Duchesse May basket, courtesy Ian Williams

 Exterior of Duchesse, courtesy Ian Williams

 George VI May basket (above) and exterior (below) 

 Maple Leaf May basket (above) and exterior (below)

 Diamond Point May basket (above) and exterior (below), courtesy Lesley Smith. Confusingly - and like Duchesse - it has also been called Fleur de Lys

More on the George VI basket

We heard of this commemorative basket in 1990 when it was first reported and we were able to buy it 2004. They are found from time to time in clear flint glass (crystal) but in Carnival they are very scarce items, and only a few are known, all in marigold. The date of manufacture is clear as it is shown on the basket – 1937, for the Coronation of King George VI.

As the second son of King George V, he did not expect to inherit the throne, and it was his elder brother who was crowned Edward VIII when George V died in 1936. However, less than a year later Edward abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson; George VI ascended the throne and his daughter succeeded him as the current Queen Elizabeth II, and the rest is history….

The pattern is all exterior - but is cleverly executed in reverse so that it can be viewed (and reads correctly) from the top or inside of the basket. The design features a crown in the very centre, and the words CORONATION OF H.M. KING GEORGE VI 1937. Around the lettering are the stylized floral emblems of roses, shamrocks and thistles.

The design is cameo - raised up off the surface of the glass - and has been made with a "punch" to cut the design in reverse into the metal mould. This feature also adds to Turnbull being the maker - it was a technique they used on other Royal and commemorative bowls and baskets. 

The Turnbull discovery does not stop there, for on the same catalogue page was another mystery piece that has been variously attributed to Jenkins, Davidson, Davison (sic), Sowerby and others besides. The Hobstar Reversed flower or rose bowl (aka Oval Star & Fan) was clearly shown on the Matthew Turnbull page as Rose Bowl, Flower Block, Plinth No. 495 - shown below.

The rose bowl is the bowl itself, the flower block is the “frog” or flower holder inside and the plinth is of course, the black glass base on which it stands. It seems reasonable to think that the other items in this pattern - celery vases, butterdish and so on - were also made by Turnbull – although these shapes are not illustrated in the catalogue pages that we have, and also there are some differences in the execution of the pattern. Go here to read more on these items.

Another lesser known item can also be attributed to Turnbull too, on account of the catalogue page we found.

It is a seldom seen, footed bowl in a pattern known as Forty Five that resembles a hybrid of the Moonprint and Jacobean designs. A sugar bowl and a flared bowl were made by Turnbull in this pattern - Turnbull’s No.121, shown below and right.