Topic: Art Nouveau Vase Mystery

[Favrile]

Good afternoon, collectors.

I have a fatal weaknesses for art nouveau and jugendstil design - in almost all its forms. Mainly I have been a collector of metalwork, but in the last year my glass collection has grown. I consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable on the major factories and how to identify pieces that originate from there. Already, I have a collection that houses Daum, Tiffany, Loetz, Kralik, Legras and Harrach. I can usually make an informed and fairly accurate judgement on modestly priced pieces I see at online auction (traditional auction houses, not ebay)as to the provenance of a piece.

However, the origin of this vase I acquired a little while back still has me perplexed. It's a weighty and substantial piece (32cm high) that is very much in the art nouveau style. I am also convinced that it has age. My problem is with the signature. To me it reads 'Brantz.' I have tried this and many other variations to see if I can come up with anything online or in my books and picture files, but to no avail. I am genuinely at a loss with this one and would be very interested to learn the views of other collectors on these boards.

I have attached images.

It's very nice to be here, incidentally.

[chopin-liszt]

Funnily enough, I think I may have seen and handled that vase, in an antiques place in Dunkeld. (It closed, just recently.)
I was complately stumped by it. The chap who had it (he was my biochemisty lecturer, donkey's years before he took up antiques) told me he thought it was French, but I've never been convinced by his glass attributions. He tended to sell antiques rather than collectables, vintage or retro.

I'm afraid I suspected it was newer than the period you suspect, I suspected Studio origins.
Nice piece, I wasn't prepared to pay his price for what was to me, an unknown bit of glass, although signed.
(he had "proper antique" prices on everything.  )

I got a big fat nowhere, searching online too.

Welcome!

[ahremck]

May interest you

http://www.rubylane.com/item/134056-EdgarBrandt1/Deco-Edgar-Brandt-Style-Art-Glass

See also: Google search

[Mod: Enormous google url converted to text link]

Ross

[Favrile]

Early on I dared to hope it may be a Brandt piece. However, I was always under the impression that Brandt produced the metalwork for Daum, rather than producing glass under his own name. I also cannot see any photo evidence anywhere on the web where there is a signature on a glass piece.

I bought the piece thinking it may indeed not be period. However the weight, colouration and feel of it now persuades me that it does come from the early 20th Century. It's also fairly obvious that it was an expensive piece to make. The detailing and finish is not commonplace. Hence, I was tempted to take a punt on he £50 bid that won it.

But is it Brandt??

Thanks for the very illuminating replies so far. Much appreciated.

[flying free]

I don't see the sig 'Brandt' at all on your vase 
I see Bian te/g  I can't see a d or an r in the Bian bit.

And it could read Zian?

m

[chopin-liszt]

I had a mild panic last night that you might be my old lecturer - I did not mean to demean his attributions - nobody can be familar with everything in the antiques trade, glass is a minor area within that, and to run a shop, you need a general knowledge of lots of stuff, whereas I have a specialised interest in a small area of a small area, and I still have tons and tons to learn about my small area.

I was intrigued by the mention of France (as well as by the bottle - it was priced a lot higher than the price you paid). My brother has some fabulous lampshades he bought over there, while on holiday a few years ago, the style would not be inconsistent with this bottle, but I didn't have a photo of the signature on the base.
I'll ask him to have a look and see if he thinks it could be the same maker.
It is somebody contemporary - and although my brother would love more lamps and shades, they're way out of his price league now. 

[chopin-liszt]

The signature stumped me - when I first saw it in the cabinet, I suspected Lazlo, but it's not his mark.
But it is a heavy and substantial piece, very much like Lazlo's work, when you've got hold of it. 

[flying free]

and I was thinking Romanian possibly  but didn't want to mention it in case I was way off,   but then I came around to thinking it might be contemporary Czech - partly because of the rim maybe and something about the glass perhaps, the pulls on the glass etc.  I think it could be more contemporary Czech piece.

m

[Favrile]

Sue and M: thank you for these insights.

It really is a puzzle. I don't think it is a contemporary Czech piece (I have owned several of these): the base, the colour and the shape of the rim etc all indicate an older piece. From whence it comes, however, I have no idea. The gathered, twisted blue swags at the base are not commonly seen, although one fellow enthusiast suggested that it has a lot in common with some Steuben pieces that have similar applied tooling. I am not persuaded by this either.

It's an imposing piece and I am happy to have it in my collection but the inability to tell that much about its origins continues to frustrate me. However, that's part of the joy of collecting. Recent research has enabled me to chance upon more obscure Czech makers than I otherwise would have done - so it all adds to the store of knowledge.

Thank you for your comments.

[chopin-liszt]

A great piece of glass is a great piece of glass, no matter where it was made or who by or when.
Perhaps we'll find out eventually, (we don't ever give up here ). meanwhile just be pleased you have it and can enjoy it.
I'd happily have paid what you did for it, just as a unique decorative piece.