Northwood Grape & Cable Ice Green Mid-Size Punch Bowl

This punch bowl came from a seller on eBay in October 12, 2010. The listing took me by complete surprise. It's one of those things you'd never expect to see.

The seller sold all types of antiques and did not specialize in Carnival Glass and he, too, was surprised in the interest it brought during the bidding. He explained on the phone that this punch bowl sat in his Aunt's china closet for as long as he could remember as a child. It was given to her as a wedding present and it was always admired but never used.

Now, this seller did not live very far from me, about two hours out of New Hampshire into Massachusetts. He was right in my backyard compared to most people who would be bidding from all over the country. It would be well worth the trip to bring it home safely but most importantly,  I could make sure I was satisfied with its condition as well. Here's why...

There was a straw mark on the bottom of the bowl which the seller advertised as "a crack that didn't go all the way through" and although the pictures clearly showed it as a straw mark, he thought it was damaged. He didn't know this was something that happens very often in the making of Carnival Glass and does not detract from the value. Straw marks show up often and are called this because they look like a random pieces of straw but they are actually caused by a difference in temperature when the hot glass being poured into the mould is cut with colder glass shears to stop the flow of glass when enough has gone into the mould.

In my strategy and way of thinking, I thought that would keep the price low, and it did to a point. I'm sure it foiled people who didn't live in New England. There was still reasonable doubt that it could be cracked and it would be hard to buy it long distance with the hopes it was just a straw mark and not cracked as advertised.

When I won it I was relieved it was over and made plans right away to run down there and pay for it, knowing I had a couple of days according to eBay rules. When I got close to the pick-up location in Massachusetts, I called the seller to get further directions, than he had given me, to get to his place. He knew where I was and he sent his partner out to meet me on a busy street corner where he jumped into my car, shook my hand and introduced himself. This kind of startled me but from there he quickly gave me blow by blow directions as I drove to the seller's place of business. We parked on the street and went through the doors of a highrise apartment building where we got buzzed in and got into an elevator to go down to the basement level. As the elevator doors closed I was a little panicked and although my adrenaline was pumping I was anxious to see my punch bowl!

As we stepped out of the elevator, I could see the whole basement of this very large building was their warehouse headquarters. They had antiques piled to the ceiling and stashed everywhere, from glass & china, paintings and Asian art to stacks of period furniture. Most everything I saw dated back to the 17th and 18th centuries. In the middle of it all were a couple of computers going and reference books everywhere. It added a new meaning to underground operations! I felt like I was in some cool antiques espionage movie.

They brought me to a table and showed me the punch bowl and my heart almost stopped, it was so pretty, so much so, I was almost afraid to pick it up. It was as if I had stage fright but I snapped out of it and held it like it was the Jewel of the Nile. I swear the two fellas were holding their breaths as they anxiously waited for my approval and payment. You could have heard a pin drop. These guys were real gentlemen in spite of their scruffy beards and casual "shabby chic" attire. I realized I could have put myself in a very precarious situation having come here by myself. It wasn't one of my better ideas but I wasn't worried. These guys were passionate about their antiques and I was made to feel I was in good company. We struck up conversation coming from the barrage of questions they asked me about the bowl, especially about the straw mark.

I told them it was not damage. Some people don't mind straw marks and others don't like them but they would really be losing out to turn their noses up at such a beautiful rarity over something like that. They asked me, with very serious faces, if it would have brought more money if they had called it a straw mark instead of a crack. I told them they did a good job with the pictures which told the whole story and they should have no regrets. After all, they got me here, didn't they? They only way it would have brought more money is if it had at least six cups with it. They were happy and satisfied to know that their lack of knowledge didn't sabotage their sale too badly. We sealed the deal and I was on my way.

And now for the meaurements: The bowl on its pedestal stands 12" tall complete. The bowl alone is 7" tall and 13 1/2" at its widest point, having a 3 1/2" base diameter that sits into the pedestal. The pedestal its self is 5 1/2" tall with a base diameter of 6 7/8" and the top diameter, where the bowl sits and fits into, is 4 7/8" wide.

Did you ever see a picture of a Grape & Cable punch bowl on Ebay and wonder what size it actually was? I sure have. Here is one quick way to tell by using these fun facts about Grape & Cable punch bowls.

• There are three sizes.
• The smallest is called a Standard size.
• The next size up is called the Mid-size.
• The largest is called a Master or Banquet Size.
• Masters all have 33 flutes around the top of the bowl.
• The midsize AND small sizes each have 24.
• The Standard size has 3 bunches of grapes going around the bowl.
• The Midsize has 4 bunches of grapes going around the bowl.
• The Master or Banquet Size has 6 bunches of grapes going around the bowl.
• There is half an inch difference in the height and top diameter between the Standard & Mid-size pedestals.
• The pedestal for the Standard bowl measures about 4.25" across the top and 6.50" across the base. They're 5.25" tall and have 2 bunches of grapes.
• The pedestal for the Mid-size bowl measures about 4.75" across the top and 6.75" across the base. They're 5.75" tall and have 2 bunches of grapes.
• The cups are also interchangeable with all three sizes. They are all the same.
• The pedestal for the Master is quite large at 9" wide at the bottom, 6 3/4" across the top (where the bowl sets inside it) and it stands 6 3/4" tall. It has 4 bunches of grapes.
• Master bowls & pedestals should have at least 12 cups to be considered a complete set.
• Standard or Mid-Size punch bowl & pedestals should have at least 6 cups to be considered a complete set.
• The pedestals are hollow, some iridized beautifully inside and were often used as candy bowls or compotes by turning them upside-down
• All measurements are approximate, having been take from the actual items in my collection.

So, if you can't tell what size a bowl is by looking at the pictures on eBay, you should simply ask the seller how many bunches of grapes there are around the bowl and you will have your answer. I found that most sellers who didn't include the size in their description were novices who honestly didn't even know there were three different sizes.

The first two pictures were taken against a white background. The bowl is translucent and the beautiful delicate pastel blues and pinks are hard to capture in photos. I used a black background for the rest of the photos which really brought out the iridescence.

The pedestal is actually a color called lime green. It seems to be the case with most ice green punch bowls to be accompanied by this darker pedestal. It stands to reason the glass is much thicker on the pedestal than on the bowl so the color is understandably darker. Back then, it was probably good 'nuf. Some day I may find a lime green punch bowl. It would be a rare find and not far fetched considering lime green punch cups are reported.

The Christina Katsikas Collection