Millersburg Multi-Fruits & Flowers Amethyst Tulip Top Punch Bowl

Millersburg made some beautiful punch bowls and this is no exception. I have always wanted an amethyst  "tulip top" Multi Fruits & Flowers punch bowl. I already have an amethyst flared out punch bowl set, shown last, but the cupped-in tulip top shape really made my heart sing. I missed one a while back and I was sorry I didn't buy it.

Jim Wroda had this one in his March 2017 Millersburg sale towards the end of the auction. I won it bidding over the phone live. Previous to the auction, Jim had asked me and other collectors on Facebook if anyone had a pedestal base for a Multi Fruits & Flowers amethyst bowl and none of us did. I did but it belonged to my flared out bowl...but not anymore! Now that pedestal is like a pair of shoes these two bowls have to share until I can find another one. The most impressive thing is that the pedestal I had with the flared out bowl looks much better sitting beneath this tulip top bowl. I am all for that!

The iridescence on this punch bowl is wild! It is pure radium and reflects like a mirror. It was very difficult to photograph without also picking up my own image inside it. This punch bowl came with a few cups but none of them even came close to matching this particular color of iridescence. Some day I will find a batch of cups that will have the same intense radium effect.

What caught my eye was the fact that the mould maker incorporated the vines in the pattern to cover over the four mould lines. It was very ingenious. I have take photos showing the top, middle and bottom of a mould line showing how the pattern covered it. 

The pattern is a melody of flowers, pears, apples, and also grapes, including their vines and stippled leaves. The rim has twelve scallops with seven teeth in each one. The pedestal could double as an elegant goblet and fools many people who come across them when they are found alone because no one would imagine such a slim hour glass shape would be used to hold such a bowl. Jim Wroda told me a funny story of an auctioneer in Akron, Ohio who was selling a very rare, second one reported, blue punch bowl like this one. Jim says, " He advertised the top, BUT he also advertised a Hanging Cherries compote in blue...guess what it was?...yep! the base AND he would not sell it together because he thought the people were trying to buy both pieces at one time!!" l thank Jim Wroda for that story. For more price history, visit David Doty's website here.

I have taken photos of both of the bowls I own, the flared and the tulip top, to show the difference. They are both 5.75" tall. It is hard to believe that the flared bowl is 11" wide and the tulip bowl is 9" wide. That is only a 2" difference although it sure looks like it should be a lot more. Hmmm..two inches is the difference between a flare and an inward curve.

The pedestal is 5"  tall with a base diameter of 5.5" and a 4.5" top receiver that accepts the bowl's 3.5" base, known as the marie.

The Christina Katsikas Collection