I finally have a very small collection of Bohemian blue overlay glass from different periods and in different styles. This post is about my perfume bottle.
My research is open to correction because I’ve had to do a lot of reading German text and try to translate it ( Spiegl W., Glas des Historismus; Passau, Das Bohmische Glas Band II; Spiegl W. website documents; and various other websites) and where when I translate (painfully slowly e.g. what could ‘estuary’ really mean in relation to glass?) I often get a word seemingly unrelated to glass production.So it’s been quite a long process. Anyway here goes -
The bottle:
Blue overlay cut to clear
Matt wear to the high points on the base
Two ‘stones’ embedded in the bottom of the bowl of the rim
11cm (4 5/16”) tall by 8.5cm (3 3/8”) widest at base
Thick glass about 14mm (9/16”) at thickest areas where overlay is cut on protruding bands
The cutting is impeccable with all cut ‘elements’ divisible into or by 6:
- The base has a deep cut triple cross on it faceted leaving six double triangular panels. Each triangular panel is cut leaving a two layer triangle. Each triangle on the visible layer (that it sits on) is cut into a fan shape of three overlay blue triangles.
- The foot of the flakon is petal cut and is the first of three thick cut ‘rings’ protruding out from the bottle body . There are six ‘petals’ and, viewing from the side, each has a leaf and geometric cut blue overlay decoration with the two leaves set in a v format.
-The body and shoulders are cut in 6 vertical panels with the blue overlay left as the divider rib between each panel.
-Around the shoulder is a protruding ‘turban’ cut ring using the blue as a contrast and cutting through to the clear between each blue arc. There are 12 arcs of blue around this ring.
-The rim/mouth is bowl shaped and has 18 arc cut vertical ribs, cut to leave the blue showing on each with clear in between giving a striped effect. Just below this rim where the ribs join the neck, there is a protruding blue ring around the collar.
Date: 1835-1840
Having searched many hundreds of examples of bechers, flakons, decanters, vases etc., I believe the combination of the shape of the bottle, the petal cut rim of the foot, the cutting on the base, that the base has no central ‘stand’ foot below it, the turban cutting, and the panel cutting, all point to 1835 to c.1840.
But having looked up colour production for this period it seems to me the combination of all these elements in conjunction with it being blue on clear overlay, dates it to the late 1830s -
These are some of the identified examples from that period I have found:
1) W. Spiegl shows a blue over clear dated 1838 here on page 27 plate VI.1 (this is the whole document on coloured glass (extremely interesting) and you will need to scroll down for page 27 )
http://www.glas-forschung.info/pageone/pdf/farbglas.pdf2) From Neuwelt to the Whole World- page 108 plate 112 shows a Vase with blue over clear dated 1836
3) From Neuwelt to the Whole World – page 99 plate 95 shows a footed stemmed goblet in blue over clear and dated c.1835 (‘Museum of North Bohemia, Liberec, inv.no. S 1563’) also with a similarly cut foot.
4) And on page 92, two footed beakers are shown with the date given as ‘after 1830’.
And see also:
5) Dorotheum perfume bottle sold December 2013 dated 1830
https://www.dorotheum.com/en/mydorotheum/search/item-search.html?no_cache=1&search_phrase1=flacon&search=Find&id_catalog=0&filter_type_list=0&aucTyp=verg&search_type=1&search_phrase4=&price_from=0&price_to=0&auctions=&id_language=1&firstLot=0Maker:
I have found numerous examples of various shapes in clear or coloured glass that have the same or similar cross cut base and/or petal cut foot or the ‘turban’ cutting or designs with leaf cut shapes. Many of these are unidentified. But many are also identified as ‘probably by’ or firmly id’d as being from Adolfhutte bei Winterberg, Neuwelt , Annathal bei Schuttenhofen, Egermann and Josephinehutte.
However I have only found one maker who appears to have used all these elements, and who also made that particular curved rib rim or neck - and that is Annathal bei Schuttenhofen.
Examples that are firmly identified as Annathal bei Schuttenhofen can be seen in (I can’t add photos from the books unfortunately but I do have both the books) -
1) Das Bohmische Glas Band II page 162 plate II.238
Two matching perfume flakons in White alabaster glass with a pink overlay and decorated with enamel flowers, in a similar design shape and with a leaf design around the base and with the curved rib top rim. They also have the narrow finely cut and overlaid ring band around the neck at the bottom of the curved ribs bowl, as mine does. (Neither have their stoppers )
These are dated c.1840 (The description of these in the book makes reference to the piece below)
2) Glas des Historismus, Spiegl W., page 34 plate 26
A perfume bottle in overlay glass (pink on alabaster) decorated all over with flowers in a different shape but also has a curved rib rim. The stopper is made as a cornucopia shape.
Dated c.1845 – in the Kunstgewerbemuseum Prag
So in summary:
I believe my bottle dates to the mid to late 1830s and is from Annathal bei Schuttenhofen.
All the visual examples of glass that I have been able to find for Annathal bei Schuttenhofen appear to be overlay opaline (alabasterglas) apart from one ‘vermutlich Annathal’ uranium green clear glass becher (see v shaped leaf design on it as well)
http://www.auctions-fischer.de/catalogues/online-catalogues/210-european-glass-studio-glass.html?L=1&kategorie=102&artikel=26510&cHash=412edc4ccbSo I hope my perfume flakon might be an unusual (have searched thousands of examples of perfumes etc and not found any others the same or similar apart from those mentioned above) example of their earlier output.
I believe Johann Loetz was the glass manufacturer at Annathal bei Schuttenhofen during this period according to the following link (see below).
For anyone interested, the link makes difficult reading because I took the translated version, however this appears to be the history of Loetz :
http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/xsfz53846.html&prev=search In addition – unrelated because these are English cut perfumes, but they are designs from c1824, are rare, and I thought someone reading this might be interested to see them:
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O168073/design-unknown/http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O168072/design-unknown/Thanks for reading
m
Topic: Biedermeier Bohemian blue overlay on clear perfume flakon early 1800s (Read 2285 times)
