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Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => British & Irish Glass => Topic started by: glasswipe on November 13, 2011, 05:56:59 PM

Title: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: glasswipe on November 13, 2011, 05:56:59 PM
Hi,I know of the Sowerby lidded swan handled butter dish.  I have this one with three elephants walking along as the handle. I have been looking for a while now and can't find any info. I hope someone will be able to tell me a little about it.Kindest regards.
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: oyemicanto on November 13, 2011, 06:33:28 PM
That is wonderful! What a lovely design and I have never ever seen anything like it before.I hope that someone on here can give some input to it for you as it deserves recognition! ;D
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: mhgcgolfclub on November 13, 2011, 07:00:36 PM
Wow not seen one before as well as the lidded swan butter dish I have had a lidded butterfly dsih I also believe was made by Sowerby

Roy
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: glasswipe on November 14, 2011, 05:14:22 PM
Thank you for your comments any more info anywhere please?
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: glasswipe on December 04, 2011, 05:10:11 PM
Hi I was hoping this would be an easy one to ID. I would guess sowerby.
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: Lustrousstone on December 04, 2011, 05:41:21 PM
Why Sowerby?
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: glasswipe on December 12, 2011, 12:11:26 AM
Because it is the same size and shape of the Sowerby dish that have the swan handle on the top.
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: Bernard C on December 12, 2011, 09:48:21 AM
Of course it's Sowerby.   Not only because it's the same dish under the lid as the other butter dishes, and because of the elephants, but because of the same leaflike patterned panel on the two sizes of flower bowl and the jug.   From memory I think the elephants on the equally rare tray are similar.

Because of the way Sowerby always numbered their patterns, we also know the pattern number of this butter dish.   It's No. 2614.

Bernard C.  8)
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: Lustrousstone on December 12, 2011, 11:40:15 AM
Quote
Of course it's Sowerby.
Is there documentary evidence? I'm not disputing it, just wondering where the evidence is. There are a fair number of other items that I suspect might be Sowerby but I can't find any evidence

Quote
the same leaflike patterned panel on the two sizes of flower bowl and the jug.
These seem to have escaped my notice too. Any pictures?
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: Bernard C on December 13, 2011, 10:47:43 AM
Christine — Of course there's no known documentary evidence.   If there had been any we'd have known about the butter dish, wouldn't we?

It took me two minutes to find two 2614 pictures.   One was in the obvious book, and the other in the obvious website.

And why isolate documentary evidence?   I would have thought that with your experience you would appreciate that the great strength of the GMB is that all evidence is evaluated and utilised, often coming to the conclusion that we don't know.   An enormous and most welcome improvement from the situation only a decade or two ago.

Bernard C.  8)
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: wolkenreb on December 13, 2011, 12:05:36 PM
Hi Bernard.  I tried to find info on the butter dish and did several searches with varying key words and search engines but found nothing! How on earth did you manage to find 2614 pics? What is the obvious website?  Would love to find more info!  Many thanks.
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: Lustrousstone on December 13, 2011, 12:17:52 PM
I had forgotten about the elephant-head handled bowls, probably because I personally never think of them as flower bowls, so got confused, and they don't come in uranium to my knowledge, so I've not examined them closely.

Scroll down Nancy (Bernard means pictures of the 2614 design)  https://20thcenturyglass.com/glass_encyclopedia/artdeco_glass/sowerby_glass/sowerbyglass_home.htm
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: Bernard C on December 13, 2011, 12:35:05 PM
Nancy — do an internet search on "Sowerby 2614" and you will be spoilt for choice.   I was thinking of ebay, where there's at least one.   Pamela shows a green one that might be uranium green — she doesn't say.

...   (Bernard means pictures of the 2614 design)   ...

Christine — I meant what I said — "It took me two minutes to find two 2614 pictures."   It may not be the best English, but it is clear and unambiguous.   That is appalling.   It's years since anyone has done that to me.   You can criticise me, my words, and my opinions as much as you like, whether justified or not, but don't ever presume to know what goes on in my mind.

Bernard C.
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: Lustrousstone on December 13, 2011, 01:29:36 PM
I understood what you said, but Nancy didn't.

Quote
How on earth did you manage to find 2614 pics?

I was trying to explain to her, so your remark to me is unjustified in the context of Nancy's reply.
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: Mosquito on December 13, 2011, 01:41:38 PM
and they don't come in uranium to my knowledge, so I've not examined them closely.

Until recently I'd have agreed with this observation; however, i do now believe the large 2614 bowl may have been made in uranium glass. Although I've never seen a uranium elephants bowl, I do have a matching 2614 plinth in uranium green. It's still in the UK at the moment, though I hope to be able to photograph it when I fly back around the end of the month. I have to say I was very surprised to see it - I don't tend to think of Sowerby making coloured plinths.  
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: Lustrousstone on December 13, 2011, 02:01:48 PM
I keep hoping... a small one would do.
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: wolkenreb on December 13, 2011, 05:05:09 PM
Thanks for the info Bernard and apologies for misreading your message.

