Loetz Blue Ausführung 136 "ohne Auflage" for Carl Schappel, Haida, PN II-5254, ca. 1908

Ausführung 136 is a decor which is usually found with applied glass windings and silver glass coated "berries"; so normally it is easily recognizable. But as this piece and the documentation show, it was also executed "ohne Auflage" (loosely translated; without applied elements). Without the recognizable berries, it could easily be mistaken for the glass of another maker - Harrach in Bohemia, for example, or numerous Italian companies employing aventurine into their colored glass. The white enamel decoration is unlike anything Loetz was doing at the time. The marks on the bottom are in the same white enamel that the decoration is done in. Fortunately, the decor notes for this shape (PN II-5254) indicate that the version executed without the applied elements were made for the Haida (Novy Bor) glass refiner Carl Schappel. Furthermore, a check of several other PNs show that in just about every incidence where Ausf. 136 is executed without the applied berries, it was for Carl Schappel. This review also indicates that this decor came in at least one other color, but that will be the subject of my next post. Now, on to the glass...

The ground is a deep blue color with a heavy dusting of brownish aventurine flakes coated in clear glass. An up-close examination shows that there are several random irregularly shaped air bubbles surrounding some of the aventurine flakes as a result of the process. There is a bright iridescence that make these pieces a nightmare to photograph! This particular shape was designed by Loetz director Eduard Prochaska, and is found in several other decor executions. The designer shape made this one easier to spot, but in absence of a documented shape, one thing that sets the Loetz (and even Harrach) decoration apart, generally, from their Italian doppelgangers is the fineness and density of the aventurine layer, which on the Italian pieces is not usually so densely packed.