Posted 11 years ago
bohemiangl…
(646 items)
This vase turned out to be much older than I thought. The decoration and condition are phenomenal for a vase that's 150 years old.
The Renaissance Revival in Bohemian glass in the late 1850s and early 1860s reflected a great interest in medieval heraldry themes. Harrach was the first manufacturer to introduce this type of enameled glassware into its permanent production lines. Glass of this type remained popular until the very end of the nineteenth century. Customers included Lobmeyr in Vienna and Ludwig Moser in Novy Bor.
This vase is attributed to Harrach based on examples from the Passau Museum which were also published in From Neuwelt to the Whole World - 300 Years of Harrach Glass, edited by Jan Mergl. A pair of goblets with some of the identical design elements as this vase are shown on page 205, plate 231 (shapes found in design book AH9).
This vase - Dark green "Gemeingrün" glass, with coat of arms painted in vivid opaque enamels. 25.5 cm tall, Prod. Nr. unknown at this time. I have not identified the name behind this particular coat of arms, but the black imperial eagle on gold background lead me to believe it depicts a German family origin.
I always thought most of these Coats of arms where fanciful. ie not meant to represent any particular family.
the Swan here in Heraldic language is :-
fructed Or sinister a Swan roussant Argent gorged with an Ancient Crown Or
The Harrach family took their heraldry very seriously, Marty - it wouldn't surprise me if it were legitimate. (possibly a special order for a particular family). But, in a rush to fill orders, it could be possible that they would take liberties... but the elements are rooted in reality - I'm just not sure what to call the white bend on a red field with white dots on either side... it looks like a "divided by" symbol (if the bend were "sinister"! :)
I have a Harrach family heraldry document in my collection that has the seal and signature of Thomas Aloys Raimund Graflich von Harrach himself (dated 1728)... I have held off on posting it, because I hoped to get it translated - I may go ahead and post it anyway - it's so fascinating.
Ah! we need a heraldry expert ... it is fascinating all that iconagraphical stuff.
The crown half way down the swan's neck caught my eye too. I'm sure it has a meaning. Know little about crests but do remember that the direction of the angled stripe denotes legitimacy or illegitimacy birth.
That must be why the "Bend" is called a "Bend Sinister" when it goes the other way :)
OK Bohem. Give it up! You actually hung bait around our bunch(lack of a better word). Let's see it.
I'm off for a short run - will post when I get back. :)
If you are asking if you can get an extension of time, I grant that but limit this extension to 30 days.
Here you go, Mr. BB2:
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/108854-harrach-family-heraldry-document-signed?in=user
Enjoy!