Posted 10 years ago
bohemiangl…
(641 items)
Most examples of what we currently call "cobalt ciselé" are cobalt oil spots on a "Diana" green ground. I think this is technically correct (personally, I would call them Diana with Cobalt ciselé), but since 1973 there has existed in the MAK (Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna) a collection of sample tiles from the Loetz factory. Some of these tiles are photographed in Loetz Austria 1900, by Waltraud Neuwirth. One of them has a paper label that denotes "cobalt ciselé" (see scan in third photo). The fourth photo scan is from Loetz Bohemian Glass, 1880-1940, Volume II (Ricke).
The finish on this tile matches that of my new vase. This is cobalt ciselé on a cobalt ground. The enameled decor closely resembles the Dek IV/714 I posted previously, but the flower on this one is slightly different.
One of my favorite blues!
Very nice ... but a very delicate cleaning job ...
... can see the continuity of the iridescent layer just beginning to break up on the MAK sample ... heading toward papillon ... Makes you wonder how they ever produce round / oval spots on the surface without developing "stretch marks" ...
Frankly, I have always leaned towards the Neuwirth tile as being the correct example for "cobalt cisele" as I have not been able to find this decor name mentioned for any of the shapes that were produced in the Diana ground with cobalt spots. Yet examples of the Neuwirth "cobalt cisele" seem to be just as illusive especially for the earlier examples where this decor is most often mentioned. I have spent years researching the "cisele" decor and I still can't seem to get to the bottom of it conclusively. Mergl indicates that the Cisele decor name describes "an opaque application of variously sized silver-yellow granules" and then later used to describe the color of the spots. From the photos of your piece it appears to exhibit a slightly raised pattern rather than the iridescent graining shown in the Neuwirth tile. Is this accurate?
Deb, it is subtle, but it definitely has a texture to it... in some places it looks like the center of the tile - in other places it is more like the top. But, there is also the added dimension of blowing the piece out into a mold - stretching and compressing the texture. The tile is flat, and doesn't have that dynamic going on. Still, it looks like the tile had a gradient of texture from bottom to top that may have been intentional?
Hi Deb ... not sure of relevance ...
... the slight breakdown in the surface is similar to what would expect to see if you chisel by hand across the grain in a block of wood ...
If you chisel with a mallet will tend to get a more "chunky" / shaved appearance ...
In the factory the moulds were presumably all made from wood ...
Ok, it took me most of the day but I think I can now connect the dots using Rosa Maria Tomàs Roig? vase! Based on her vase which is PN II-151, the decor listed is officially "blau Cisele"! BTW, the old PN for her vase (I-8028) lists a "rubin matteiris with a DEK IV/714 which of course is the poppy flower. I wonder if these DEK's varied at times?