Moses in the Bulrushes

Moses in the Bulrushes

A chubby baby lounges among a scattering of flowers on a base embossed with bulrushes. 5" long covered dish with a lot of opalescence, 19th century, not signed (although attributed to McKee)
Shown in the Newbound Collector's Encyclopedia of Milk Glass on page 76 where the value is listed at between $200.00-$250.00. 
This particular piece has gold paint in a stitch pattern around the edging of the base. 

Better view of the bulrush base.

There are actually 2 versions of "Moses" with some noticeable differences:

He certainly is a well-fed baby!

• Moses in the Bulrushes (photos shown are of this version)

1. Has a bulrush base.
2. The lid is raised about 1/2" above the base.
3. Not signed.

• Moses on a split-rib base (not pictured)

1. Has a split-rib base.
2. The lid is much more flush with the base, rather than being raised.
3. Signed by McKee.
4. This version is a little more difficult to come by.

I have a theory as to why this piece of milk glass is so hard to find: the lid is extremely difficult to remove from the base. Your fingers can't get any traction, and just slip off. To remove the lid from mine, I flip it over in my hand and pull up on the base; much easier that way. I would imagine a lot of the lids were dropped and broken. Just a theory.