My Ruckl Collection - One Vase Shape, Five Decors.

When I say collecting Czech Glass can sometimes make your conclusions less cohesive instead of more so with surprising finds, after enough time has passed and many more pieces are evaluated.

This is one of those situations, I have acquired these five vases in a span of four years. The pale yellow is the last one, I can divide these in three types, and two decors. There is no question the shape is the same, but the glass fabrication and treatment differs.

The vivid spatters in orange and yellow are siblings, they are heavy, have substantial clear glass fabrication and these are found in many more shapes in my Ruckl collection. Lidded jars and boxes, other vases, a basket, and a perfume bottle.

The pink spatter decor vase is lighter with a thinner fabrication and slightly shorter than the others. This pink combination is also found in an open posey jar shape, lidded jars, and more vases.

The white interior surface ones are the least complex, lightweight and with a surface glass chip application which you can feel, there is no glossy exterior clear glass layer. The orange one had a small round newish paper label, with a red circle and the word CZECHOSLOVAKIA, which got lost at some point. There are no other pieces I have seen or found yet in these decors, but have noted several more of the white and orange vase in this shape. There is a red spatterand white glass vase in this style which also shares three Ruckl vase shapes.

I'm inclined to conclude these five vases were made in the same glass plant, but at different periods. The 20s, the 30s, and the fifties. There has not been any study that I am aware of, where some glass shapes continued to be made during this long of a period. Especially with the upheavals of the economy, and the military chaos and the changing governments.

I have come across several Czech glass pieces with the old circle marks used as acid stamps but of later production. How can this be, simply expedient I would think. The glass gaffers and plant employees remained, in spite of all the other new business practices.

Of course one would have to assemble a whole lot of glass pieces and local information to achieve resulting information, based on something more concrete. In the meantime, its a speculative opinion which can be explored further.