What-is-it question CLII.

[2209patrick]

This design was selected from a competition of art students in Birmingham England.
Executed by Ian Totney in 1973.
Commissioned by the Birmingham Assay Office to celebrate their 200th anniversery.

The finial is a dish shape with the gilded arms of the Assay Office.
My reference does not give it's size. I would guess it to be at least 8 inches ( 20.32 cm.) in diameter.

This piece actually serves a purpose. What was used for ?



Pat.
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[wev]

A paten and chalice that comes apart and re-assembles?
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[2209patrick]

That is a good idea Wev, but it's not a paten and chalice.
It's purpose was to hold something though.

Pat.
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[JLDoggett]

I wish it had a top-down picture, it looks like a spoon or knife rack, but I can not tell how the "levels" line-up.
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[2209patrick]

Sorry to say, that's the only picture of it in my reference.
Doubt the levels line up vertically for spoons or knives.
What it held came into the base at an angle I believe.

Pat.
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[2209patrick]

Here's a clue.
The name of this item, in my reference, consists of two words. The second word is "bowl".

Pat.
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[wev]

Salad? Like one of those spinner things on late night tv?

Just kidding

wev
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[dragonflywink]

That is just a weird thing.....ummm, it appears to be well-ventilated - is it some sort of freaky fruit bowl?

~Cheryl
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[Granmaa]

A swizzle stick or chopstick holder?

Miles
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[2209patrick]

Nice tries everyone, but none are correct.

I'm running out of ideas for clues. Here's the best I can do:
It holds a type of plant, but maybe the name is not that important.
As Shakespeare's Juliet said, "What's in a name? That which ..."

Pat.
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[Bahner]

... we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet ... A flower stand of some kind ? Regards, Bahner
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[2209patrick]

Yes Bahner.
My reference calls it a "Rose Bowl".



Pat.
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[dragonflywink]

And still a very weird thing!

~Cheryl
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[wev]

200 hundred years and that's what they choose? Yikes.
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[JLDoggett]

I believe here in the U.S. it would be called a frog. It goes into a bowl to hold the stems. Still it is a very unusual design for one...
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[2209patrick]

Difficult to see in the picture, but the book says: "The three tiered cover is made up of polished silver anchor shapes...".

Wish I had more pictures from different angles. The piece might look better in them.

Pat.
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[doc]

"200 hundred years and that's what they choose? Yikes."

Agreed!!
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[mizzllat]

I believe that the part of the bowl that actually makes it a rose bowl is the small cup at the top. The rest of it is likely just a very convoluted stand. A rose bowl is meant to be an almost ball-shaped dish where roses (sometimes just one) are displayed as a centerpiece. If there is a mesh inside this bowl, then it also allows for the use of scented, dried petals and buds. The rolled shape of the bowl is supposed to allow a greater experience of the scent from the flower. It is just the heads of the roses that are displayed, by the way, not the stems.
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[2209patrick]

Had not thought of that Mizzllat, but you might have a good idea there.
My reference says the finial has a pierced and gilded top emblazoned with the arms of the Assay Office.



Pat.
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[judhael]

Hello there,
Just a thought. In the 20s/30s there were popular console or center bowls with a removable pierced lid. The lid was usually set on a shallow bowl with an everted rim (a wide down-flaring rim), the bowl alone could be used for fruit, bread etc, but it's pierced (and often gilded) lid gave it the added usefulness of a flower arranging bowl with the lid being the "frog".

This piece appears to be a rather modern adaptation of the theme, the upward flaring portion of the base is the "bowl" that is covered by a multi-layer pierced lid that could be used to arrange roses for a centerpiece. The mention of a "rose-bowl" brings to mind the globe shaped glass bowls of the 20th century that were intended to float a single rose blossom, this appears to be a bit of a stretch on the name. When I look at it I see an elaborate flower frog lid, and the Brits are gaga over roses and varieties of roses...imagine this bowl with a multitude of roses protruding from the pierced lid. Pretty nice.
Judhael
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