Posted 10 years ago
IMASapp
(57 items)
This fairy lamp is from our undocumented collection. It is unusual in many respects, not least of which is the Oak with Acorn decoration. This decoration has many attributions, all without supporting documentation. I think I can discount the British attributions and focus on Bohemian glass houses. But, which one?
This lamp is cased in white with an embossed diamond design. The piecrust base plate is attached to the lamp cup. The Oak and Acorn decoration is clear frosted glass. The leaves appear to be hand formed but the acorns appear to be pressed or at least mold formed.
The following link will take you to an article written in 2007 soliciting information. It includes some background on the lamp and several examples of similar decoration on various shapes and in several colors. Since this article was written, additional shapes have been documented.
http://www.fairy-lamp.com/Fairylamp/Temp/Fairy_Lamp_Acorn_Decoration.pdf
Opinions and theories are appreciated. But, supporting documentation is priceless. :-)
I am loving your fairy lamp posts as, in common with many I am sure, I didn't know about them before.
Original documentation is difficult for lots of Czech glass as you are finding. I am sure there is more out there but we are a little limited with, for example, only a few pages for Kralik and a pressed glass catalogue for Rindskopf.
The secondary sources are learned and academic. But even they are subject to change and review.
Ian
I think all that can be said with confidence at the moment is that the acorn detailing is mighty similar to that on Scott's link to a recent post!
Thank you Ian, it was Scott's post that prompted me to include this example.
These decorations began showing up several years ago. For some time I thought they were modern reproductions. It was not until the fairy lamp showed up that I changed my mind. To me, the fairy lamp is Bohemian and not British. Some, however, may disagree.
Fairy lamps are indeed a niche collectable. I am drawn to them because of the infinite variety of glass and designs. After over 40 years of collecting, I never grow tired of them or the areas of research they lend themselves to. I post them on this forum to tap into areas of expertise I do not have. British attributions are pretty easy because of the documentation. Bohemian attritnutions are a bit more problematic.
Whoever made this also made vases with the same decoration - I have two, one in this same blue, the other in a butterscotch type colour. The combination of a satin finish with a raised quilted texture (rather like cut velvet satin glass) is quite distinctive.