A lot of sparkle for just a few dollars

The front foyer of this particular turn of the century home is large. Upon entering, one can see a large staircase to the second floor with openings to living room, den, dining room and a rear foyer. It is the hub of a traffic wheel to most all of the other rooms on the first floor.

Suspended from the 10 foot ceiling is this tiered brass and crystal antique light fixture that was not original to the house, but a proper elegant substitute for a fixture that had long been removed decades earlier.

Below the chandelier, the owners have a 48 inch round solid walnut extension table, circa 1860. There are beautiful burled walnut accents on the table edge and in the legs, but the top is rather plain

We were looking for an accent piece for the table that would merge the table and chandelier together as one central focal point and it had to be large enough to compete with the scale of the room.

We found the perfect solution at an auction provided by Gordon Hannigan Auction.

This early 20Th century punch bowl and platter is pressed glass, but has enough intricate pattern that light easily reflects into sparkling diamonds that simulate the light from the real crystals hanging from the chandelier above.

The bowl is large (13 inches) and sits on the 21 1/2 inch platter. That leaves approximately 12-13 inches around the platter as usable space for mail, gloves, etc. The bowl itself can be used for seasonal floral displays. At the time we purchased this, it was the winter holiday season, so we filled the bowl with various evergreens and then mixed it up a little with small red parrot tulips and twigs for some height.




Why we loved this purchase:

1. Cost. $30.00 auction price. No chips or cracks in either piece. We think we got it so cheap because of the size and weight (few people want those extra large items today) and that the 12 punch cups that originally came with the bowl and platter were missing.

2. Versatility. The bowl and platter can be filled with flowers, pine cones, Christmas ornaments, potpourri, and even punch or chips for large parties.

3. Design. The set gave us what we were looking for - massive scale, sparkling light to contrast the dark plain walnut table top, and something that draws the eye directly to the center of the foyer as soon as you walk through the front door.