John,

I'll post some photos as soon as my next door neighbor gets back from London. He borrowed my camera for his trip and will return next weekend.

I already asked the craftsman to try staining a sample of the wood base. He tried, but reported that the results in his opinion were unsatisfactory. Maybe individual collectors could experiment a little on the bottoms? I'll give it a shot with mine and see what it looks like. Any suggestions on the type of stain to use?

bobo