"BANDED ROSES" DECORATION
By Lorraine Kovar
(Portions of this article first appeared in a Westmoreland Glass Society, Inc. newsletter.)
"Banded Roses" is not the original name for this decoration. Westmoreland would have had a number for this 1920's decoration, but since the actual number has not surfaced in company documents, some designation had to be used.
This decoration is characterized by a black band that is usually painted on the inside of the piece, or backside as in the case of the servers. On the top or outside of the piece the black band is framed by gold. Two roses and forget-me-nots are painted on the topside over the black band. This was an easy and inexpensive way to give a plain crystal piece a very beautiful look. The fan vase (Photo #1) and the covered candy (Photo #2) had cased colors that were combined with the "Banded Roses" decoration to add yet another dimension. For Westmoreland this process was much cheaper than coloring the glass and it achieved the same results…sales!
PHOTO #1
Photo #1 shows the 1708 Line fan vase. It has a light green cased color on the exterior of the piece. Other companies made similar fan vases, but the stem of the Westmoreland version is unique. An arc flower frog may be found to go with this vase. It would sit on top of the fan opening. This frog is extremely rare!
PHOTO #2
Photo #2 shows the 1707 Line cone shaped candy and lid with lilac cased color on the inside of the top and bottom. The base of the foot is cased on the underside. The addition of four rose garlands on this foot just adds to the decoration.
PHOTO #3
Photo #3 shows the 1800 Line cream and sugar. This was a very plain line that is usually found decorated or cut. Both cream and sugar have ground bottoms.
PHOTO #4
Photo #4 shows the 1800 Line loop-styled center handled server. This piece was referred to as a butter ball in Westmoreland catalogs. In the center of the butter ball, fan-shaped cuttings are an added embellishment. These fans were not polished and have a matte appearance. A bullet-shaped cut is in-between each fan cut and these have been polished. This server is 6-1/2" in diameter.
PHOTO #5
Photo #5 shows another center-handled server. This also belongs to the 1800 Line, but this one is 10" in diameter. This server has a mushroom-shaped handle. The center of this server has 16 matte-cut rays. Servers in the 1800 Line have also been found with molded rays in the center.
PHOTO #6
Photo #6 belongs to a fellow WGSI member. This plate shows the checkerboard frosting method. This plate would have had a wax template applied to it and then it would have been dipped in acid to "frost" the exposed squares. The wax mask would have been removed then the piece would have been painted and then fired. Westmoreland and Tiffin are the two companies that employed this decorating technique.
Did you find this article interesting? Do you collect Westmoreland Glass? If you answered yes, to either question, you can find more Westmoreland information in the Westmoreland Glass Society, Inc. monthly newsletter.
This is a members-only club that has a newsletter with items for sale, items that are wanted by collectors and wonderful articles by a variety of members.
Dues are $15.00 single and $25.00 for household. Dues and membership information should be sent to Steve Jensen, President; P. O. Box 2883; Iowa City, Iowa 52240-2883. Checks are payable to WGSI. Memberships are good for one year from your joining month.