Vase

This unsigned glass vase with applied copper decoration may have been manufactured in Austria or Germany around 1900. Its linear surface pattern reveals the artistic influence of the Art Nouveau style on European applied design. The German counterpart to Art Nouveau, ‘Jugendstil’ (Youth Style), took its name from the Munich-based journal Die Jugend. Founded in 1896, Die Jugend featured illustrations by Secessionist artists and designers who identified with the new aesthetic movement. [1]

Blow moulded in green glass, the vase has a slender cylindrical form that tapers towards the mouth of the vessel. The rim, neck and base are banded with copper rings, and a symmetrical design in copper overlay ornaments one side of the vase. This decoration comprises stylised heart shapes, which are stacked in an alternating unturned – turned configuration. Ribs with diamond finials fan outwards from within each heart motif, creating the visual impression of a peacock’s tail.

Austrian Secessionist, Koloman Moser (1868-1918) made use of linear copper overlay decoration in his Art Nouveau designs for the Bohemian glass manufacturer Loetz Witwe. Although the manufacturer of this item has not been identified, this vase appears to emulate the commercially successful glassware of Loetz.

Vanessa Tothill, February 2021

[1] Mario Amaya, Art Nouveau (London: Dutton Vista, 1966), p. 124; Paul Greenhalgh, ed., Art Nouveau, 1890-1914 (London: V&A Publications, 2000), p. 290.