Imperial Poppy Show Vase
By Barb Chamberlain
The Vase
This shows our amber Poppy Show in all its glory.
The Story
Sometimes when you go out antiquing you come home with nothing. Sometimes a little something travels home with you.
We stopped at a junk/antique shop a couple of weeks ago and had just started to look around when I spotted this Poppy Show vase on a shelf behind a couple of other things. Of course, I carefully plucked it from its spot. Oh, no, it was marked as is, but a note was taped inside that said “if this were perfect it would be worth $1200.” Well, it didn’t take long to find the damage, and it wasn’t minor.
Don asked, “What color is it?” I said, “Amber.”
“Are you sure it isn’t amethyst?” Don asked.
I said, “No, it’s amber.”
We were curious as to whether the seller knew the correct value, so Don said he would go check our Doty Guide. He came back with a smile. “One sold for $13,000.” I repeated it to see if I had heard correctly. I had.
We didn’t know whether this vase was quite worth what the seller had it priced with the damage it had. We always ask for best price, but Don did it differently this time. He asked if the dealer would take less, and the lady at the counter said she would call him and let Don talk to him. As it turned out, the owner was willing to take almost a third off his price. We said we would take it.
When we got home, we sent a photo to Joan Doty, and she reported that Dave had only two amber Poppy Show vases listed in his database covering the past almost 25 years, and one was damaged. I presume the perfect piece was the one that sold for $13,000.
We think it is quite beautiful.
The Information
Poppy Show was a product of the Imperial Glass Company and was labeled as #488 in catalogs. It was made by blowing the glass into a mold. It is a rather massive vase standing about twelve inches tall. It features highly molded poppies in panels around the vase.
None of the colors are abundant, but marigold is found most often. It might be that that color was packed in barrels with one-sixth dozen each of Loganberry, Scroll and Flower Panels, Poppy Show, and another vase that wasn’t pictured in the ad. It was stated no two were alike. They were packed in each of three colors—Nuruby, Peacock, and Sapphire. Nuruby would most likely have been marigold. The description for their Sapphire sounded as if it was smoke. Peacock was referenced to as “brilliant iridescence with an effect that was not loud with every color of the rainbow included with a preponderance of a golden yellow.” No mention of the base color was given.
Other colors besides marigold and smoke that have been found are pastel marigold, clambroth, purple, lavender, helios green, and amber. Other than marigold, the other colors are rarely found. If you happen to find one for sale at a price that seems reasonable for you, you might want to purchase it.
Above from left are Poppy Show vases in purple, smoke with a lavender iridescence, helios green, and a lighter marigold. Photos courtesy of Seeck Auction.
This pattern has been reproduced by both Imperial and Fenton. They are easy enough to differentiate from the old. The newer ones have a ruffled top, whereas the old original ones had a scalloped top. Some of the more recent ones were made into whimseys by altering the tops. Many of these whimseys were made for Singleton Bailey. An aqua opal Poppy Show vase was made for Dick Betker by Fenton for different carnival clubs to sell. The majority of these aqua opal ones were ruffled but some whimseys were also made. Most of the newer vases should be marked with an IG on the Imperial reissues or a Fenton mark. A few of these newer vases were made into hurricane lamps, as well. Even the reissues are quite collectible.
Some unusual Poppy Show vases sold at Seeck auctions: white with rolled in rim, white with flared unscalloped rim, and a yellow uniridized unscalloped vase. The photo at right compares our marigold old vase to a green marked Fenton vase to show you a comparison. Old vases are not ruffled. Photos courtesy of Seeck Auction.
This article first appeared in the ICGA Pump in the March 2017 issue and is reprinted with permission.