Posted 6 years ago
Bambus1920
(53 items)
A small Kralik 'Aquagold' bowl from c. 1905 measuring 9.5 cm high and 14 cm in diameter with a smoothly polished pontil mark.
One facet of this piece which intrigues me is the sheer quantity of ash particles embedded in the glass (see especially picture no. 1). Could this be due to a particularly low grade of brown coal (lignite) in the furnace that day ?
I have a Kralik Aquagold posted here on CW! If I hold up to the light, it too has many ash deposits!
Kralik production was done using wood burning furnaces, and ash in their production is not that uncommon. They are not known to have converted to coal as a heat source.
On a side note, the Siemens Lignite furnaces did not burn brown coal directly, but instead burned a gas which was extracted from the lignite. The Welz production facility had 2 rooms which were identified in the facility layout as "Gasentwickelung" or gas production.
Thanks Welzebub for that information, I didn't know that Kralik used wood burning furnaces.
A follow-up question for you: did Kralik still use wood as a heat source into the 1920's and '30's ?
As far as I know, it is believed that they did. There is no evidence indicating that they converted to coal at any point prior to WWII. There are writings indicating that when Franz Welz toured Kralik facilities post 1900, he was surprised to see that they still burnt wood. By that time, Welz had used coal for over 30 years.
I didn't know that either! Thanks Welzebub.
My pleasure, Always glad to help when I can.
What a gorgeous piece of glass. It’s beautiful.