Moser Black "Hyalit" vase designed by Rudolf Wels, ca. 1922

When Ludwig Moser died in 1916, his sons Gustav, Richard, and Leo became the owners of the company. At this time, Leo Moser became the technical and artistic director, and he realized that in order to remain competitive, changes had to be made in production and marketing. Rather than small scale production, the firm would begin large scale operations and exports to other countries. As part of this effort, the cutting workshop had to be expanded, and the administration building had to be modernized. The young architect Rudolf Wels of Novy Bor was contracted to design these (and other) additions. As a result of this relationship, Wels was given the opportunity to design glassware for the firm.

Although Moser had done work for outside designers (to include Josef Hoffmann at the prestigious Wiener Werkstätte), Rudolf Wels became the first outside artist to work directly for the firm. In 1922, Wels designed a series of black hyalith glass pieces with oroplastic decoration, which drew on a retrospective look at the orientalist themes of the late 19th century - (dragons, cranes, flying herons). This vase is part of that series and is richly covered with acid carving around the entire body of the vase with no fewer than ten birds in a natural setting, all decorated in gold.

In subsequent years, Wels designed drinking glasses that were displayed at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris in 1925. In 1926, he created the "Animor" series of colored glass vessels with oroplastic decoration depicting exotic wild animals. He also designed numerous buildings, including schools, hotels, office buildings, and apartments. He designed film sets and was artistic director of four feature films in the 1930s.

Sadly, the stark blackness of his beautiful line of vases for Moser foreshadowed tragedy to come. In 1942, Rudolf, his wife Ida, and their son Martin were interned in Terezin before being moved to Auschwitz concentration camp a year later. In 1944, he and his family were part of the 7,000 inmates of the "family camp" who were killed in the gas chambers there.

It is hard to hold and look at this vase without thinking of what was lost, both culturally and individually, to the atrocities of the war. It strikes me that this vase represents what could never be taken away - the creativity, beauty, and artistry that came from within the souls who were lost.

sources:
Moser 1857-1997, published by the firm
Wikipedia