Topic: Czech Glass by Sylva Petrova

[Frank]

Czech Glass by Sylva Petrova
This weighty tome landed in my hands in the last week. Published in 2002, it is the latest offering on Czech glass by one of the pre-eminent Czech authorities on the subject.

In her approach, Sylva Petrova has avoided the ball-breaking ancient history, which is dealt with in five pages. It is very much a cut-to-the-chase work, and deals with the period post-1945.


The five substantial chapters, illustrated as usual with photographs (mostly) by the major Czech glass photographer Gabriel Urbanek, deal comprehensively with Czech studio glass, from its naissance to the current challenges facing Czech studio glass-makers.

As a history of studio glass, it develops in much greater detail, her views in Bohemian Glass (Petrova and Olivie 1989)

What anyone buying a history book, whatever the subject matter, should ask is: "Who is this history for?" I'm not sure who this book is for. It isn't for the collector of the erroneously labelled "Royal" Bohemia. Professor Petrova avoids any discussion, in one paragraph, of the output of many designers, working for Sklarny Inwald/Sklo Union, and other factories.

In fact, one may feel that there is a reticence to visit anything that may be construed as proletarian. I understand that the Communist period was detrimental, taking Czechoslovakia, from, as it was under Masaryk, the world's tenth largest industrial economy, to a source of humour, about its cars.

Czechoslovakian glass did not become the butt of humour, and much of the industrial glass production, was not a joke.

Fifteen years after the Velvet Revolution, I was hoping, that the debate may have been opened on Czech design in the Communist era. Perhaps it is still too difficult to come to terms with the past.

What concerns me is that Pavel Hlava, much respected in the west, became isolated, (as did Jaroslav Svoboda), after 1989. The question remains, was Czech glass such a success because of the communists, or despite them?

This book does not resolve this question.

At £65, it is a no-no, for the average collector, unless you have thousands of pounds to spend on individual pieces. The Czech Republic's "Most Beautiful Book of the Year 2002" is for the collector of Czech studio glass, and the collector of fine typography.

That said, If you see a copy, BUY IT, it is unlikely to be re-printed and there are few available copies in English. It will not be remaindered.

Marcus

Text © Marcus Newhall 2005