Antique of the Week: Car Vase

As everyone in Kensington knows, Antique Row is one of the community's points of pride. Howard Avenue and its side streets are lined with shops specializing in antique furniture, rugs, vintage toys, used books and more. This large presence in the community sparked our feature, Antique of the Week, where we will showcase a different item or curiosity each week to bring attention to pieces from the past.

This week's piece is a Diamond Glass Company car vase from Prevention of Blindness. The vase dates back to the 1930s according to physician and volunteer antique appraiser Alan Spealman. The vase is made from Carnival glass, which contains a pattern with an iridescent shimmer." Car vases such as this used to be found mounted to the woodwork of Rolls-Royce and Bentley vehicles.

"This piece is exceedingly rare," Spealman said. "This is the only car vase I've seen in my life time with the original holder."

Spealman said that he has only seen three car vases in his lifetime, and out of the three this particular one is in excellent condition.

Because the Prevention of Blindness is a not-for profit antique shop raising money for prevention for macular degeneration, the shop has a need to move items fast. The price of the items sold at the shop are a good deal less than their actual worth, Spealman explained.

Through his research, Spealman said a similar car vase was auctioned off at $300, but that this item is priced as $76 at Prevention of Blindness.

Interested parties can call the shop at 301-942-4707 and ask for manager Barbara Galitzin.