Jain Hand vase - Elephant vase -  Fish vase - Serpent vase - Goddess vase

 

The Carnival Glass of India, Part 3

 

Indian Carnival Vase ID Guide:
Hand, Elephant, Fish, Serpent and Goddess Vases

by curculiosglass

 

Jain Right Hand vases
photos by ponypainter (left) and *treasurehunter*

 

Introduction

          This is Part 3 of a six-part guide on Jain and other Indian Carnival Glass.  This section of our guide features Indian carnival glass Hand, Elephant, Fish, Serpent and Goddess vases.  The vases shown here were made in the 1930's, by the Jain, CB and AMV glassworks, located in and near the town of Firozabad, in the glassmaking region of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.  

          Parts 2 and 4 of this guide feature Indian carnival Goa and bulbous vases.  To access other parts of this guide, click on links in the Table of Contents at the bottom of the page.  This guide was made possible by the many E-Bayers who contributed photographs to this project.  Please leave feedback by clicking the button at the bottom of the page.

                    

Hand Vases

 

Jain 8" Right Hand vase, circa 1935, with
details of beading, floral pattern and wristwatch

photos courtesy of  ponypainter

Hand Vase.   Indian carnival Hand vases appear in a number of variations:  they may be left- or right-handed forms, unadorned or decorated.  When decorated, the vases feature impressed designs of beaded bands, wrist watches, flowers or a combination of these motifs.  Indian carnival Hand vases ordinarily are found in marigold, but they also appear in red, blue and amethyst; red and and amethyst Hand vases are shown in Edwards & Carwile's Standard Companion to Non-American Carnival Glass (p. 159).  There are two main sizes of Indian carnival hand vase:  standard vases 8"-9" high and, as shown below, mini-vases 5" to 6" high.  On min-vases, the trumpet portion of the vase is shortened:

A Jain mini left-hand vase
photo by curculiosglass

Indian carnival hand vases were issued by both Jain and AMW glassworks.  Jain Hand vases may or may not be marked with the word "JAIN".  AMV  Hand vases bear the impressed initials "AMV" and feature thumbs that are nearly vertical, rather than angled outward as shown above on the Jain vases; a photograph of a left-handed AMV Hand vase can be viewed at the website of Indian carnival glass authority Vikram Bachhawat  (geocities.com/bachhawat2us/). 

As noted in Part 1 of this guide, Glen & Stephen Thistlewood, authors of A Century of Carnival Glass, have commented that Indian carnival glass patterns often feature "symbolism and motifs that have meaning unfamiliar to Western culture" (171).  The Thistlewoods relate, in describing Hand vases, that "in Hindu iconography, the lifted hand protects both the conscious and unconscious order of the creation.  Many Hindu gods are multi-limbed and have several hands that are frequently placed in divine gestures very similar to the Hand vase" (177).  Nevertheless, it is notable that Indian carnival hand vases bear a strong resemblance to Bohemian and French hand vases of much earlier vintage, as can been seen at the Hand Vase page of the New Zealand Glass Museum website (glass.co.nz/glasshandvases.htm). 

AMV and Jain Hand vases are referenced in the Standard Encyclopedia of Carnival Glass, 11th ed., at pp. 24 & 134. The Standard Companion to Non-American Carnival Glass, at pp. 12 & 159, notes that the vases were made in the 1930's.

Vases with Animal Motifs

Jain Elephant Vase
photo courtesy of reclaimed-seattle

Elephant Vase.  Elephant vases were issued both by Jain and by CB Glass Works.  The vases feature an elephant head right above the base; the elephant gazes upward, and his trunk curls either to the left or right around the middle and top of the vase.  As shown above, on some vases, the elephant head is adorned with lines and beaded patterns suggesting a jeweled cloth headdress.  Variants of the pattern exist, in which one of the elephant's ears is left undecorated.  The elephant's head also may bear the letters "CB," or may feature the word "JAIN," and/or the Jain swastika.  The swastika, in Sanskrit called a  svasti, has no connection to the reverse swastika of the Third Reich -- the Jain symbol dates to the 2nd Century of the Indian subcontinent and means 'fortune' or 'happiness'. 

According to Glen & Stephen Thistlewood's A Century of Carnival Glass (p. 17), the elephant depicted on the vases represents the Hindu deity Ganeth, who guards the home and represents prosperity:

The Hindu god Ganesh

Alternately, perhaps the vases feature an elephant simply because elephants are native to India and have long been an important aspect of Indian life, figuring in paintings, tapestries and artwork of all kinds.  The Thistlewoods report that Elephant vases appear in 7" and 9" sizes and are found in marigold.   Elephant vases are referenced in the Standard Encyclopedia of Carnival Glass, 11th ed. (2008) (p. 89), which has assigned the name "Elephant Vase Variant" to Elephant vases that either bear the Jain Swastika, or which lack decoration on one of the elephant's ears. The Standard Companion to Non-American Carnival Glass (p. 102), notes that the vases were made in the 1930's.

A Jain Fish vase in frosted marigold (left)
and a Fish Variant vase in marigold (right):
The fish on Fish Variant vases wrap counterclockwise up the vase.

photos by ponypainter and *treasurehunter*

Fish vase.  According to the Standard Companion to Non-American Carnival Glass (p. 123), Fish vases were issued by Jain Glass Works in the 1930's. The vases feature a fish wrapped clockwise (from bottom to top) around the vase stem.   The mold work on Fish vases is exceptional, showing finely wrought scales; a ribbed back fin; a serpentine tail terminating in a forked tail fin; and an ornately decorated head with an open catfish-like mouth, protruding tongue and concentric circles around the eyes.  Some, but not all, of the vases bear the word "JAIN" impressed on the base.  The vases are made of thin mold-blown glass, but typically are fairly tall and heavy, running 9 - 11" high.

