Gorgeous Brilliant Fishtail Ice Cream Tray or Fruit Bowl – SOLD

Fishtail trays are some of the most unusual shapes in Brilliant Cut Glass. This one is exceptional with an unusual crimped edge the is shaped to the pattern. I have seen this pattern before and it’s always very well done – see this bowl for another exceptional example. Some people have seem to believe this is a Hoare pattern, but I have not seen any documented information to prove that.

The identifying portion of this pattern consists of four vesicas of hobnail surrounding a hobstar. This motif is similar to Blackmer’s Nordica pattern. There is another vesica which features three stacked hobstars surrounding on every crosscut with crosshatching and fans. The most impressive part of this bowl however, is the cutting at the center. Four small hobstars are in cross formation, in the center of them lies a tiny, perfectly cut hobstar. I particularly love how this piece stretches to fit the blank – with the large hobnail vesicase extending all the way into the corners of the “fishtail.”

I see absolutely no damage to this piece and there’s hardly a scratch to the surface. The blank is wonderfully clear and measures 16 1/2″ long,  9 1/2″ wide and 3 1/4″ tall. An identical piece to this one was for sale at the ACGA annual convention in New Orleans this year in excess of $3500. This is over $1000 less expensive – a true value for someone looking for an unusual tray.