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Posted 13 months, 4 days ago
vetraio50
(207 items)
This beaker is a mystery to me. It has a chip to one of the elements of the foot. When I first saw it the dealer had placed a very wrong lid on it that made it look silly. He had a hefty price tag on it too. I told him to take off the lid but he refused to take my advice. I gave up on the idea of buying it but regretted it later. And then to my amazement it turned up at a market a few months later in the hands of another dealer who had bought it as part of a "job lot". He wanted $15 for it so I handed over the cash.
When I got it home I had a look at what I had thought might be "schwarzlot", black enamel decoration. Instead I noted that it had been decorated in silver on each of the panels. The silver has tarnished and become black.
The flashed pink has been cut back to reveal six panels of alabaster glass below. The rocaille design of birds (cuckoos ?) is in silver relief rather than gold. The rim and the feet are cut and enamelled in silver as well. It has a very nice 12 star cut foot.
The beaker fascinates me because I recognize similarities in it to the pair of Loetz Dagobert Peche vases that I put on Show & Tell three days ago.
Those vases have no foot. But the panels on them are the inverse of the Biedermeier beaker above. The design in black enamel is placed on an alabaster surface and contrasts with the purple/pink flash. Peche's design is restrained compared to the elaborate scroll work on this beaker.
Even the colours are vaguely similar. The Nature theme is there in both cases.
I'd like to know more about this type of Biedermeier glass and ask for any comments you might have.
You have a fine Bohemian beaker. It's c. 1840-1855 or so. The silver is called "pasty enamel" decoration....they also did the same in gold. It's a thicker type of silver used during that period....later 19th c. glasses were decorated more often with thinner silver or gilt decoration. ( Most "schwarzlot" decorated glass[black] is from the "historicist" period, late 19th/early 20th c......they are relatively inexpensive copies of the early, rare, very valuable pieces that are seldom seen in the U.S. market)
The overlay( not "flashed") is actually red and is alo an indicator of mid 19th c.....some later glasses had overlay too but were much more often coated with less expensive "stained" colors rather than overlay...red and amber most often....others also.
The body of the glass itself is white opaline...again very desireable. The complex cutting of the foot rim is also typical of that period.
The Bohemian market is primarily in Europe..Germany and Austria...where they really know this glass well. The market has gone soft, both in the U.S. and Europe, on many pieces during the recession, like much of the antique market. However the enamel pieces,especially on opaline, have held their value better than some other types of decoration. That's partly because these particular pieces have a strong following in the Middle East as well.
Try googling Dr. Fischer Auction House in Heilbronn, Germany and check their online auction archive for opaline past sales. They sell a lot of Biedermeier glass. Just remember that the U.S. market and the German can be very different with regard to values but you can at least see a lot more in their catalogs than you would here.
Thanks for your help Tom. You've gone to a lot of trouble helping me with the description of this beaker. I've had a good look at Dr Fischer and another site recommended by a friend here in Australia "Ozmarty". Believe me these items are even rarer here in Oz than in the US. The Fscher site is invaluable.
I have already come across the term "Überfangglas", Weißes Alabasterglas, Dekor aus Silber-Emailmalerei & Fußbecher. My German is very basic but is good enough to be able handle Dr Fischer's descriptions. I enjoy this type of research.
You have given me valuable assistance in this project. It's much appreciated.
My friend here had also suggested the blog of a couple of "foodies in the Czech Republic 2010-2011." There are some items from the Passau museum that resemble this beaker of mine shown on their page: Bohemian Glass at The Glasmuseum, Passau Germany.
Regards
Wow....just wow.
Hey thanks Savoy!
Thanks to everyone for the kind comments: BeauxPurdy, FineLines, Hedgewalker, mark, lisa, PreyManta & ozmarty. And again to Tom for his comments and Savoychina1 too!
LOVE THIS BEAUTIFUL VASE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) I MUST HAVE MISSED THIS AND HOW DID I!!!!
Thanks BELLIN68!
I'm not sure if the decoration is in silver or platinum.
its very beautiful!!!! id say it has to be platinum!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
Beautiful!
Many thanks wolcott1!