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Author Topic: Skrdlovice collectors thread, part II  (Read 332934 times)

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Offline rocco

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Re: Skrdlovice collectors thread, part II
« Reply #430 on: August 24, 2014, 02:37:01 PM »
PS I see that Vienna is now ranked the number one liveable city in the world. It must be all the Skrdlovice you've found there. But on that basis how did Vancouver make #3?

Vienna always wins that constest, but I wonder why -- Viennese love to complain about everything ;D
And not so much Skrdlovice to be found at the moment (just a Petr Hora set which was so cheap that it had to come with me), so that cannot be the reason either.
I found some nice Murano pieces, though. Have you seen those giant AVeM roosters I posted in the Murano section?

The decor of your Bohuslav Beranek vase seems similar to mine. Does it have the iridescence as well?
I agree that it looks like opalescent glass, but I think it isn't. I am totally clueless how the effect is achieved, I think it is a coating of some sort, but not a mere iridescent one like e.g. in carnival glass...
The ones in the Fischer auction seem to signed to the base; which may mean they were made for an exhibition perhaps? -- Robert may know ;)

Fabulous Vizner vase!

Michael

Offline Anik R

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Re: Skrdlovice collectors thread, part II
« Reply #431 on: August 25, 2014, 06:10:54 AM »
Not a commonly found Vizner, David -- great addition to your collection.  I can imagine it's a fantastically heavy piece!

Offline bOBA

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Re: Skrdlovice collectors thread, part II
« Reply #432 on: August 26, 2014, 10:41:22 AM »
Hi, I have no idea about the opalescent glass pieces, they could be small scale experiments with unpredictable coloured rods, I know some glassmakers have had coloured glass react under heat in unexpected ways, creating new effects, that are hard to reproduce as they emerged from colour accidents under high temperatures. But really, I do not know much about this opalescent series for certain. I was surprised by the Emanuel Beranek attribution by Fischer too.


Robert (boBA)

Offline langhaugh

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Re: Skrdlovice collectors thread, part II
« Reply #433 on: August 26, 2014, 11:35:52 PM »
Nice Hora set, Michael.

I've looked closely at my opalescent piece.  It does have slightly petrol-like sheen when the light hits at a certain angle, so, yes, hints of of iridescence. The opalescence varies throughout the piece, most likely because of the wide range of thicknesses in the glass. Some places where the glass is thick, the glass looks almost white.  That would argue against the coating idea as the effect is present throughout the glass.  This probably came out around the same time as Fratelli Toso's "Starry Nights" pattern, which was fantastically successful, so that would give a reason for the experimentation.

I checked a few definitions of opalescent and that didn't help much. The term was used to describe different processes in different factories. One was where iridescent and opalescent were synonymous. Another method entailed cooling a piece quickly with compressed air, then re-heating. And finally the effect could be achieved by adding bone ash and arsenic. I would guess Skrdlovice used the third method, but wouldn't want to for very long.   Interesting couple of pieces.

Yes, my Vizner piece is very heavy.

David


PS Michael, Vancouver fell from top city about three years ago, much to the anguish of the citizens.  I could never understand why it was so highly ranked, especially when one considers that the ratio of average income to average house price makes it one of the most expensive cities in the world in which to live.
My glass collection is at https://picasaweb.google.com/lasilove

Offline rocco

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Re: Skrdlovice collectors thread, part II
« Reply #434 on: August 27, 2014, 07:06:00 AM »
Thank you very much, Robert, David!

The attribution in the Fischer auctions comes from the fact that both seem to have a diamond etched "EM. BERANEK" signature.
Quite unusual, but not something I would expect to have been added deceitfully...

When I purchased my vase (online) I was convinced that it is opalescent glass (and the same with the Fischer pieces).
But I think I do see some very light scratches in what I believe is the coating.
And when I hold the vase against the light looking from the base towards the rim, there is no hint of colour or opalescence, just plain colourless glass.

What the effect reminds me of most is this Mdina bowl >> Link
It has a big streak of silverchlorides that escaped to the surface; looks like the same milky white, slightly iridescent colour -- and held against the light you see that it turns to a transparent amber.

Michael

Offline langhaugh

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Re: Skrdlovice collectors thread, part II
« Reply #435 on: August 29, 2014, 06:14:25 PM »
Michael,

My Bohuslav has a fairly worn base, but there's no indication that a surface application has been worn away. I also have a couple of Stahlikova pieces from around 1958 with a white layer cased in a light blue.  I'd call the effect opalescent, although I imagine it's a question of how you define opalescent. One possibility is that it's a process that Skrdlovice experimented with in a limited number of pieces over a couple of years.

David
My glass collection is at https://picasaweb.google.com/lasilove

Offline rocco

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Re: Skrdlovice collectors thread, part II
« Reply #436 on: September 04, 2014, 03:40:00 PM »
Though I wouldn't call the white layered Stahlikova pieces opalescent (nor my pink Zertova vase), this little vase definately looks opalescent -- even if the effect was possibly achieved in a different way than in "standard" opalescent glass.

Two pieces added to my collection, one good, one great, both Oliva :D

- PN 8307, 24 cm, topaz
- PN 7314, 31 cm, simply one of the best Skrdlovice pieces ever made...

Michael

Offline Anik R

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Re: Skrdlovice collectors thread, part II
« Reply #437 on: September 04, 2014, 06:02:09 PM »
The Oliva 7314 certainly looks beautiful in photos -- I'd love to see and feel one in real life.  That's a wonderful addition to your collection, Michael!  (But perhaps I would argue as to what is the best piece ever made by Skrdlovice. :) )

Offline rocco

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Re: Skrdlovice collectors thread, part II
« Reply #438 on: September 26, 2014, 01:57:26 PM »
Another lovely Vizner piece for my collection:
"whirlpool" ball vase, blue and azur, PN 7048/14, a little over 13 cm tall, 3 kg.

Michael

P.S. @Anik: Yes, very tough to say what is the best Skrdlovice piece; but the Oliva ranks very high on my list ;)

Offline Anik R

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Re: Skrdlovice collectors thread, part II
« Reply #439 on: October 02, 2014, 07:06:26 PM »
Lovely find, Michael...  I started off very much disliking 'azur'.  Then I decided I rather like it. Now I've gone back into the phase of not liking it.  :-\       But this is a great design, and a great shape -- it's more of an object than a vase. 

P.S.  For me, one of the best Skrdlovice pieces is still the Vizner 'egg'.  My three, along with my Svoboda lamp base and my silly Exnar animals are at the very top of my oogle, fondle and admire list.  :P    Then again, there are so many pieces I still haven't had the chance to see and touch...

 

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