Glass Pick of the Week – Cambridge Roselyn Footed Scalloped Bowl

This is a cautionary tale not to get overconfident you can identify glass!  I found this bowl on eBay listed as Cambridge Roselyn.  Ah ha!  I thought to myself, it’s misidentified and it’s really Cambridge Elaine and it’s reasonably priced.  I bought it.

The seller was spot on. I was wrong. This lovely etch is Roselyn, made 1951 to 1956, a little later than Elaine. The pattern is pretty with big flowers and lots of intertwining branches and leaves.

I’m not sure how Cambridge marketed this bowl originally, probably as a decoration or to hold fruit as a display. It is low enough to make a good container for a centerpiece.

This particular piece is the “3400 13 Inch 4 Toed Fancy Edge Bowl” per Replacements and the crimping was done by hand. I have two bowls (the other one is Elaine etched) and both have little different ruffles.  The bowl is partially flattened out and then ruffled. Here’s another view of it so you can see that the hand-made ruffling left it a little asymmetrical.

 

After this purchase I gained an appreciation for the sheer number of etched designs that Cambridge made, far more than you’ll find browsing a pattern guide. It intrigues me that some patterns became popular and well known today – think Rose Point, Chantilly – while others, like Roselyn, which are equally lovely are scarcely known. The only reference books where I found Roselyn were the catalog reprint books that the Cambridge collectors published; none of my elegant glass guides include this pattern.

I got interested in some of these obscure Cambridge patterns and have enjoyed looking for them at antique malls. On the positive side, when you find the less popular patterns they tend to be less costly than Rose Point. And Roselyn was made long enough that you have a very good chance of finding enough pieces to use. If you like flower etches I recommend looking at a few of these patterns, Roselyn and Blossom Time both come to mind as lovely designs you’ll surely enjoy.