Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: Anik R on May 15, 2018, 06:40:50 PM
-
Hello all,
I've got a fabulously strange pulegoso vase which I'm hoping someone can help me out with. It came my way from the Czech Republic (and the person who sold it to me got it from Fischer's).
Height: 21cm
Weight: 1537g
The walls are very thick and the piece is cased in a thin layer of clear glass. It looks old, made in the same style (with the same little black sooty inclusions) as my 1940s Skrdlovice pieces. The base, however, is perfectly flat, without a smooth round indent from the pontil.
When I purchased it, I was pretty darn sure it's a pre-1950s piece, and likely Czechoslovakian. However, when I was preparing the vase to photograph, I noticed it had something written on the base. Very faintly, it reads: 1970 B
1970???? Who on earth could have made this vase as late as 1970, especially in the same style/quality that pulegoso pieces from Skrdlovice were made?
I find it so odd. By the way, you will notice the 1 and the 7 are European-style. The B is somewhat stylised.
Thank you for your help, suggestions, points in the right direction, and kind comments,
Anik
P.S. I really sorry for my sucky photos... such an unbelievably hard piece to photograph :(
-
And now, photos of the base...
-
:)
I can't decide if it represents a torso or a thing for doing massages. ;D
But the pulegoso is really good quality, isn't it?
The date is written in a style similar to some dates scratched on Benny Motzfeldt bits along with her initials, but I've just looked at the only one I have to hand, and the 7 does not have the continental bar across it.
I'll check my others when I can get Michael to bring them downstairs.
-
Hi Sue! Boy oh boy, I never thought of Norway (or Benny Motzfeldt) for this piece. But I've looked online for some examples of her signed and dated work, and it seems everything I looked at had an uncrossed 7. Also, the style of the B is different. (But I really appreciate the suggestion... I was super-happy for a little bit ;D)
By the way, when I look at the vase, I either see a bone or a ghostly figure.
Anik x
-
There was another maker at Hadeland who had the initial B - Gro Bergslein.
I have one piece, it is marked in italic script "Hadelend Gro." I do not know if she signed that herself or if it's a general script mark put on her work.
The capital G is written like a large small g, with the loop above the top of the line of script and the tail looping back over the downstroke.
It's not dissimilar to the funny B you have there, but not neccessarily like it either.
(pic below)
I certainly think it's something good, but I was thinking Beranek for the pulegoso at first, simply because I know they did it. It was the scratchy date marks reminded me of Norway and the matter of using white glass with inclusions and bubbles.
It's a minefield! ;D
-
Thank you, Sue! I'd be perfectly happy to find it's Norwegian... or Czech... or anything else for that matter. :)
Told ya it's a bit of a mystery! The date on the base threw me in a loop. I really didn't expect the piece to be as new as that.
Anik x
-
A generalisation perhaps but is it also possible the flat polished base might indicate Murano or Scandinavian rather than Czech maybe? or is that a feature found on most pulegoso anyway? I can't remember.
I'm sure Ivo posted a flat tray that had a similar effect on the flat polished base (iirc there was some discussion of pate de verre involved in that thread which might help if you wanted to look it up in search).
m
-
Thank you, m. I'll take a look at Ivo's post. Your comment is appreciated.
Anik
-
Anik hi, this is the thread - the discussion is all about whether or not it is pate de verre, but what reminded me was Sue's comments about Hadeland I think:
https://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,51120.msg344101.html#msg344101
Obviously the bubbles in yours are very different but the base finish similar.
Trying to think who would have been signing 'B' in script in 1970 ... hmm ... and on such an organic abstract style piece.
m
-
I think I remembered wrong about the flat polished base :-[ there are lots of Czechoslovakian pieces with flat polished bases - sorry.
It reminds me of a torso.
I've just had a quick look through some books and couldn't see anything that looked similar.
But it looks like a very good quality piece, and signed, so we will find the maker ... one day :D
m
-
Hi M,
Early Beranek pulegoso pieces from the 1940s normally have a coin-shaped indent in the base.
Robert (bOBA) suggested in a Facebook group that I look into the Austrian Beranek (Jindrich Beranek). I think style-wise, that would make perfect sense. Also, the stylised 'B' might actually be a "JB".
I appreciate the comments and help,
Anik :)
-
Ooh that's good to know. I thought of him but didn't like to say any more after my flat base/pontil mark error :)
At least a few months away from glass hasn't dulled my memory completely ;D
-
It's a really interesting piece, from an interesting time period. One we need to track down and find out about.
Thanks for showing and asking about it, Anik. :)
-
Very nice piece, Anik!
Regarding the Jindra Beranek question: I would think rather not.
Every piece I have seen by him so far (and that were many dozens) had a wide circular pontil mark, never a flat base. And though I have seen a few unsigned ones, I never encountered one with monogram mark, all were signed (J.) Beranek.
Sorry, can't help you further.
Michael
-
Sure Michael... go ahead and crush all my dreams. It's OK. :-\
Of course, I'm just teasing you. ;D
I really appreciate your input, Michael! I didn't know that about the Austrian pieces, so I think I can cross the Austrian Beranek off my list.
My mystery piece remains a mystery for the time being.
Anik x
-
We are all agreed that it is something good, whatever it is. :)
-
Ah, Sue my sweets, now I'm feeling good again. ;D
Anik x
-
The B of the signature is odd. It's almost as though it is a JB or an LB joined together. The start 'stalk' of the B is wrong if it were to be a single letter B only, it's too tall. And it doesn't look like a mistake to me even though the 1970 and the letters are slightly naive/not sophisticated looking. So I wonder if it was an I B or a JB but just not J Beranek ?
m
-
Hi m... I think a JB is quite possible (though not J Beranek). The search continues :)
-
Right - I'm just adding this thought. Most likely a complete red herring and I cannot find anything that might remotely make a link to the style of your sculpture apart from the initials.
But, for the initials Jaroslava Brychtová came to mind. For the style, nothing I can find. However, this is 1970 so maybe, just maybe, it was an experimental piece perhaps?
Then I found this book with her signature in it
https://www.abebooks.co.uk/signed-first-edition/Light-Sculpture-Stanislav-Libensky-Jaroslava-Brychtova/3026792799/bd#&gid=1&pid=2
and this is the signature page signed by her
https://pictures.abebooks.com/ORPHEUS/3026792799_2.jpg
and that J and the kind of wobbly type B well maybe not the B so much, but the J reminded me, so meant I had to say something ... just in case iykwim? Anyway, probably a complete red herring as I said, particularly given the style of the glass.
m
-
see above and
perhaps whoever made it was influenced by seeing alabaster zoomorphic antiquities?
Anik, even if this doesn't help, you might be interested in this article anyway - some interesting information on Czech glass 20th century history and artists in here
https://www.litvak.com/Press/19
Having gone through Jindrich's list of artists for the B's I couldn't see any other maker that might be relevant.
-
Thank you so much, m! I'm more than willing to look into every suggestion. I really appreciate your thoughts and the links.
Anik :)