Barbara, I wish I could answer you with more expertise than I actually have with regard to Walther. I have no "in depth" knowledge of the company beyond a study of their catalogues and ownership of a small range of their glass (from the 1930s-1960s).
You asked:
Is this an unusual type of glassware for Walther to have produced? It doesn't seem to fit in with the other type of items they produced.
My answer would be that Walther made quite a wide range of glassware - their aim, I guess, in common with pretty much all other companies was to sell. So they would have produced glass in styles and patterns that was in the public taste at the time. Hence they made some Carnival Glass (my primary interest) and Cloud Glass (their Oralit) as well as the decorated band range that we are discussing. They also made much pressed glass in tableware shapes (bowls, plates, covered butters, decanter sets, jardinieres etc., etc.,) that are similar to other pressed glass makers of the era. In fact some of their intaglio designs are very similar to Brockwitz and Riihimaki examples.
Their fabulous table centerpieces and vases such as the "Greta" are just part of their wider range. Many of these were continued into the 1960s (Sachsenglas) so will be more available than the earlier items.
I haven't seen as many of the Walther figure band vases as Gareth has (I must have led a sheltered life :roll: ). I can recall a pair in a local antique shop a few years ago which were £90 the pair. I also have seen a few at Ardingly at fancy prices. Mine was fairly inexpensive - we got it some years ago simply because we liked it and thought it was most unusual. I should have noted yesterday that mine is not amethyst, it is amber.
Glen