Dugan Farmyard Peach Opal Six-Ruffle Bowl

This "only one known" peach opalescent Farmyard Bowl sold for $9,600 at the February 1978 John Woody auction featuring the combined collections of Paul & Selma Jankauer of Skokie, Illinois and Ora & Edna Cavett of Ponca City, Oklahoma. People still speculate it was owned by the Cavetts and others believe it was the Jankauers who consigned it but here's the twist. This bowl did not belong to neither one of these well known collectors. It actually belonged to the auctioneer himself, John Woody.

In speaking to John Woody on the phone, he fondly remembers how he obtained this spectacular bowl saying that he and his friend, Joe Corothers, were attending an auction in Michigan. While in their hotel room that weekend, they were tuned in to a Michigan television station that was broadcasting a segment on antiques. Woody exclaimed, "Joe is the one who caught it when they spoke about a woman who had a rare Farmyard bowl." It was right then that he and Joe decided to "chase it down" by calling the station to ask who the woman was. It took some doing but they did find out who she was and "got the bowl bought."

Tom Mordini, who once owned this bowl, adds to this story by saying, "Woody was the only person in the USA specializing in Carnival glass at that time. John still occasionally sells Carnival glass at auction but he is no longer very active. His son Jason now runs the business. Tom Burns got his education in Carnival Glass auctions by "running" for John Woody at his auctions. I think Tom was 17 years old at the time and he became a strong competitor to John Woody in later years. "

Note: Woody Auction is a third-generation auction company now, in 2017, in its 52nd year, engaged in the dispersal of quality antique collections and estates.

Tom goes on to say, "I am certain that a man by the name of Sam Roebuck bought the peach opal Farmyard at the Woody auction for $9600. Sam later worked a package deal with Floyd Whitley, for the sum of $35,000 (said to have been negotiated down to $30,000) for three big items: the peach opal Farmyard, green Frolicking Bears water pitcher and the green Peoples vase.

I visited with Floyd at his home and he sold me the peach opal Farmyard, he sold the green Frolicking Bears pitcher to Jackie Poucher and he sold the green Peoples vase to Carroll Cook.  

I sold the bowl to Aaron Hurst who ended up selling it to Carlton Tarkington. Carlton has since passed away and I see his widow, Jane, has agreed to sell it to you (Christina) through Jim Seeck.

I consider the peach opal Farmyard bowl to be in the top ten all time great Carnival glass pieces. It is certainly head and shoulders above every other Carnival glass item made by Dugan.

Back in the late 1970's and into the late 80's, the people that had "stepped up" always owned the best glass. Some of the names of the old movers and shakers were Floyd Whitley, Paul Jankauer, Don Hamlet, Gary Heckenberger, Dale Matheny, George Thomas, Marie Capps, John Resnick, John Britt, Charlie Mochel, George Loescher, Dorothy Bechtel, Malphea Hall, Henry Hawk, Harold Ludeman, Don Moore, Ruth Phillips, Carl Schroeder, Eddie Tomczak...there were others but I dont remember their names. Thirteen of the names above are long gone and some of the others do not collect anymore." 

~Tom Mordini

Thank you Tom Mordini for your recollections. My own recollections of this bowl go back to first having seen it in Aaron Hurst's room during a Sunshine State Convention back in January 2011. Also, a week later, he showed it for sale at the Tampa Bay convention where I took a photo of it (shown last) to have as a souvenir. At the time, I was fairly new to Carnival Glass and the price was beyond my reach. I could only dream. I remember trying to convince Gary Heavin to buy it so I could take it off his hands later on. I wondered if I would ever have a chance at it again if it sold to anyone else. 

A while later, Aaron was to be the seminar speaker at a Southern California Club convention. On his was back to Pennsylvania, he stopped by Carlton Tarkington's home in Nashville, Tennessee to show him this bowl. Carlton declined and said he would not pay his price. Aaron, holding firm, politely said he must be on his way home. Within half an hour after he left, Aaron received a phone call on the road. It was Carlton telling him to "turn around....come back.... I'll take it."

Carlton owned it for a while until he passed away in January of 2015 at the early age of 78. He left his glass in the care of his wife and son and also stipulated that auctioneer Jim Seeck was to sell whatever glass his family decided to part with. Jim brokered the deal between Mrs. Jane Tarkington and myself because it was an item that was not designated as an auction piece and was for private sale only. Jim and Tom Mordini personally delivered it to me at the 2018 Tampa Bay convention. As I flew home with it on my lap, I wondered how I ever got here, to where I was in my collection. I was overwhelmed, honored and very humbled with this long-time dream piece and iconic Dugan rarity.

And now for the specs...the particulars....this bowl is 10 5/8 inches wide. The starred base, or marie, is 4 1/4 inches wide. It stands 3 1/2 inches tall at the highest of the six deep ruffles. The exterior or back pattern is called Jeweled Hearts which is not iridized. 

Farmyard bowls are a limited production. In my research, I have accounted for about 150 bowls so far. Each bowl has its own personality and can be identified individually because of this trait. They can be found in shapes including 6-ruffle, 8-ruffle, square ruffled, square plain, diamond ruffled, diamond plain, 3/1 edge, and there is one round plain edge example known that is so low, so flat, it was once considered a plate if not for the turned up edge. Most are purple based glass except for a handful, if that, in green (ruffled & 3/1 edged) and only one in peach opal, shown here in this article. 

Peach opal is a clear based glass with marigold iridescence, essentially marigold, which had bone ash added to the base glass mixture. After it came out of the mould, it was carefully reheated to obtain a milky white opalescence in those areas. This bowl you see here has edges that are completely white, like milk glass. Since this is the only bowl reported to date, it may have been a prototype that was not persued or a special order or even an experiment. It is a mystery why not more were made, especially because it is obviously pretty. It could be because the pattern gets absorbed in a pastel way and is not as prominent and showy as the purple versions.

The second to the last photo is of a young lady from the Wroda Auction team who stopped to pose for a photo at a convention with this bowl. It is a great photo of both!

During the 2019 Tampa Bay Convention, I sold this bowl to Mr. David Kastor of Texas who will thoroughly enjoy it as I have for many years to come. Congratulations David! This article was written by myself, Christina, and kept here on Showcase to preserve the bowl's provenance.

Previously from the Christina Katsikas Collection

Currently in the David Kastor Collection, Texas, USA