Loetz Malachit vase, PN unknown, DEK I/200, ca. 1890s

One of the harder to find varieties of Loetz "marmoriertes" (marbled) glass, Malachit is made to resemble the carbonate mineral malachite. The shape is an early one, not currently published (that I can find), but the decor is known - for one, it is marked on the bottom I/2oo, along with the intriguing initials C.R. over a capital A. This decor (along with other examples) is also documented on the excellent new Loetz.com website.

One other thing that is really interesting about this piece is one of the cardinal rules that it breaks - that a polished pontil and a flat cut rim are never seen together. This is one of four or five examples so far that I have seen of early Loetz vases (pre-1898) where a factory flat cut rim is coupled with a polished pontil. Still, anyone would be right to be skeptical of a piece with this combination made after the turn of the 20th century.