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I've got a "Stag and Holly" bowl - is it a repro or is it genuine?
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Stag & Holly is a favorite of many and thus
is a repro fave.
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"Stag and Holly" was made by Fenton in Classic Carnival
in two main shapes - a spatula footed 8" bowl and a ball footed 10"
bowl. Also produced from these basic shapes were spatula footed 9"
plates, ball footed Chop plates and a ball footed Giant rosebowl.
However, a faked copy of the large, ball footed bowl has been made and
may catch collectors unawares. Many enquiries to the mailing list have
been made, asking how to tell the genuine article from the fake! Below
is a list of distinguishing characteristics that collectors report on
the newer, faked REPRO "Stag and Holly."Shape
So far, only the large (9 - 10") ball footed bowl appears to have
been reproduced.
Colors
In Carnival, the following have been reported: black, deep purple,
purple, blue, pearlized white (opal) and red.
Characteristics
Heavy, thick glass - much heavier than Classic Carnival versions.
What to look out for
The stags' eyes are round on the fake bowls. (On the old version,
their eyes are more almond shaped). The mouths are said to be "long and
not too pretty"** on the fakes. Note that on the old version, the
stags have tongues. On the new fakes, they have no tongues! Count the
berries - there are 21 berries on the holly sprigs on the fakes (24 on
the genuine old ones).
The fakes are thought to have been brought into the USA from
Korea by 'A.A. Imports' from around 1982. Examples bearing a small oval
and gold sticker marked "Made in Korea" have been seen. It is possible,
however, that other manufacturers have also produced the fake "Stag and
Holly" - so there may be other variations not noted above. Note that 'A.A.
Imports' also advertised 9" "Butterfly and Berry" bowls in iridized
purple and white opal.
**The late Jabe Tarter and Paul Miller
reporting in Dorothy Taylor's "Encore" 1982.
Additional observations on Stag and Holly
reproductions
Fenton's original Classic version. This is
the holly sprig that has one berry at the bottom and two
immediately above it, in the lowest grouping on the sprig. |
Recent discussions between Ron Lawrence, Jen Smith, Darrell Markley and
ourselves (the Thistlewoods), have culminated in the following observations
regarding further Stag & Holly reproductions. Ron contacted us when he found a
bowl that didn't seem to fit previous notes on repros. Between us we compared
his bowl and an authenticated old Classic version of Stag & Holly. We are now
able to state the following. Thanks to Ron, Jen and Darrell for their help in
assembling all these facts. Please note that these comments apply to the ball footed version
only. We are not aware of a reproduction of the smaller, spatula footed version.
The Classic, old Fenton STAG AND HOLLY
On the Classic STAG & HOLLY bowls, there are four sets of holly sprigs -
each has 24 berries. Further, there are two different types of holly sprig
according to the distinctive layout of the berries at the bottom of the holly
stems. On two of the holly branches, the 3 berries at the bottom are arranged in
this way: one berry at the bottom and two above it. On the other two holly
branches it is different, as they have: two berries at the bottom and one above
it.
The photos show the two types of holly sprig on the old Classic example.
Note - these photos are of the genuine Fenton old item.The various versions of the reproduction STAG & HOLLY
This shows the stag with both types of
holly sprig either side of it. |
It appears that on some repros, when you study the holly sprigs, you
will see either: (a) one stem with no berries at the bottom or (b) all the stems
with two berries at the bottom and one above.However, when Ron and Jen, with additional help from Darrell, checked
out their example, they found the following:
Berries:
Bottom of each sprig begins with 1 berry then 2 berries above it.
Sprigs:
One of the holly sprigs has 21 berries with 2 leaves on the bottom stem
before the bottom berry grouping. And the other 3 have 24 berries on each sprig.
Stag:
#1 Eye - The eye is small and round vs. the more prominent oval shape in
the authentic.
#2 Mouth & Tongue - The mouth & tongue looks like three oblong cigars
all at the same length vs. the tongue extending beyond mouth in original.
#3 Body - The body texture appears as a series of parallel lines whereas
on the old Classic versions, the stag has a shag effect.
Feet:
The ball feet are lightly mottled and/or stippled (there is a sharp and
clear finish on the old Classic examples).
Hopefully, these additional comments will allow collectors to identify
the various types of reproduction STAG & HOLLY bowls.
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