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| It's not only nuts that come from Brazil The fascinating story of the Fircone vase Glen and Stephen Thistlewood Original research and COPYRIGHT, 2005 |
| A few years ago, a fabulous, richly iridised, blow-moulded vase was reported that hadn't been seen before. Found at an auction in Philadelphia, its pattern, in deep relief, was of plump pine cones and it was aptly given the name "Fircone" by the owner, Alphonse Tvaryanas. A second example (like the first one, also found in the USA) was reported and for a number of years those two examples were the only ones the Carnival world was aware of. Then, recently, quite out of the blue, a small number have been reported in Brazil. Where? Yes, Brazil. At first we were puzzled by this, but our studies, with the help of fellow researcher Marcus Newhall, have produced a very interesting story that we think will engage the interest of collectors everywhere. |
| On the marigold iridised base of the first reported vase were the moulded words (in block letters) FRANCE and what appeared to be COTY. But hold on, if the vase was marked "France" then how come several have been found in Brazil? They're big vases, so it's unlikely that they would have been exported in bulk to Brazil. So how did they get there? We asked the Brazilian seller if he had any information, but he was unsure of the maker - yet he was able to tell us that he believed the vases were made in Brazil during the 1950s or 1960s. So what could the link be between France, Coty and Brazil? Our enquiries led us to the Saint Gobain glass empire. This conglomerate has subsidiaries all over the world; its beginnings are in France, of course - and one of its factories is located in Brazil. To lend further credence to this line of enquiry, the Brazilian seller (Eduardo) stated that he thought the name of the factory might be "Saints". With the help of Marcus Newhall (located in France) we were then able to unravel the history of Saint Gobain and its connection with Coty - and put forward our theories regarding the fascinating history of the Fircone vase. The story and all its intriguing offshoots are shown in this feature article. Choose from the menu [ Page 2 - Saint Gobain and Coty ] [ Page 3 - Inspirations and Designs ] [ Page 4 - Coty and Lalique ] [ Fircone vase photos ] [ Jobling Fir Cone ] [ Jobling and Lalique Birds ] [ Lalique and the Butterfly vases ] [ Home ] [ email Glen & Stephen Thistlewood ] All text and images are the Copyright of Glen and Stephen Thistlewood, 2005, and must not be copied or used in any way, in part or whole, without full permission |
| So who made the Fircone vase? |
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