A Serpent in the Garden

This monumental Rindskopf vase is over 12 inches tall and about 6 inches in diameter at the base. The green transparent body is pinched and crushed around the center. The lack of a pontil mark and the ground rim indicate that it was blown from the top. The glass has a colorful metallic iridescence typical of Rindskopf glass from the turn of the century. An applied snake of glass is slithering around the vase from the top to the bottom. Snakes were a decorative icon of Art Nouveau, much like dragonflies, scarabs, and peacocks. I think the snake is cute, but for folks who don't like snakes, you can always turn the base as in photo #2 and pretend that it is a creeping tendril of a vine :-)