Topic: Tango ? with cherries

[obscurities]

Anita, I believe the pieces shown on the page you referenced are pieces shown by Alfredo to give examples of "Tango" like pieces by companies other than Loetz. My guess is that the piece you are referring to are is an enameled set in the Tango style. He also shows some additional marks on the page indicating that they are not Loetz or Kralik pieces. A couple of the pieces such as the cups with two colors and a clear handle would technically not be Tango due to the third glass color.

Alfredo comments on the page that he collects functional pieces, and most of the examples there would not have been the types of pieces made by Loetz. Hence, he is compelled to collect non Loetz,Tango and "Tango like" designs by known and unknown Czech companies......  I think he is "revealing" to the world that he is not a glass snob  when it comes to his desire to collect.... Hence his revelation that he is a "closet" Tango collector...... and cute enameled pieces reside in his home!! 

Some of the pieces on the page would not be considered Tango by the strictest definition, but the pieces on the page share the commonality that they are "functional" and "Tango like" glass produced for everyday use.....

Craig

[TxSilver]

Your thoughts are the same as my own. I think we got sidetracked by the mention of Powolny. I was thinking about tango in general, instead of Loetz.

Glass like the salad bowl are often included on pages of tango glass. It is probably why people have generalized the tango description to include tango-like glass. Really, I prefer the stricter definition, since it keeps us from sliding downhill too far in our descriptions.

Something I wondered is if I was mistaken in thinking that the matte black was enamel and not a type of glass. I did not think so, but I have sometimes been mistaken about what is and is not glass. I have had pieces where glass looked like enamel, ceramic, and metal, depending on how it was prepared. I am probably just thinking too much in the wrong direction, trying to fit the glass to the description of tango.

[obscurities]

Anita,

I would have to see examples of what you are referring to as matte black, but I have had many examples where what appeared to be flat black enamel, was in reality very tarnished silver applique, sometimes appearing to be enamel, or painted black decorations.

Some experimentation through the years with pieces I did not really care about allowed me to polish the "flat black" to reveal an underlying silver design or trim. Much of this older glass has sat untouched for many decades, and as a result, what we see as "matte black" is actually tarnish.  It obviously depends on the piece, but I have uncovered a number of pieces actually having silver trim and applied decorations, that appeared at first to be in the manner of "Tango".

As I sat and thought about it, I could not think of any piece of Tango like glass I have seen that combined a gloss finish base color with a black satin (or matte) finish glass or enamel. Both have always been a high gloss finish if the black was actually enamel or glass.

You  see the same thing commonly on old Tiffin and Cambridge glass with the silver overlay on  clear....  After a while it is matte black design over clear glass..... 

Craig

[obscurities]

A friend of mine in Berlin has an extensive collection of Tango, and she is very strict in what counts as Tango. Enamel decoration is a nono.

If the enameling is the second color on the piece, then she is correct in calling it a nono. If on the other hand she is rejecting any piece as not being Tango due to enameling, then she runs the risk of walking away from a very nice Loetz piece, either decorated by them, or decorated by a contemporary on a Loetz blank......

Unless of course, she just doesn't like the decorations in general and simply prefers the stark color contrast and clean look of a great piece of Tango. That is my preference when it comes to Tango.....

Craig

[TxSilver]

I would have to see examples of what you are referring to as matte black, but I have had many examples where what appeared to be flat black enamel, was in reality very tarnished silver applique, sometimes appearing to be enamel, or painted black decorations... Craig

Craig, this is very interesting. One of my better tango-like pieces with the black matte had a silver sheen to the decoration. What you wrote would explain the sheen. Unfortunately, I do not have the piece anymore.

[obscurities]

The white 'frame' for the cherries is actually clear balls of frit.   

The term for the frit, is Coralene. First patented in the 1883 by Schierholz in Germany it was widely used in Bohemian glass, American glass and Japanese Porcelain and was highly popular for around 40 years.

[Paul S.]

hope you will all forgive an uneducated intrusion  -  prior to reading the foregoing I wud have thought that the subject was indeed referring to a dance.   However, having in the the last day or two become the proud owner of Ruth A. Forsythe's book "Made in Czechoslovakia"  -  and in view of the references to Tango from Czechoslovakia, I see that some of the opening plates of this book do contain images very similar to the subject under discussion.   Perhaps to help people like myself who do not have experience or knowledge of this paricular subject, wud it be possible to indicate those items in the book that wud be considered to qualify as Tango.    Forsythe, herself, appeared not to refer to the ground colour of those pieces that appear to belong under this classification  -  she does however state that all pieces figured in the book are actually marked, and comments that all pieces refer to the period 1918  -  1938 only.   I appreciate, of course, that not everbody has a copy of this booklet, and it may therefore be considered not worthwhle to pursue this point.        cheers         Paul S.