Topic: Tango ? with cherries

[Max]

I was just about to put this vase on ebay (which has been gathering dust on the shelf above my computer  ) and wondered if it could actually be called 'tango'.  I don't want to bandy about terms that are inappropriate (heaven forbid!)...so, is tango a suitable term for this?

It's beginning to grow on me a bit, as the cherry motif is quite sweet (repeated three times around vase) and the top rim is gilded.  The white 'frame' for the cherries is actually clear balls of frit.   

Thanks!   

[TxSilver]

I think it is safe to call it tango, even though the black is rather weak. It looks like it belongs in the category of mystery Czech pieces. Does it have a mark on the bottom?

[Ivo]

I thought the criterium for Tango was the use of contrasting glass rims, trails, drops and feet- not mere enamel decoration.

[TxSilver]

I believe that all (or at least most) Powolny's tango pieces had an applied rim. Many also had painted lines and figures. The style was adopted by other houses using enamel only. I usually see these pieces called tango, though the word may not technically be correct if considering Powolny's pieces to be the true tangos. (But really to think of it -- I don't think that Loetz called their pieces tango or if the name was later adopted to describe Powolny-like glass that had two starkly contrasting colors.)

BTW, I prefer to refer to the pieces like the vase in this post as enameled Czech... if I know it is Czech.

[Max]

Thanks to both Anita and Ivo.   

It's orange though, isn't it? That's what most folk call 'Tango' on ebay I think.  Like anything with a bark appearance is 'Whitefriars'. 

There's no markings to the base and I really don't have a clue about this vase.  I think 'enamelled Czech' might be a good idea though, thanks Anita.   

[obscurities]

The pictured item is in all probability a Czech piece, but any attribution calling it Tango would be incorrect. Tango, by definition is a colored piece having two distinct glass colors as the design. Both colors need to be glass. It is not necessary for the rim to be involved in the second color, as it can be the handles, the rim, a foot, or stripes or swirls in the glass, or a combination of the above, as long as the glass composition of the piece consists of only two colors of glass. Although Loetz developed Tango glass it was manufactured by many companies and can be difficult to attribute correctly without a very distinct known form, or a recognized mark from a company such as Loetz or Kralik. There are instances of enamel decorated Loetz Tango, but in many cases the enameling was applied by other companies such as Hosch as shown in Truitt Collectible Bohemian Glass 1840-1940, where a plate from a Carl Hosch catalog shows decorated Loetz Tango pieces. Most pieces of decorated Tango I have seen or are familiar with are generally decorated in a rather simplistic fashion.

Additionally, the attribution of almost all Tango to Powolny is incorrect. It is my understanding that, although he designed some Tango pieces (a handful, most commonly exhibiting vertical stripes), he is not responsible for the decor. Alfredo Villanueva-Collado refers to the Powolny attribution as an "internet Urban Legend". 

There are other "two color" decors by Loetz which, depending on the style, fall within the Ausfuhrung Decors such as Ausf 162, 216 and 166.

I would describe the above vase as an enamel decorated Czech vase, manufacturer unknown.

Craig

[TxSilver]

I am a lot more comfortable with your and Ivo's definition of tango, Craig. With the looser definition, it is difficult to draw a line between what is tango and what is just an enamelled vase. Thank you for writing what it really is.

It is really difficult to attribute techniques. Quite often in Murano glass, a design is credited to a certain designer, but if one looks further back, the same designs will turn up in earlier centuries. I imagine it would be the case with tango. Do you know when the word itself was coined to describe this type of glass?

[obscurities]

Anita, I am not familiar with any earlier examples of stark two color glass like Tango prior to Loetz producing it. I have not seen examples of it prior to Loetz production, particularly in that region....  doesn't mean it is not out there, but I have not come across anything in any of the limited research I have done. 

I remember reading, but maybe I just came up with it in a dream, because I can't remember where I read it  , but my recollection of the decor is that it is named after the dance, as it is a dance specifically for two and only two, and Tango is a "dance" of two colors......  Never more.....

My doctor has recently increased my medication, so it may very well be a false memory or dream from the past where I came up with that.......  :chky: :spls: :chky: :spls: :chky:

Don't quote me on that.... the dance part that is......  The cat is out of the bag when it comes to the medication   

Craig

[Ivo]

A friend of mine in Berlin has an extensive collection of Tango, and she is very strict in what counts as Tango. Enamel decoration is a nono. Recently she concentrates on blue, yellow and green tango, to keep some colour balance as orange is the most frequent and easiest to find.

[TxSilver]

This discussion has made me realize how little I actually know about tango. There is a salad set at http://sites.google.com/site/loetzandglass/tango-glass--the-great-unknown about halfway down on the right side of the page. I have had a couple of pieces similar to this and they looked like they were decorated with a matte black enamel. Unfortunately, I don't have one right now so I can look at it better. I wonder if what I thought was enamel was actually something different. Maybe someone knows for sure how this type of glass is made.