BOHEMIAN GLASS COLLECTOR

Welcome to the Bohemian Glass Collector. There is plenty to look at, so take your time and enjoy. Please feel free to comment and/or ask questions. I might not know the answer, but I will help you find it.

Initially the focus of my collecting was glass produced by Kralik, Loetz, Rindskopf, Pallme-Konig and Beyermann but as my knowledge and awareness of others producers expanded, so did my collection. I soon began looking for examples of Beranek, Harrach,Goldberg, Welz, Lobmeyr, Dugan and Ruckl. I am sure it won't stop there!

The motivation behind this blog is to create a pictorial reference for collectors and to share information and links to reputable sites.

The knowledge needed to collect quality art glass can be overwhelming, which can become somewhat blurred by the number of misattributions and misleading information perpetrated by sellers from all venues. Much of this information is due to lazy research or greed. Not every piece of glass on the market is Loetz!

I started collecting art glass about seven years ago. Prior to collecting glass, I collected Van Briggle pottery. I still maintain a Van Briggle collection and a blog Van Briggle Pottery

Like Van Briggle pottery, it is the stylized shapes, the rich colours and the textures of art glass that had me doing double takes whenever I attended antique shows and flea markets. Aside from the beautiful shapes, colours and textures, what intrigues me is that something so fragile has managed to survive the activities of daily living in the homes in which they were treasured for the last 80-plus years. One can only imagine that stories that each piece could tell.

All pieces shown here are from my collection, and to the best of my knowledge all attributions are accurate.

LINKS TO ARTICLES ON THE INTERNET

Here are some interesting articles from around the net:

Loetz 1: From A to F

https://sites.google.com/site/loetzandglass/loetz-from-a-to-f

Interview with Eddy Scheepers:

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/an-interview-with-loetz-art-glass-collector-eddy-scheepers/

On UV Reactive Glass:

http://www.glassassociation.co.uk/sites/default/files/Uranium_Glass_sample_article.pdf

Antique Loetz Art Glass from Collectors Weekly:

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/art-glass/loetz

Great article on buying and selling:

http://reviews.ebay.ca/Loetz-Kralik-Rindskopf-and-Other-Bohemian-Glass?ugid=10000000012754175

AMERICAN or BOHEMIAN ?

I recently purchased this glass vase from eBay, and based on the pictures I was convinced it was Kralik Martelé.

Now that I have it in hand I am not so sure who made it. It does not have the weight one would expect from an 8” Kralik vase, and there is also that “something else” that does not feel quite like Kralik. Those who collect a particular style or maker of glass will know what I mean.

There is a lot going on with this piece:

it is 8”high and 3.25” base
the base is UV reactive glass
the décor is martelé
finished in a gold iridescent frit
it has a fired polished rim
it is light for its size

As I stated, there is something about this piece that does not “feel” like Kralik. The more I handle it, the more I am convinced it was not made by Kralik despite what some well informed collectors have suggested. As to who made it, I am suggesting that there is a possibility that it might have been made by Dugan or one of the glass companies Dugan was consolidated with during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

This is what I am thinking:

the martelé décor was part of Kralik production but not exclusive to Kralik. Pictured below is a piece of green Kralik martelé. Notice that the top of my piece and the Kralik piece are different. I personally have never seen a piece of Kralik Martelé that is UV reactive. A knowledgeable collector that I know made a similar comment.

frit was used by Kralik but again not exclusive to Kralik. In fact the frit used on the piece strongly resembles the frit on other Dugan pieces I have.

according to a knowledgeable Dugan glass collector, this piece has been offered in the marketplace as "Dugan" or Czech,” which, if anything, underscores the confusion surrounding this piece.

the same Dugan collector pointed out to me that all Dugan pieces she has handled have mould seams. However I have a Dugan rose bowl with no apparent seam. This piece does not have a visible mould seam. Does this completely rule out Dugan as the maker? It is worth noting that several glass companies including Northwood, Dugan, and Albany glass were consolidated under "National Glass" during the late 19^th century turn of the 20^th century. Therefore some moulds may have been shared and or exchanged to fill orders. The sharing and exchanging of moulds and staff has been recently acknowledged to have happened with the Bohemian houses as well.

the weight of this piece is surprisingly light given its 8” size. This is where the “feel” of Dugan comes into the picture for me.

the rim of this piece is finished in a way that reminds of the Dugan pieces I have.

I have taken shots of the bottom of the Dugan pieces I have comparing them to the piece I purchased. The new piece is on the top right hand side. Below this picture is a shot of Kralik bottoms that have a frit finish comparing them to the new piece. Again top right hand side.

In conclusion, what I have is a beautiful piece of glass.

It takes on a life of its own under display lamps. It looks comfortable with the other pieces that surround it. And it still manages to hold that little bit of mystique one hundred years later.

As to who made this piece, I may never know.

*If you have any thoughts about this piece, I encourage you to leave comments.

UV REACTIVE GLASS

I did a little playing here, photographing some of my pieces under ultra-violet light. I find the whole notion of glass and its reaction to ultra-violet light quite fascinating. It has all the mystery and wonder of one of those high school experiments. For an explanation of this reaction, follow these two links. They do a much better job than I would ever do:

http://1st-glass.1st-things.com/vaselineglass.html

http://www.glassassociation.co.uk/sites/default/files/Uranium_Glass_sample_article.pdf