Topic: crackle water jug - Kolo Moser?

[Paul S.]

the internal photos made me think of 'down caverns measureless to man', and contrary to my first thoughts the inside pix are a little better than I'd imagined  -  anyway these pix can be viewed in conjunction with comments about the other seams etc., and I can only hope that this further batch of snaps fulfils what is required.
However this particular piece was made, obviously there was a mould involved somewhere - the flat surfaces and seams couldn't be achieved without one  -  now wish I'd kept the strap-handled version I had, but isn't life full of regrets.
Despite my interest in art styles 1880 - 1940 - nouveau, arts and crafts, secessionist, Glasgow School, deco - not really sure which pigeon hole this one fits, stylewise - the shape is unlike other Koloman Moser pieces in the above booklet, but since it's a design attributed to him, then we must defer to the experts.            I'd suggest it lacks artistic appeal in the sense that its a functional shape only, devoid of decoration, and looks to be made simply along practical lines  -  presumably pinched ice trap lips were a later innovation, but I'm guessing a bit there.

The example in the link from catshome showing the greenish tinge may appear that way due to manganese, but guessing a bit there  -  would like a uranium example ………..   anyway will keep an eye out for other examples, though they appear to be a bit thin on the ground.

Six pix - so two will appear on the following post. 

[Paul S.]

the final two...………..                    and I'm not doing any more

[chopin-liszt]

That's really pretty neat.  Thanks for the pics.

Mine is a right mess - not central, running down the point of the V, but way off to the side, about 0.5 cm away at the top; over 1cm at the bottom. This results in a squint, tall triangular section at the back.
It's lumpy and has deep gouges in it on the handle side.
The colour of my glass isn't great either. Slightly yellowy.

I've never been sure about mine. There are too many inferior features in it for me to hope it was anything really good, although when first trying to find out anything, the shape with the turned down rim did seem to indicate something.
The long hole down the centre of my handle is all wiggly. It would look daft with coloured liquid in it. 

[Paul S.]

It's unlikely that we'll ever know, but it might have helped us with alternative manufacturers and dates for varieties of this design, if we knew how widespread, by others, was the manufacture of his own designs.     Moser it seems had his own studio, so we have to assume he did actually produce this design in his studio, but as for whether he made all of them is very unlikely  -  here is his entry in Newman's 'An Illustrated Dictionary of Glass' (1977) :-

""A glass-worker and designer who founded a studio at Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary) in Bohemia in the early 1900s and made glassware in ART GLASS style.       His work included CAMEO GLASS with enamelled decoration and also some decorated with many crowded pieces of applied coloured glass.                   He designed iridescent glass, c. 1902 for J. Lotz Witwe (see LOTZ GLASSWARE).          He also made a type of one-colour glass called 'ALEXANDRIT', wholly unlike the ALEXANDRIT made by STEVENS & WILLIAMS, Ltd., and THOMAS WEBB & SONS.

Looking at his designs in my new Moser booklet, it's obvious that, like Dresser, he was keen on those elements of design that emphasized functional parts of a item  -  high hooped or angular handles and the reduction of a shape to necessity - he doesn't seem to have been particularly keen on simply repeating nouveau and its floral complexity.              The functional design of this jug must surely owe something to Dresser's passion for linear design  -  the handle that's incorporated into the body shape and the cut-out for ease of holding - nothing fancy.           This is a separate area of Dresser's design field to his Clutha range from Couper in Glasgow, where shapes appear to owe much to historic Roman or middle eastern shapes - a phase similar to that of W/Fs passion for copying Roman shapes during the late C19.

The pieces in my Moser booklet - presumably all made in his studio - are without any surplus decoration - most lack handles and when these are present they're functional and nothing more.     Large flanged rims also appear  -  I've always like that sort of thing  -  it's elegant but simple.

Presumably if Moser's designs lacked any copyright protection then others might have copied them, but we don't know who or when, but IMHO it's very unlikely that Herr Moser's studio made my jug  -  just annoying that we'll probably never know else it was.

Pix attached of a small slightly iridescent milk/cream jug  -  in crackle and with quality polished pontil depression  -  3.5 inches in height.    Pix a bit iffy - rushing again.