Fish Variant vases are a mirror image of the Fish vase; on Fish Variants, the fish wraps counterclockwise, rather than clockwise, around the vase body.  On all Fish and Fish Variant vases, the fish has two eyes.   Both vases are referenced in the Standard Encyclopedia of Carnival Glass, 11th ed. at p. 108. 

According to Glen and Stephen Thistlewood in A Century of Carnival Glass, the fish represents the Hindu god Vishnu in his incarnation as the golden fish Matsya, who saves mankind from a flood (p. 123).  As the legend goes, Matsya as a little fish spied Manu -- the man who would become the first king of all the earth -- washing his hands in a river.  Matysa begged Manu to save him, and so Manu brought the fish home in a bowl.  The fish grew miraculously quickly, first outgrowing the bowl, and then a bigger bowl, a tank, a pond, a lake, a larger lake and finally the ocean.  The fish warned Manu that a flood would destroy the world, and so Manu, like Noah, built a ship.  Matsya towed the ship to a mountaintop, thus rescuing Manu and future generations of humanity from the deluge.

Both Fish and Fish Variant vases usually are found with one of two color types of coloring:  iridescent marigold (above right), or iridescent marigold with frosted glass (above left).  Two Fish vases with unusual coloring have appeared on E-Bay.  These are shown below:

Fish vases with unusual frosted amethyst coloring
photos by reclaimed-seatlle and fcc4568

The vase shown at top left was discovered by Seattle E-Bayer reclaimed-seattle and surfaced on E-Bay in January, 2008; the 9 1/2" vase has a frosted amethyst-over-frosted-white treatment.  The second vase at top right was uncovered by Australian E-Bayer fcc4568; this 10" vase is iridized marigold with a narrow band of frosted amethyst around the top rim.  The bases of both Fish vases measure 3 1/2".

Buyers should note that Fish vases have been reproduced in cobalt blue non-iridized glass.   Part 5  of this guide features photographs of cobalt-blue Fish vase reproductions.

A rare Jain Serpent vase:
These vases resemble Fish Variant vases, but the Serpent
winding around the vase has one eye instead of two.

photos courtesy of ponypainter

Serpent vase.  This rare vase has been attributed to both AMV and Jain; according to the Standard Companion to Non-American Carnival Glass (p. 281), Serpent vases were issued in the 1930's.  Serpent vases closely resemble Jain's Fish Variant vase -- like the creature on the Fish Variant vase, the serpent on the Serpent vase wraps counterclockwise (from bottom to top) around the vase stem -- and buyers should note that many pieces sold on E-Bay as "Serpent vases" are simply mislabeled Fish Variant vases.  On true Serpent vases, the creature coiling around the vase stem has one eye instead of two.  The Serpent vase shown above is 8 3/4" tall.   Serpent vases most often appear in marigold.  The Standard Encyclopedia of Carnival Glass, 11th ed., p. 239, features of photograph of the first reported marigold-on-pastel-blue Serpent vase.

The mold work on Serpent vases is exceptional:  the pattern shows well-delineated scales, a ribbed back-fin and tail, and a head with a finely detailed eye and open mouth.  E-Bayer ponypainter notes that Serpent vases vary along the bottom edge:  on some, there is a thick line along the rim of the base, and on the others, as shown above, the serpent's face rests on a star-shaped design.  Some, but not all, Serpent vases bear the impressed initials "AMV" of the Argawal Glass Works.   Buyers should note that if a Fish vase is turned in profile in a photograph, the fish may appear to have one eye; thus, for any Serpent vase listing, be sure to ask whether the serpent has one or two eyes.

Goddess Vases

A rare Jain Goddess vase
photos by curculiosglass and bug54

Goddess Vase:  According to Glen & Stephen Thistlewood, authors of A Century of Carnival Glass (p. 179), Goddess vases feature "an ornate and richly decorated (presumably) female figure, arms held upward, undoubtedly representing a deity or similar figure".  The figure is stylized and geometric, described by the  Standard Encyclopedia of Carnival Glass, 11th ed., p. 124, as "a complicated pattern [that] appears to be a group of unrelated designs consisting of a mask-like section, and other parts that look like floral cones, simplified ridge rows and other figural forms".  The vase is one of two Indian carnival vases still deemed "rare" by the SECG.  Goddess vases are found in marigold, and run 7" 1/2 to 8" high.  They were issued by Jain Glass Works in the 1930's.

To continue to another part of this guide, click one of the links below:

     __________________________________________________________________________________________

            1. General Information on Jain         2. Goa-style and Etched Vases        3. Hand, Animal & Goddess Vases     

 4. Bulbous (Tear-shaped) Vases       5. Cobalt-blue Fish Vase Fakes       6. Newly Discovered Patterns  
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          Many thanks to E-Bayers bug54,  fcc4568,  ponypainter,  reclaimed-seattle  and *treasurehunter*  for generously contributing photographs to this guide.  Text is (c) 2007 and (c) 2008 curculiosglass, all rights reserved.  To locate any E-Bayer whose name is mentioned here, or to visit his or her store, simply click on "SITE MAP" on the bottom of your screen, and then click on "Feedback Forum" on the right top corner of the screen that next appears.  Type or copy the E-Bayer's name into the search blank.  To see our other guides on glass, click on GUIDE INDEX.  If you found this guide helpful, please leave feedback by clicking the button below.