Vase

This unsigned Art Nouveau glass vase was possibly manufactured in Austria or Germany around 1900. The vessel has been blow moulded in clear glass to produce a tall, cylindrical form with a flared foot and bowl-shaped neck. Additions of green glass cabochons with trails animate the bowl, and an undulating rim completes the vessel.

Inspired by nature, the green glass trails and cabochons can be compared to slender stems supporting green buds or stylised foliage. The gaffer has worked with one shade of green in the execution of this design.

The Helmet Hentrich Collection in Dusseldorf has two similar examples and attributes production of the vases to the Blumenbach factory [1], also known as the Květná glass factory, Bohemia. [2] However, this attribution can be disputed.

In Stourbridge, England, Stuart & Sons produced a clear glass vase with applied green ‘peacock eye trail’ decoration, known as ‘Cairngorm’. [3] English manufacturers, Stevens & Williams, Thomas Webb, and Richardson also issued this type of design, experimenting with different forms and colour combinations. [4] Bohemian glassworks produced designs that resembled ‘Cairngorm’, but this glass is said to be comparatively thinner and without a polished pontil. [5]

Vanessa Tothill, February 2021

[1] Penny Johnson and Phillipe Garner, The Anderson Collection of Art Nouveau (Norwich, 1980).

[2] https://www.cervabohemia.com/en/history/ [accessed 28 January 2021];

https://www.dorotheum.com/en/l/5144809/ [accessed 28 January 2021]

[3] https://www.20thcenturyglass.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=275_285_398&products_id=5953 ; https://www.20thcenturyglass.com/glass_encyclopedia/victorian_glass/stourbridge_glass.htm [accessed 28 January 2021]

[4] https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/harrach-cairngorm-peacock-vase-420846856 [accessed 28 January 2021]

[5] http://www.stylendesign.co.uk/guidepages/estoz1.html [accessed 1 February 2021]