Brazil (Probably Guarani) Eye of the Queen Marigold Tumbler

I purchased this Eye of the Queen marigold tumbler, although not in person, on September 24th, 2016 from a Seeck Auction held in Mason City, Iowa. This auction featured the collection of Allan & Karen Rath of Canada. The name fits it to perfection.

Jim Seeck delivered it to me when he stopped in to my fireworks store in New Hampshire. When I unpacked it, the first thing I noticed is how strangely and unexpectedly heavy it was. Oh my goodness! It weighs .86 of a pound. One tumbler! Almost one pound of glass! It is very odd to hold.

It stands 4 3/4" tall, 3" wide at the top and has a 2 1/4" base diameter. It was made with a four-piece mould with four identical panels that work with each other to create a starburst within a spear on each mould line.

The base is concave leaving only a ground down circle of glass for it to rest on.

It is really pretty and the amazing part is that it is sprayed in marigold iridescence outside as well as the top of the rim and down into the inside walls but does not include the very bottom of the inside, nor is the very bottom of the base iridized on the outside. I can't understand the reasoning of how or why the bottom was left completely clear.

Beneath each eye there are tiny bumps in the glass, like particles of trapped sand under the iridescence, but only in the part beneath the eye and nowhere else. The rest of the blank areas of the tumbler are very smooth without texture so I think these tiny pimples were an intentional part of the pattern by the mould maker and artist.

Between the heftiness and the imperfections, the tumbler feels almost crude. I first thought it was a Jain pattern from India from the catalog photo, shown last, courtesy Jim Seeck Auctions, but it is far from a delicate piece of Jain. And, as crude as it feels, it has an elegance about it in an old world way.

Glen & Stephen Thistlewood have a wonderful article on this pattern and also say who named it, right here on Carnival Glass Worldwide.

To take it another step further, here is a fascinating article written by the Thistlewoods in their NetworK Ezine Issue 4. September 2015 called Carnival Glass from Esberard, Rio, Brazil.

Also, this tumbler got another mention in their NetworK  Ezine Issue 5. October 2015.

The Christina Katsikas Collection