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The story begins with a vase in the 1979 (in)famous Ketterer auction catalog of an auction that was cancelled in its entirely after it had ended so that it could be bought by a private collector (who shall remain anonymous, though his identity seems to be widely known). For some unfathomable reason, that particular vase was burned into my memory.

The story continues with a dealer from California who comes at least twice a year to our local flea-market. He has told me he does not deal on or with Internet. And year after year, he brought a vase similar to the one I had seen in the Ketterer catalog. I bought other pieces from him (notably my "vagina dentata" red Tango, also featured on these pages), but never dared ask about the true object of my desire.

Until yesterday.

The price was right. I got it.

My educated hunch: probably Marie Waltl. Titania. Leaf green over Kaiser red. 6" tall; 4 7/8 wide at the top with a 4.25" wide foot. Unknown gre or shape design. My Ketterer catalog is not available at the moment, so I cannot offer a picture, but if you check Waltl designs in the Loetz books you will find two examples--Titania and etched Schaum-- of a vessel whose cup matches the one in my piece, but is attached to a separate stem. Mine vase is all one piece.

I do hope my memory has not played a trick on me!