Posted 10 years ago
bohemiangl…
(641 items)
A recent wonderful find - a true mirrored pair of vases in an early Loetz decor that has been found on other colors, such as dunkelgrün (dark green) spreading, this pair appears to be Alpenrot (Alpine Red) with a white opal underlayer. The true color of Alpenrot is subject to debate - a link to the Alpenrot page of Loetz.com below illustrates the problem. I think that part of the problem in the different appearances of this color have to do with the color of the opal layer underneath. When found with a light blue opal underlay, the red appears somewhat darker (like a brick red). On this pair, the red is "verlaufend" (spreading) to a lighter color towards the bottom, where the white layer underneath is more pronounced.
The opal layer in this case is highly UV reactive. The decoration of white blooming branches is mirrored on the two vases, so these two have always been together - it isn't just two of the same vase. Unusual square opening at the top - fire polished rim, ground and polished pontil on both. Some light pencil marks on the bottom of one are just to light and too incomplete to read, so I'm leaving the Dek number as unknown for now. I think I've seen a single vase with what appears to be I/106 on bottom; perhaps we can confirm this, and if so, I will update with the proper decor number.
The Loetz.com Alpenrot page link is below.
http://loetz.com/decors-a-z/alpenrot
Great snag Warren, you almost had competition on those!
Although I'm glad they updated the description to include why they arrived at their conclusion, I'm not sure I agree with the loetz.com Alpenrot attribution addition to include the orange pieces like they show on their site. It doesn't really make sense that two completely different color schemes would be have the same moniker.
I guess it depends, Brian, on whether Alpenrot is defined as a decor, or a color. If Alpenrot is a specific shade of red, then it makes sense that there would be instances of it on different grounds (white vs blue opal), and completely covering the piece vs. spreading (verlaufend, as they say). If Alpenrot is defined as that shade of red on that specific (blue) ground, then so be it - but it seems kind of odd... think of the variations of "Diana", which is a shade of green - you find Diana oil spots on Ozon ground, colorless ground, and there is even a Diana colored ground. So I think it's an interesting discussion to have, and on Loetz.com we recognize that there is some ambiguity that still needs to be cleared up regarding Alpenrot.
Cool pair Warren.
Did you see the one on ebay with the same DEK, but it had Dark green spreading over a pink creamish base? If so do you happen to know if that "decor" has been named yet?
Hi Warren
Great pair!
After seeing Brian's post on Fb tend to favour the idea that it is Verlaufend and Alpen which are the opposites .... although another word synonymous with fading on descent would be better than overlaid ...
The Alpenrot being the raspberry red over blue ... rather tha orange ... they always were pretty precise about colors ...
Interesting debate!
Thanks for sharing the pics
Thanks, Steve - it is interesting - I'm particularly interested how the color of the underlayer affects the appearance of the outer layer.
Yesterdays - I did see that one. I'm not 100% sure, but I think this is DEK I/1o6.
Nice vases and great discussion. Thank You.
Thanks for the extra info.