I am posting some images in an effort to enable the further clarification of what I feel are the distinct dangers of using indistinct spatter decors as a method of attribution. The decor in question is the one which has been utilized in an effort to link certain families of shapes to houses other than Welz. This decor can be most easily described as an Oxblood Spatter. In examining this style of decor as a means of attributing glass, it is critical that all aspects of the decor, and production techniques of the pieces, be taken into consideration. This of course needs to be done while considering shapes at same time.
This Oxblood spatter decor is found in a wide variety of shapes, and also in some quite different production technique configurations. These differences will be what I am looking at here.
The first image being presented below is of two pieces which are not only the same in terms of external decor and colors, but also the same in regards to to the visible lining color. In both cases these internal lining "colors" are cased with a thin layer of clear. The technique on these is the same, and both unique shapes have been linked successfully to Welz production. The non trophy example shown in that image, simply confirmed to me that the shape is a Welz shape. I would point out that the form is quite simplistic, and one needs to be extremely careful when attributing simplistic, but "similar" shapes to the same house.
We know for a fact that Ruckl made a similar shape and decor vase as the right example in the first image, but both the base and exact shape are different. The known Ruckl example also has applied Rigaree that trails down the body of the example in a spiral.
The second image shows a group of Oxblood examples. Although a quick glance may give one the impression that there is a commonality between all of these and they came from the same house, that conclusion is, IMHO, incorrect. I believe there are at least two distinct houses represented in the group, and possibly even three.
Of the seven pieces represented in the photograph, five are Welz, and I believe that two are not. At this point I am unsure of the origins of the pieces not produced by Welz. Those pieces are the front left example and the tall piece in the back center.
The Welz examples represented here are of two styles. The initial pieces shown in the first image are ones that share a common interior color, which is kind of a brick red. This color is lined with clear. The other examples are Welz examples which are lined in a kind of orange/yellow interior color which I simply call Cadmium. this internal color is also lined with clear. Although the external colors of clear, Oxblood and also white are the same in both styles of this decor by Welz, the overall appearance is slightly different as determined by the internal solid color background which was used.
What we see in the two non Welz examples are actually a visual presentation which from the outside appears to present the same, or quite similar decor. In these examples the use of of colors is different. The smaller piece is actually lined with a white, covered in clear. This example may, or may not be Welz, and for now I am leaving it as unidentified, as neither the decor or shape can currently be linked to Welz production.
The large example in the back also presents a decor which appears to be quite similar to the identified Welz examples, but in reality it is uniquely different from the Welz decors. This example has a decor background of white, a thick layer which can be seen quite clearly in the image of the mouth. Internal to that is a layer of light color, almost a Cranberry or Rose color. This internal color has no clear lining covering it. This addition of internal color has no effect on the overall appearance of the decor as seen from the outside, as the white layer appears opaque. It appears to have been used to simply decorate the interior as visible at the mouth of the piece. This particular technique is certainly not unique to Czech production, but it is not a technique that has been identified, at least yet, as a production or design technique used by Welz. This example also has traces of what I refer to as Cadmium in the decor, but in this case it is mixed with the other colors to create the decor. In the case of the Welz production, the Cadmium is used as a background color which shows between the Oxblood and the white.
The third and fourth images show this large example alone, and also a detail of the internal layers and colors.
I hope my explanation here is clear.....
Craig