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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Mystery Glass And A Peacock's (Fill In The Rhyming Body Part)

Do you know what kind of glass this is?
Neither do I.

It used to belong to my friend Emily's grandmother.

 It's white, opaque, and once upon a time it was decoratively painted.

And it looks as if it had a stopper.  Which makes it some sort of bottle or decanter.

 Lots of raised design.

Clearly, it has seen better days, but it has -- for me -- real charm.
What could I put in it?

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There are sculpture gardens around Princeton, New Jersey.
Some pretty fierce critters roam there, inspiring fear in all.

You don't believe me?  Check this out, and don't blame me if you have nightmares from the terror:
A Peacock, strolling past a window.  He lulls us into a false sense of safety.

He looks as harmless and delicate as a supermodel on the runway.
 He's got his Baby Mama with him, and he's feeling pretty, well, pea-cocky.

But he espies intruders, and launches his terrifying defensive maneuvers.
 "I open my giant tail, and shake it at you."
 "Why do you not run away
from the hundreds of quivering eyes?"

Then, disaster.
A chance gust of wind, and our Hero's defenses flip around, and he finds himself mooning the intruders.

There is no recourse now but to retreat to the safety of a gazebo rooftop,
to nurse hurt feelings in the wake of such humiliation.

He must leave the defense of the homeland to Lars, his ne'er-do-well cousin.

Lars decides to skip the whole shake-my-scary-tail-at-you routine,
and go get a Carvel.
And if you don't know what "getting a Carvel" means, you did not grow up around here.
But we won't hold that against you.
***********************************
Thanks to Alida and Josh, for the peacock pictures, from March 2011,
when they were in New Jersey to plan their June 2011 wedding.  Nice work, kids!  -- Cass

It's Wednesday!
Visit Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday.  Clicketh here.
Kathleen at Faded Charm hosts White Wednesday.  Click here, my peeps.


13 comments:

  1. Peacocks are just beautiful! I've never seen a white one though. I didn't even know such things existed!! Gorgeous! Great photos....

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  2. Hi Aunt C-
    Nice finds, your booth looks great! Your glass is a Victorian milkglass vanity bottle (sometimes called a barber bottle) that would likely have been part of a dresser set with a tray and a trinket box. Neat that yours has any of the paint left...most don't!
    See you later this month!

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    Replies
    1. Annie and I plan on coming to VA next week! She actually -- for the first time in 3 years -- is getting a spring break. We've booked rooms at the Williamsburg Hotel -- you know, the one you stay at when you visit. :-)

      Will there be a Thursday night auction?
      I'll have an almost-empty minivan along for the trip.

      Thanks for the bottle info!
      Neat.
      Love, A.C.

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    2. No way! You should totally stop off at Somerset Farm (aka our house)...we'll even let you use the new toilet (if needed)! And I'm always interested in the thursday night auction, as a visitor I'll even let you have first dibs on things!
      Shoot me an email...we'll discuss!
      Love, Em
      PS ask for the waffle buffet at that hotel...its highly recommended :)

      Delete
  3. Yes, this is a milk glass bottle. They were usually used on dressers for bath salts or oil
    . It had a stopper. They are quite common,but I have always liked them. I do not see why you could not use it as a vase for a sprig or two. It could be used as a water bottle, if you feel it is clean enough. The paint they used was not fired, so it often has been scrubbed off. Late 1800's up until the 1940's. I love the Pea fowl.Richard from My old Historic House

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  4. Love the peacocks, I use to have a vase full of peacock feathers

    I first thought the white glass was goofus glass

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  5. Could it be Custard Glass??? I am really not very informed about glass unless it is obvious like milk glass or ruby glass etc.
    Love the Peacocks!!
    Marilyn

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  6. I know what kind of glass that is!!! It's BASEBALL glass. (Well, just look at it - - - )

    What, peacock grass???

    ;-)

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  7. At our last house we had peacocks running around all the time. I love the white peacocks..I wish I would have had some at our wedding. I have seen that done now. We had white doves. Thanks for sharing those pictures and the funny story:)

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  8. What pretty peacocks!!!

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  9. I'll bet getting flipped around like that put a little P in the old Peacock's daily toilet routine. They can be a bit scary, can't they?

    Don't know what that first piece is but I like it a lot. It looks heavy.

    I haven't had a Carvel in YEARS. I didn't know they were still around. xo Diana

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  10. Lots of peacocks around here. Legend is that some escaped from nearby Hatley Castle and have breeding like, well, peacocks ever since. They make a terrible racket that can be heard from great distance.....but they are beautiful.

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  11. I think your decanter would make a beautiful vase. At our old place, the neighbors had peacocks and they are noisy!! They would roost on our house and our vehicles by not only scratching the roofs but leaving a nasty mess, which they would also do on our walkway and front porch! They are beautiful birds though. Poor cock...he did get a might embarassed, didn't he? hehe

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