Friday, March 7, 2008

Center Handled Server - Westmoreland Flower & Ray Cut

I'm particularly attracted to center handled servers, CHS for short. Sometimes you'll find them called center handled serving trays, sandwich trays and so on. The main point is they have a neat handle in the center and usually are round and meant to hold cookies or small cakes or sandwiches.

These are basically fancy little tidbit trays. They come in every color depression glass was made - clear, amber, yellow, blue, green, pink, red - and with satinized decorations, painted designs, cuttings, etchings, gold trim, and so on. Very pretty and lots of variety to choose.

This particular piece is by Westmoreland. We have a monograph published by the West Virginia Museum of Glass, bought on eBay, that identifies many CHS based on the handle shape and other clues. This slightly rounded handle top, plus the shape of the vertical section, are what led me to attribute this to Westmoreland. It most likely dates to the 1930s. The cutting style is older and so are the design elements.

We list this on our eBay store and TIAS store. Take a look!

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