Stands approx. 10 ¼" tall, about 4" wide at the lip, 3" across at the foot, with a 4 ½" bell-shaped flare towards the foot. The artwork is a b/w rectangular vignette depicting a scene of mass celebration of the May 1st holiday in a Soviet town, showing a crowd of mostly young people singing and dancing in the town square in celebration of one of the most important political holidays in the USSR, the International Workers' Day.

The vase is in good condition. The artwork shows no significant wear or damage. Although the inscription below the vignette is partially worn off, it is sti

Stands approx. 10 ¼" tall, about 4" wide at the lip, 3" across at the foot, with a 4 ½" bell-shaped flare towards the foot. The artwork is a b/w rectangular vignette depicting a scene of mass celebration of the May 1st holiday in a Soviet town, showing a crowd of mostly young people singing and dancing in the town square in celebration of one of the most important political holidays in the USSR, the International Workers' Day.

The vase is in good condition. The artwork shows no significant wear or damage. Although the inscription below the vignette is partially worn off, it is still perfectly legible. There is a ¼" chip to the lip on the outside, revealing the inner clear glass layer. Two more tiny chips are to the left of it, barely visible and not reaching the clear glass layer. The line of gilt at the top is partially worn off. Uncommonly, the thin line below, accenting the bottom flare in the shape of the vase is not in gilt but in silver, and in excellent condition. There is a strange "dotted" scratch or scuff running horizontally between the artwork and the lip, almost completing the circle around the vase but it is barely noticeable and not too detractive.

The history of May 1st as a political holiday goes back to the so-called Haymarket Riot on May 4th, 1886 in Chicago, a confrontation between the police and the strikers at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company. The strike was conducted as part of a national campaign to secure an 8-hour workday. The next day anarchist labor leaders called a mass meeting in Haymarket Square to protest police brutality of the previous day. The gathering was pronounced peaceful, and the police arrived to disperse it after it was over. At that point, someone threw a bomb, and the police responded with random fire. Yet another gray area in the history of labor movement.

Please note that the medal in our last photo is for size reference.
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