Basket Vase with Rose, Hand-blown Vasa Murrhina Glass

Multicolored amber and pink hand-blown Vasa Murrhina glass basket vase with rose. Perfect for use as a flower vase or bride's wedding basket, or as a centerpiece at an engagement or baby shower, or as a spectacular addition to your afternoon tea table -- in every way this piece of art glass will spark conversation and joy!

We were so fortunate to be able to purchase a stunning group of glass basket vases from a collector who assembled her collection in the 1960s. Identification from the original sources made it so much more fun and interesting for us as our appreciation for these very special treasures grew beyond our initial reaction to their exquisite beauty.

Vasa Murrhina, meaning "vessel of gems," is the name of the glassware made by the Vasa Murrhina Art Glass Company of Sandwich, Massachusetts about 1884.  The glassware was transparent and embedded with small pieces of colored glass and metallic flakes. The mica flakes were coated with silver, gold, copper, or nickel. Because it is similar in style to aventurine, spatter, or spangle glass, Vasa Murrhina can be easily mistaken as one of these type of glass which were made when little pieces of colored glass were rolled in the gather before being blown.  Spangle glass is spatter glass with metallic flakes, also called inclusions, mixed into the gather along with the colored glass. 

All of these types of glass were made during the Victorian era throughout Europe, England, and the United States. Some collectors incorrectly refer to these wares as end-of-day glass, implying that the decoration was made of leftovers, but this is not the case.  The glassmakers intentionally designed and included pieces of colored glass and metallic flakes to achieve a very striking and particular effect.

Measuring approximately 7" tall x 6 1/2" across the widest section of the basket, this one-of-a-kind piece of art glass dates to the late-19th century.  In addition to the gorgeous metallic effect, the glassmaker crafted a delicate rose to embellish the basket.