Posted 7 years ago
bohemiangl…
(646 items)
This has to be one of the earliest Phänomen Genre pieces. The paper patterns for Series I (1885-1897) are only published in part, but of the ones that are, this shape (PN I-1053/I) is the earliest one to reference a Phänomen Genre decor. This gorgeous rose bowl is in a fairly rare color, too - the ground is Mountain Blue, which is a pale aqua shade of blue (referred to in the paper patterns as "bergblau Phaenomen Gre 6893"). The silver-yellow iridescence is so thick, it almost masks the blue from the outside in photos, but in person, it's just amazing.
Hi Warren,
congratulation for showing this wonderful Loetz bowl and its associate design paper (Musterschnitt). Let me make a short remark onto the decor and the early PN. On a first sight following strictly the 'Katalog der Musterschnitte' Vol 2 of 'Loetz Böhmisches Glas 1880-1940' your bowl is indeed the very first example of 'Phenomen' Gre 6893, and the bowl PN=I/1053 was decorated by Gre 7729, too. Usually the naming of all Loetz 'Penomen Genres' is associated always with the production number (PN) of the item where it was firstly applied and therefrom it is a paradox to find the Gre 6893 on a design paper of PN=I/1053. Do you have an explanation for this contradiction, especially as this happens to be the case for other 4 early PN's like PN=I/1569, 1852, 2208 and 2272, too. This contradiction could be removed, when these 5 mentioned design papers were wrongly assigned by the authors of the 'Catalog of Musterschnitte' to Series I, but actually should belong to the later Series II (after 1900). The more plausible possibility might be, that the 5 design papers PN=I/1053-2272 were drawn and produced again, but later as the first PN=I/6893 (1899). Then your bowl only seems to be the first item of Gre=6893. Sorry for this slightly confusing details on PN's and production years.
Hello, Kai - thanks for those thoughts. As to the Series II possibility, we see now that Series II-1053 is already spoken for (a beaker/tumbler combination). I also recognize the possibility of an analog shape later in Series I, but this is hard to prove, as there is no corresponding drawing for PN I/6893.
It is not unusual, as we have seen, for a later décor to be found on an earlier shape - look at PN II-47, ca. 1900, where you find Titania (ca. 1908) as a listed décor and the notation "later orders". On PN II-47, you also find Titania written on the paper pattern, but it at the bottom, in a different hand, as if it were added later.
With this one, though - the PN 1053/I and the décor "berglau Phänomen" written directly on the pattern from the start. But, the Roman numeral I at the end suggests that there is an earlier version of the shape without the Roman numeral, which may have been decorated differently. This method was used often in the Musterschnitte; for example - PN I-6728, which has no less than twelve different versions, using Roman numeral suffixes all the way up to XI - each one with a different set of decors.
So the mystery is not solved completely, but it is not surprising to see one of the earliest documented phänomen genre decors (ca. 1898) on an even earlier shape.
Great find, Warren. I have the same issue with the iridescence making the blue look green on my Mountain Blue 6893 piece as well.
Stunning.
My view ... Max's statement about PG's being "our Tiffany decor" is amongst the most facetious (/ sarcastic) comments ever to go totally over the head of a journalist (/ reporter) ....
... have our time zones very confused as a result ... think it should be ration(alis)ed with a grain (/ 2) of salt ...