rose Garden" of course. That was the name given to it by Hartung (back in the 1960s) and that's the name that sticks.
My personal approach to this (and I think I have mentioned it before on the GMB, but I certainly have stated it clearly in Carnival Glass circles) is that in my (strictly "our") books I use all known names. Thus Rose Garden has the "aka"s I mentioned above.
So, back to Dr Measell's comment about "hoopla". First let me say that I never - never - forget the history of any piece of glass. I have researched and written extensively on the history of Carnival Glass. However, when I posted about this particular auction, I felt (and still do) that the social history being made in front of our eyes is worthy of study. The unfolding history regarding changes of ownership and the corresponding detailed documentation of the People's Vase is (in my humble opinion) fully deserving of attention.
Glen Thistlewood
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An impressive response Glen, I bow to your quality approach. Thank you.