Fenton Dragon & Lotus Marigold Plate ~ Whimsey from Bowl

I was traveling the 127 Sale* in 2015, and stopped at an area with lots of booths and tents. I went into a booth and met an older gentleman and I asked him if he had any carnival glass  He said he did have some Dragon & Lotus plates but it would be tomorrow before he could bring them for me to see. He told me that he had a pink plate, a red plate and a red bowl.

Of course I was extremely excited about the plates so the next morning I was there bright and early anticipating a red Dragon & Lotus plate. He brought out of a box three pieces of glass wrapped in newspaper. The first one he handed me was a red Dragon & Lotus ruffled bowl. The second one he handed me was a marigold plate which seemed very large with great color, but at that point, I didn't care. I was more interested in the red plate.

Then, when he handed me the third one, I could feel an edge. When I opened it up I saw it was an ice cream bowl in red, but I was still excited about the marigold plate. I noticed that there were some rough places on the back so I asked him about it. He said that when he was a little boy, his grandfather worked at Fenton, and made this piece for my grandmother. He said that it began as a bowl and they reheated it and flattened it out before it was iridized. So, this was the "pink" plate he was telling me about. When you turn it just right, you can see lots of pink iridation.

It measures 9 7/8 inches across and it weighs a considerable amount more than other plates I have seen. The way I understand it, most Dragon & Lotus plates measure about 9 inches. This one is almost an inch larger.

I really enjoyed the story from the gentleman. He said his mother collected Fenton Dragon & Lotus and I was thankful to be in the right place at the right time. By the way, I did purchase all three pieces.

The Scott & Suzanne Sheffield Collecton

*The 127 Sale started as a community yard sale in Fentress County Tennessee in 1987 along with nearby attractions so travelers would be enticed and come off the interstate and tour the back roads of the area.  This annual event is officially known as the 127 sale because the "sale" has grown to cover 690 miles, from Gadsden, Ala. to Hudson, MI. The sale covers the first full weekend in August. The sale has been featured on HGTV and the Tonight Show, as well as in Southern Living, Country Living, USA Today and Newsweek.