Czechoslovakia Tropicana Amber-Lavender & Marigold Vases

This first vase is very special. No wonder Don Moore put it on his "Top Ten" list of his favorites out of all the items in his massive collection. I found a photo of it in Don & Carol Moore's personal photo album, given to me by Jim Wroda & Pete & Paula Bingham as a keepsake. After Don's death, the late George Thomas acquired it and when he passed away it was inherited by the late Karen Engel. (Some day I shall be called late, but for now, I am right on time. <smile>  Here is the photo below.

The actual manufacturer of this vase is unknown but it has been attributed to Czechoslovakia which was a sovereign state in Central Europe from 1918 until its peaceful dissolution in 1993 when it became the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

This a large, heavy vase (3.25 lbs.) which stands 9" tall and measures 4" wide at the mouth and 4 1/8" wide across the base and was made from a two-part mould (not three parts as described in Marion Hartung's book). It was also blown into the mould and the top rim was ground and polished to perfection, therefore there is not pontil.

The base color was tricky to decipher. It was listed as amber and some people were even calling it lavender. In actuality, I found it was a dark marigold by holding it up to the light, noticing the tree trunks and limbs were completely clear while the background did look amber. It was heavily iridized outside, along the inside of the opening and across the whole bottom. It is completely drenched in an iridescence that I have never seen before and I can't compare it to anything else. I say "drenched" because it always appears wet with shine. It's loaded with pinks, blues and gold...very intense colors. I was immediately attracted to its organic, gnarly pattern, much like that of Palm Beach by U.S. Glass.

There is one other iridescent example known in a dark Marigold that once belonged to Dick & Sherry Betker of Wisconsin. They purchased it at a 2007 Wroda auction. It is now sitting next to my amber version and what a handsome pair they are! The iridescence has a completely different look when compared to each other. I see the many pink and blue highlights dancing about it. Here it is below.

As a matter of fact, it was Dick & Sherry who bid on my amber one for me at the Karen Engel auction on June 17, 2017. It was during the ACGA (American Carnival Glass Association) convention, hosted by auctioneer Jim Wroda, in Greenville, Ohio. I would like to thank Dick & Sherry for helping me collect both vases. They are on my top ten favorite pieces in my collection too! Here they are together as shown at the 2018 HOACGA banquet seminar conducted by myself, photograph courtesy Brian Pitman Foster and HOC. Thank you!

Now to get an even closer look at the pattern, we have yet one more example, which is not carnival glass, but instead a frosty ice green Uranium glass version with hand-painted accents. It's owned by Gio Sabino Lopez of Australia whose collection is also featured here on Showcase. Gio just acquired this beauty in November of 2017. See how it glows under UV light!

Gio writes, "Yes, when I went to the auction house a day before the auction, I saw the vase sitting on top of a table that was being auctioned too. Then I thought this pattern looked familiar. I grabbed my Smartphone and made a quick look at Doty's site. That's when I confirmed what it was. I made sure I would  win it the next day as it is quite unusual and glowed gorgeously under UV light. A big plus is that the leaves on the top are hand-painted and the artist left his mark under the vase. The style of the hand-painting is quite old and similar to art deco pieces during 1930's. It is my believe that some might be here in Australia as most European/Czechoslovakia glass and pottery are abundant."

So there we have it, three very different vases, all the same pattern.

One more has been reported to me by Ray & Jean Rogers of Sydney, Australia. Jean writes, "I actually bid on a marigold Tropicana vase possibly 20 years ago in Sydney. It was a stunning piece of glass and sold for close to one thousand dollars. Sadly I did not have the winning bid. It went to another collector in Sydney. I always remember what a spectacular piece of glass it was."

Thank you Jean & Ray for that information. If anyone else knows of another one, please be sure to write in. It will be much appreciated.

The Christina Katsikas Collection