Antique of the week - Milk glass banana boat

I went through a period of buying antiques that I became obsessed with dishes on stems.  I would search longingly for cake stands, compotes, candlesticks.  Anything that had some kind of pedestal on it.  I just love the look of them.  I love to use them at the dinner table or on a buffet because I think that different heights of dishes bring such character to my presentation.

On one such trip to the Triad Antiques Market, I came across this milk glass banana boat.  I believe it is Doric Lace Milk Glass made by Westmoreland.  I love Westmoreland's glassware because it's not only elegant, but it's almost always thick and sturdy.  I can use it without fear of breaking it easily.  Anyway, I put this in my basket and went about browsing the store.  I eventually found 3 more banana boats exactly the same, but with different prices.  All were in great condition, so I bought the least expensive one, obviously haha!  Of course, if you've ever been to TAM, trying to remember where things are can be confusing because there's a lot of booths there.

A banana boat is simply that...a dish to hold bananas.  If they're not quite ripe, it's a great place to store them and it looks nice as well.  I bought some bananas this morning at the grocery store and, yep, they're now sitting in the boat on the kitchen table.  It's fun to have things like this that I will actually use...and these pieces were made to be used!  Of course, you can use it to hold other items, even non perishables...it would make a great mail holder!

On that trip, I remember I also bought a silver bride's basket and a crystal serving compote...there as a definite theme to my purchases that day!