Brass (bottomless) vases.

Hello everyone.

A first time post from me hoping to find information on a couple of brass vases(?) I own. I acquired them many years ago without knowing what they were, I've just got them out of storage after a property move & decided to try & find out for definite what they are....

As can be seen in the images (before & after a clean) they don't have bases, they are both like tubes with three pieces of lead melted around the lower sides of each one to add weight & stability. I always imagined they were dried flower holders, maybe Indian but that's just guesswork, despite trying I haven't seen anything similar online but I'm probably missing the correct search terms.

13" 34cm tall.
9 1/2" 24cm wide.

Any ideas appreciated. Thanks.

 

Lamp bases? Drums?

 

It looks like they may have been made as bases for lamps, but not finished. Here are some examples whose lower portions that look similar -

http://www.leesantiquesworcester.co...ngraved-leaf-decoration-on-an-enamelled-body/

http://www.leesantiquesworcester.co...ngraved-leaf-decoration-on-an-enamelled-body/

 

They look like hookah bases to me, bases for a waterpipe.
The wide top is typical for hookah bases because the glass would sit on top of the base. And many of them have an open base because they only serve as a stable support for the hookah contraption.
People collect nice hookah bases.

 

This is a modern hookah, but to give you an idea how the base is part of the hookah and how the wide top is important, I circled the base:

 

A hookah base sold separately, as many old ones are:


https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/120...bbdaf198c%3A1206456554&organic_search_click=1

 

Thank you for your replies everyone.

The Hookah base looks promising, I'll see if I can find something similar in a search.

 

Now I see what you’re saying, glass vessel with solid bottom so no solid bottom needed on base. But it does look to me like OP “blobs of lead for weight” are actually where a separate bottom was attached, but either fell off or deliberately removed for some other use. Etsy link shows a similar soldered on bottom, though as you point out, not necessary with glass bowl. (The only hookahs I’ve seen were all brass, so needed a bottom to hold liquid).

 

the water is held in the glass on AJ's example............ what am I missing?

 

Good point, if glass has solid bottom then it wouldn’t need it on base. I’ll correct.

 

huummmm, I guess it is possible though, that the above pair...were not yet finished or a base is indeed not present,,

 

not so fast......blobs of lead...do indeed need to be considered......cuz....what r they doing there ????

 

at 13 inces tall....I'm starting to wonder if a hooka base is even correct....
the ones I've been looking at are much smaller in size ......

 

In my searching so far the Hookah bases I've seen tend to look like fairly solid heavy brass.
My two examples (which are dimensionally the same but different patterns) are thin brass that has the patterns stamped (repousse?) or hammered into the spun brass. They both have three lumps of lead melted in the bulge near the bases that are absolutely for weight & not the remnants of a previous fixing.
And they are made in three pieces roughly divided into thirds soldered together at the joints.

So I'm unsure about a Hookah base but not ruling it out.

Thanks everyone.