Victorian Berry Bowls And Epergnes

( Article orginally published August 1943 by Hobbies )

CENTERPIECES used as table decorations have varied through the ages. Casters with movable figures and trees with singing birds in the branches were fancied by hosts and hostesses of the Middle Ages. At the time of the Renaissance, there was a vogue for miniature ships and figures of men or animals and silver statuettes, while porcelain figures and groups enlivened the tables of the Rococo period. Silver epergnes were at, first long and low with a !bowl in the center and sweetmeat dishes on either end. Later models were often of great height, having a fruit or flower dish in the center surrounded by hanging baskets.

As ornate silver epergnes lost favor with the public for table centerpieces, the more simple glass epergnes came into style. After 1850, glass epergnes were very popular. The frosted glass and opaque white glass epergnes, illustrated, are two excellent examples from Victorian days.

The Sandwich Glass Factory and the New England Glass Company were two American firms which made epergnes. Dainty chalices of fragile glass sprang up around a central vase and sometimes cone shaped glass baskets hung from metal scrolls. Only the smallest flowers and most delicate ferns could be placed in these dainty baskets. These epergnes were usually made of colored glass, though in later years clear glass etched with gold was commonly seen.

One type of epergne made at the Sandwich Glass factory was composed of three slender stemmed lilies surrounding a central flower, all rising from a flat glass bowl. Others were made with two tiers of bowls and a single vase rising above.

In a catalog of 1893 is illustrated an elaborate epergne of silver plate, mother-of-pearl Satin glass, and cut glass. Another shown in the same book is of silver plate surmounted by a colored glass vase. Epergnes could be made to order with either metal or glass dishes in the frame. Their cost varied from $40 to $350 each. However, at this late date, fancy ruffled and crimped edge bowls were more readily sold than epergnes if one can judge from the greater number of bowls illustrated.

Ruffled-edge bowls were sold at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 and many were purchased there to be taken home as gifts to relatives and friends. These colorful and ornate dishes were often used as wedding gifts and they were usually sold in a silver plated frame and made a striking and lovely table centerpiece. Many women still have one or more of these bowls which were given as gifts fifty years or more ago. And usually they were gifts that were cherished through the years, though a few grew weary of washing the crimped edges and replaced them with dishes of straighter lines. Quite often the silver frame has long since been relegated to the attic or basement and is badly tarnished and sometimes worn in spots. If a silver polish will not bring back the beautiful silver sheen, then the holder will need to be replated.

These berry bowls were made in many colors and various types of glass. Some have two colors of glass fused together so that the lining and exterior surface form a contrast in color. For example, those with white opaque glass on the outside were lined with green, pink, deep rose; blue, amethyst, brownish-orange, apricot, or yellow. Red glass bowls were made with a frosted surface that is similar to a Satin glass finish. White Satin glass bowls are scarce and very attractive when used in modern homes. The majority of these dishes have enameled decorations on the inside surface.

One particularly attractive and rather unusual bowl is of blue opaque glass with a lining of transparent amber glass which extends for an inch beyond the blue in a crimped ruffle. There is also a ribbon of the blue running through the amber edge. It is a fine example of the glass blower's art, a dexterous combination of glass and color.

Another rare bowl is of Hobnail with white opaque glass on the outside and a lining of deep rose. This type was made in at least two sizes, nine inches and ten and one half inches in diameter. It is an example of the Victorian or late Bristol glass.

Though many ruffled-edge bowls are iine, ten, or twelve or more inches in diameter, some were made as small as four and three-fourths inches across. They were made in various shapes and with a variety of edges. Some have a wavy plaited edge and others are bordered with large petals which have a twist in the glass near the point of each petal. And there are many other borders only slightly different.

Collectors today are interested in learning the comparative values placed on various fruit dishes when they were originally sold in the 1890's. The dishes considered best today were not necessarily the highest priced at that time. The fruit or berry dishes, illustrated, were advertised for sale in 1893. Many of the bowls in this catalog are described as being imported glass.

In 1893, The Fair department stcre in Chicago was selling fancy berry dishes in quadruple plated frames for $3.95 each, "at less than cost to the manufacture," according to the advertisement.

Though most of these ruffled-edge bowls were made only 50 or 60 years ago, they take their place among the collectibles of today and a cabinet filled with their rainbow colors is an attractive addition to a dining room. There are many ways in which to use them. Cranberries may be attractively served in the white or pink bowls or in those of clear glass having a white opalescent diamond quilted or swirled pattern. The cranberries contrast nicely with the white bowls and add deepened color to the pink ones. For a table centerpiece, place kumquats with a few green leaves in a bowl of golden yellow or pale apricot color. In blue bowls, arrange white daisies or blue bachelor buttons in a central holder. One of these center flower holders, made many years ago, is of white Satin glass and has a low foot so that it stands nearly three inches high and is especially useful in the deep bowls. The smaller dishes are used for candy or salted nuts.

Different colored bowls will look best in various rooms and even the season of the year may determine the ones you choose for certain occasions. And if you do collect them, use them, too, for it is by keeping them out where they may be seen and admired each day that one gets the greatest amount of enjoyment from them.