Fenton Orange Tree Aqua Opal Plate

Before this one came along on eBay in October of 2016, there were only two others known like this plate. It is Fenton's well loved Orange Tree pattern in the rare color aqua opal. It has the tree trunk center

The opalescence is strong, as you can see in the second photo showing the back.  The back pattern is called Bearded Berry on this 9" plate. It is in wonderful condition with no damage.

During this auction, the seller, who was from Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada, listed this plate improperly as an ICE BLUE CARNIVAL GLASS PLATE AQUA OPAL ORANGE TREE ? MAKER. She was soon corrected by an onlooker who informed her that, "The maker is Fenton...and this actually may be the only known example with the tree trunk center...the color is known as aqua opal. You may want to revise your listing to get the full value, although this piece should really be in a museum." But as the seller explained to the person writing in to her,  it was too late to change the title because too many people had already placed their bids.

Still, the selling price was much more than she expected to get but not even one third of what one brought back in 1995. See Doty's.  I had to wonder if history would repeat its self during the last ten minutes of the bidding. Would it bring the price it commanded twenty years ago? or would it bring even more? Would it fall through the cracks for having been listed imporperly? Would someone throw a high maximum bid in there to drive up the price at the last second? These are the questions I had to ask myself. Risky, yes, but I had to take the chance or have a lifetime of remorse and regrets. I had never seen or heard of one, other than the one on Doty's website. After the auction ended I found I had a cute, involuntary, victory cry inside me. I finally caught a break and it felt really good. The effort was well worth the reward.

Here is the link to Dave Doty's page on Orange Tree Rarities, Fenton that shows a plate identical to this one and one of the other two known, in a photo courtesy of John Mikkonen. My plate has a tree trunk center, just like the one in the photo. I don't know what type of center the other one known has but I am guessing it will  have the same center since they may have been made at the same time.

What is the tree trunk center you ask? Here is an enlarged version that shows where the trunks of the four trees seem to disappear down behind the center ring and reappear down into the middle circle. They look like the tree's trunk and maybe even its roots. It reminds me of fringe.

This next photo shows one that doesn't have the trunks extending down into the center.

I have to thank my friend Gary Heavin who called to tell me about it on eBay. He thought it would fit nicely into my collection. Thank you Gary. I appreciate the great tip and advice. ~ Christina

The Christina Katsikas Collection