Please Help ID This Return to Oz Green Glass Ornament

[OzReturner]

I also posted this question over in my thread:

Return to Oz (1985)- Fabricated and Real Props- Identification and Help!

The emerald / green glass ornament that ultimately becomes the Scarecrow. It is assuredly glass as far as I can ascertain. The top, bottom, front, and back are all flat. When it is in the process of falling over (and just standing upright), you can see what appears to be a round shaft going completely through it, almost as though it should be threaded or strung onto something. Maybe nautical, like some sort of rope rigging adornment? Inexplicable powerline addition, like those glass insulators they used to use? I have a strong feeling that it was not created for the movie, but is a found object. Also seems to be 4" tall, or thereabouts. Thoughts please, it's a very desired piece to add to my collection!

Any help is highly appreciated!

 

[OzReturner]

Anyone? I am virtually certain that this is a real world object. Any leads to point in the right direction?

 

[Aku]

With the hole running though it, would it be a Christmas tree ornament ??

 

[OzReturner]

With the hole running though it, would it be a Christmas tree ornament ??

Hadn't considered that, I'll do some searching

 

[Aku]

Purfume Bottle Ebay

Desperate guess, but very much a found object

<Updated>
Bottle

Look at this one. It has the similar shaft running through the middle. I think we're getting close

 

[OzReturner]

Purfume Bottle Ebay

Desperate guess, but very much a found object

<Updated>
Bottle

Look at this one. It has the similar shaft running through the middle. I think we're getting close

I like it! It may be a perfume bottle- the shaft might only run 3/4 of the way down, like in these bottles, and not all the way through like I thought.

 

[Rogviler]

If I had $100 to bet, I would probably put $90 on it being from a lamp or chandelier. Didn't have much luck searching, but I'm sure lamp parts have their own nomenclature and I'm not familiar with it.

Of course, what it really looks like is a glass bead for a necklace or earrings...any chance there's some forced perspective at work? LOL

 

[Moviefreak]

I’m thinking it is part of a vintage 60’s/70’s lamp base. Something similar to this….

 

[Moviefreak]

Or maybe a part off of a vintage candlestick lamp similar to these

..

 

[OzReturner]

If I had $100 to bet, I would probably put $90 on it being from a lamp or chandelier. Didn't have much luck searching, but I'm sure lamp parts have their own nomenclature and I'm not familiar with it.

Of course, what it really looks like is a glass bead for a necklace or earrings...any chance there's some forced perspective at work? LOL

Think you are onto something about a lamp, that would easily explain the shaft through the middle. Definitely not forced perspective, as Dorothy lays her hands on it. That would be some extreme camera trickery!

Or maybe a part off of a vintage candlestick lamp similar to these View attachment 1671848View attachment 1671849..

I'm more convinced than ever now it's a lamp piece. That second picture is extremely close to what I'm searching for!

 

[OzReturner]

Found these by searching for "vintage emerald swag lamp"

 

[scarf man]

Table lighter without the insert?
VonMagnum any ideas?

 

[OzReturner]

My brother even suggested it could be the decorative piece in the middle of a vintage trophy of some sort. Those things just get assembled with a threaded rod through the middle, holding all of the various, interchangeable pieces together.

 

[moviebuff5]

It looks like that piece of a lamp would be called a break.

Crystal Bodies and Breaks | B&P Lamp Supply

B&P Lamp Supply is the #1 source for wholesale lamp parts and lighting hardware. We offer reproduction antique lamp parts and antique lighting parts that includes miniature oil lamps, hall lanterns, and victorian style lamps and lighting, as well as parts for fixing or repairing antique lamps...

www.bplampsupply.com

Too bad the Wizard of Odz lamp hospital seems to have closed. They had all kinds of parts and it would have been great to find the part there.

 

[OzReturner]

Or maybe a part off of a vintage candlestick lamp similar to these View attachment 1671848View attachment 1671849..

I am nearly certain now this type of lamp is what I am looking for. The green one is from the 1940s, and seems like the right size. Unfortunately, with how many thousands of lamps got made, and not currently documented online, it's something I will have to keep revisiting over time, hoping the right type shows up somewhere. Thanks to all contributors, I will post here again if I ever track it down.

 

[OzReturner]

Very minor update. I just bought a brass bird that is next to the green glass. Using my (very) rudimentary photoshop investigations, I feel like this ornament is about 3.5" tall x 4" wide x 1.5" deep. That is all.

 

[OzReturner]

I haven't given up hope on finding this someday. I still have no solid leads, but I felt that I would share the research I have been doing, even though it has gotten me nowhere. At least it allows me to learn where not to look anymore.

The first of several things to share is the shooting script. These 3 script excerpts show that the original plan (or whatever) was for it to be a green jade pincushion.



I already feel like this is an absurd suggestion, and image searches have yielded me zilch, but is it even remotely possible the shaft through the middle held some sort of a pincushion material? I feel like a fool for even asking, but who am I trying to impress here? Might as well ask. I think it's not really worth considering, because the script also refers to the Gump's ornament as an inkwell (it's a perfume bottle) and the Jack/Billina ornament as a porcelain fruit basket (it's a vase). Obviously things change when the prop department is sent on a mission for supplies, and bring back what they can find. I just want confirmation that it cannot be a pincushion.

These Golden Book pages are probably based on the script, and were made before the movie was released- also making reference to a pincushion, but the illustrations look absolutely nothing like the gem we see on screen. From Dorothy in the Ornament Rooms and Dorothy Returns to Oz.



Same goes for the Collector's Card book.



So, it's a disappointing update for any followers out there. But I feel like all would want to see the research that continues on in the background. The hunt continues...

 

[KOMakesThings]

I think about your search every so often, I'm so certain we're all the right track with it being a part of a lamp or candlestick, it's just a matter of finding the exact one!

Personally I think it's pretty unlikely to be a pincushion, at least I can't fathom a hard surface like that being useable as a pin-able object. Even if there was some sorta soft material that ran through that centre shaft, that wouldn't give a ton of real estate to put pins.

I think you're right in that they likely just changed direction once the prop makers went out to see what they could find. It is interesting to see that they had a very specific object in mind at first... the scarecrow turning into a pincushion does seem fitting somehow.

 

[laellee]

Something along the lines of this, but obviously not a stubby. Also larger than this, the brass bird is 4 1/2" tall and I think OzReturner is right with about a 4" / 100mm tall gem

Vtg Emerald Green cut-glass lamp body spacer donut - smooth shiny flying saucer | eBay

 

[OzReturner]

Something along the lines of this, but obviously not a stubby. Also larger than this, the brass bird is 4 1/2" tall and I think OzReturner is right with about a 4" / 100mm tall gem

View attachment 1862928Vtg Emerald Green cut-glass lamp body spacer donut - smooth shiny flying saucer | eBay

Holy hell, that's a great find! I'll have to do some searches with those terms!