Thanks for the clarification Christine - my stupid mistake seems to have caused a bit of a muddle.  So sorry!

I have a terrible habit of 'scanning' rather than really reading.  Must try harder.  :-[
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: wolkenreb on December 14, 2011, 12:51:55 AM
OK, I don't have detailed knowledge about Sowerby designs, so stop reading now if you don't want to see an uneducated opinion/question.


When I read this post initially, the Sowerby Elephant handled bowl didn't even cross my mind - it was so different.

The swan and elephant butter dishes have a sleek, elegant, unfussy design, which I find hard to match up with the Sowerby elephant handled bowl.

The the bowl is quite a heavy, clumsy looking thing, with the handles modelled as elephant trunks.  Why are such different handle designs used?  One wouldn't put the butter dish and bowl together as part of the same design visually.  The only matching feature is the leaf pattern, which Bernard pointed out. 

Signed
Confused  :ac1:
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: Bernard C on May 10, 2012, 04:31:03 AM
Just noticed Pamela's Rosalin (pink) 2614 sugar and cream set complete on its fabulous tray here (http://www.pressglas-pavillon.de/milch+zucker/09794.html).    Wow!   ... and in pink!   It's the first I've seen since I saw just the one 15 years or more ago, and it's certainly the first on the Internet.

Pamela — you were keeping very quiet about it.   Why?    It's mindblowing!

Bernard C.  8)
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: pamela on May 12, 2012, 06:59:31 AM
Bernard, the answer is simple, I had forgotten Sue's wonderful images (scroll down to read her copyright notice   8)
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: Bernard C on May 13, 2012, 06:18:18 AM
Apologies, Pamela and Sue, for failing to read everything.   I hope you understand my enthusiasm.   ;D

Bernard C.  8)
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: glasswipe on May 13, 2012, 02:40:06 PM
I started this thread hoping to get some information about the Sowerby butter dish with the elephant handle instead of the more common swan handle.After my enquiry got hijacked by others and was turned into a debate about elephant handled random fruit bowls and sugar basins.I am wondering why I bothered.REPLY to this comment not neccesary. >:(
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: Lustrousstone on May 13, 2012, 04:13:03 PM
I'm not sure what else you want. Bernard confirmed it was Sowerby on 12 December 2011 and that it has the same pattern number as the other elephant items... Almost no-one else has ever seen it
Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
Post by: Bernard C on May 13, 2012, 06:16:06 PM
glasswipe — on November 11 2011 all we knew about the 2614 elephant range by Sowerby was that it comprised:

  • A small three-piece flower set with a footed bowl,
  • The bowl from this set almost certainly either sold on its own and/or as a 1+6 fruit set with the large bowl,
  • A large three-piece flower set with an unfooted bowl and a waisted plinth,
  • The bowl from this set almost certainly either sold on its own and/or as a 1+6 fruit set with the small bowls,
  • A sugar and cream,
  • A rare tray sold as a three piece set with the sugar and cream.
  • All had elements in common, were by the same brilliant designer or design team, and sculpted by the same mouldmaker.   We know that they all had the same pattern number as that's the way Sowerby always did it.   All the range was well known except for the tray.

    You then amazed us with a completely unexpected new product in the 2614 range.   Fabulous.

    ... and we now have a photograph of the tray, completing the documentation of the newly expanded 2614 range.

    We haven't strayed from the Sowerby 2614 range at all.   I'm left with admiration for Sowerby's designer(s) and the mouldmaker who cleverly combined elements of the elephant theme to suit practical products.   Your butter dish has been viewed 470 times at the time of writing without another being reported, confirming its status as a wonderful Sowerby rarity.

    I'm sorry about your obvious distress, but I don't understand it, and I hope this explanation will go some way to help you see why this topic has developed the way it has.

    Bernard Cavalot.
    Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
    Post by: oyemicanto on September 21, 2012, 06:37:56 PM
    Hi Glasswipe
    Loved the amber elephant butter dish....I myself this week found a green version of it.
    Unfortunately it isn't uranium but a stunning dish all the same.
    Great news that it was identified as Sowerby on here,congrats to all who gave input.
    Nige
    Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
    Post by: Mosquito on September 29, 2014, 02:19:00 AM
    Just realised I never got around to posting pics of my uranium glass 2614 plinth. Anyway, here it is - still haven't found a bowl to match though... :(
    Title: Re: Sowerby butter dish with elephant handle.
    Post by: Edenside#1 on January 04, 2019, 12:05:48 AM
    Hi, I know this thread is a few years old, but I'd realy like to have an image of this Elephant handled Butterdish and consent to use it with appropriate attribution in an article for a glass club newsletter. Is the item owned by Glasswipe?