Posted 8 years ago
artfoot
(367 items)
I realize I may be jumping the gun a bit - I don't know that the little red vase is Kralik. The similarity in the handles between the two pieces is my only real clue but there is a pretty good likelihood that the blue vase is Kralik judging from the mark. What is most intriguing to me about the red vase is the Erphila label.
I have been familiar for a long time with Ebeling & Reuss as importers of mostly ceramic products and I've seen some glass paperweights with "Erphila - Italy" labels, so it wasn't too much of a surprise to find a piece of glass with an "Erphila - Czechoslovakia" label. What surprised me was the seeming lack of any online reference to the connection. E&R was a fairly large scale importer and because they bought in large quantities and contracted with many of their suppliers to have the ware marked with the Erphila logo, they attracted attention early among the collector community. They may not have been as big as Butler Bros. but they should have been big enough to publish a catalog or two. Have none of their old internal documents surfaced? Or am I looking in the wrong place?
Blue vase is 7 1/4" (18.4 cm) tall - red vase is just under 5" (12.4 cm).
There's a blue vase with white rigaree on page 64 of Truitt II that has a label 1886 ERPHYLA label (I think the spelling may be a typo). It doesn't help identity, just a pointer to a 'published' example. Interestingly there is another vase next to this which has similar handles to yours, looks like it has a very similar label and I assumed marked Czechoslovakia.
Thanks - I agree that the handled candlestick holder looks real similar and it wouldn't surprise me if that was an Erphila label on it as well. I should maybe consult my Truitt a little more often - I just hoped that I would find better information on the web where they've had another twenty years of investigation.
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php?topic=33984.0
Ebeling & Reuss is still in business in Allentown, Pa., perhaps they can be contacted ???
Thanks Kevin - I read essentially the same story here:
https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/16250021
where an extra note is added mentioning a couple of books that I have also had no luck locating yet. Talk seems to imply that the books are mostly if not entirely about the ceramics imports, and that no supplier names are given.
Ebeling & Reuss today retains its import license but is primarily a legal services company. They list two employees. I haven't tried contacting them directly. The only web contact they have listed is through Facebook.
I don't think it is a big surprise to anyone that E&R was importing glass from Czechoslovakia - I was hoping that someone might be able to connect this shape to Kralik (or any other producer).
These are great!!
I know I shouldn't be pointing anyone to pieces that are on sale - but just for research purposes - This is interesting.... A vase with both the ERPHILA label and definitive CZECHOSLOVAKIA Kralik acid etched signature...?
Hi Phil - please point - is there a link?
Hi Art
I think CW staff may have removed the link - fair enough... it is against the rules to show a link too pieces that are on sale.
So I've sent you an email - Subject : ERPHILA - just in case it goes to Junk...