Cut-glass Family Heirloom

For this week's Table Top Tuesday at Marty's A Stroll Thru Life I am showing a beautiful cut-glass platter that belonged to my husband's great-aunt.  She had an enormous collection of cut glass stored in glass cabinets that lined her living and dining rooms.  After she died, her children kept some pieces, and the rest went to antique dealers.  A few years later, my in-laws were browsing in an antique shop and spotted this piece, which they recognized from her collection.  They purchased it and enjoyed it for many years.  My mother-in-law passed away two years ago, and my father-in-law has just moved into an independent living apartment, so he gave us this stunning piece.

The photo hardly does it justice -- there must be a knack to photographing cut glass!  The design is incredibly detailed, and when the sun shines into my dining room in the afternoons, there are rainbows everywhere!  Here's another shot that might be a bit better. 

Is it a platter?  A shallow bowl?  I need to learn more about cut glass!  To give you an idea of the size of the piece, here it is in the center of my dining room table.

Needless to say, we are thrilled to be the third generation to own this remarkable heirloom!  Thank you for stopping by -- and don't forget to go see all the wonderful table tops at Marty's A Stroll Thru Life.