Posted 11 years ago
dlfd911
(134 items)
I managed to obtain a copy of the new line drawing book by Jitka Lnenickova, entitled "Loetz/Series II Paper Patterns for Glass from 1900-1914", though not without jumping through a few hoops to arrange it. This book has a lot more patterns in it than the old musterschnitte does (903 pages), although the old book encompasses a wider span of years. The first interesting find I have noted is this jug. For many years we have known that Loetz made some of these, and other companies copied the shape, but usually in different colors, even tango colors, and with different handle styles. Alfredo Villanueva made a couple of postings of his own jugs of this type. This is the first good documentation of them I have seen thus far, aside from an old black and white photo in the back of one book. The first photo shows my own example. The second is the paper pattern of it, with more info underneath. The size in the drawing is 200 mm (7 7/8 inches) high. My own example measures exactly 7 7/8 inches. According to this information, Loetz called this clear crackle "Kristall Krokodil". A fitting name, as the crackle resembles crocodile skin. Item D gives the designer. In this case, it is believed to be Marie Kirschner, rather than as previously attributed, Koloman Moser. The year of production for this piece is 1905, the production number is Series II PN 2824. Item E lists information obtained from factory invoices.
I just scanned another page that shows 4 more sizes of these, and added it to my photos. It mentions a couple more finishes used on them.
congrats on getting a copy!
I see the uncertain attribution to Marie Kirschner, but where's the dispositive evidence for Koloman Moser?
What you see is what there is. I have never seen any documentation that shows K. Moser as the designer, just seller statements on eBay and other online sites. The only thing I had seen up until now is a single photo on p. 585 of the musterschnitte (Ricke II). Jitka must have seen something in print, perhaps a notation on one of the paper patterns, or even something in an invoice, but this is just speculation. I don't really care who designed them, but without any documentation at all, I would no longer suggest Moser.
Is almost like a "New Age" version of Craquele or Astglas ....
http://www.weissandbiheller.com
Ah, I see, that's the same company name that was on the invoice.
I'm going to have a friend contact Jitka and see how she came to her conclusion that it was likely Kirschner who designed these.
A notation in the back of the book states "Weiss & Biheller was a branch for Loetz in London between December 1905 to January 1909. Carl Stölzl's Sons (Carl Stölzl's Söhne), a firm in the Habsburg Monarchy, used the firm's warehouse. The business contacts were stopped at the beginning of WW1 and were not re-established." Then it goes on to list the many Production Numbers that were supplied to them. It also states that the company closed down after the death of Walter Biheller on 12-27-1932, then became Weiss, Biheller & Brooks Ltd until 1950.
I love the red one......:-)
Jitka Lnenickova wrote back. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but she said she has seen no evidence to support the contention that Koloman Moser was the designer of these. During the period of time when these were produced at Loetz, Marie Kirschner was the primary designer there. KM was still designing glass, but for the firm Bakalowits.
I just replaced the photo of the red one with my newest one, the same size as the clear one, but in moosgrün, or moss green. Polished pontil.