Posted 6 years ago
artfoot
(367 items)
The light iridescence on the surface of this vase gives it a vibrant presence but makes it challenging to get a good photo. It also makes me think this vase belongs in Kralik's "Iris" decor line. It stands just over 6" (15.4 cm) tall with a 4" (10.2 cm) diameter across the top. Underside is marked with the arched mark attributed to Wilhelm Kralik & Sons.
The glass on this piece is much more complex than it might appear - a lot of work went into this vase. The gather was (I'm envisioning) first rolled in a red-orange-yellow spatter of glass crumbs, smoothed into the surface and blown enough to dip the bubble into a bowl of blue and violet crumbs, again smoothed and reheated, given a casing of clear glass, then blown into a mold. Whether the iridescence is done right then or is a re-striking of some sort, I don't know. But, speaking of re-striking, the interior of this vase appears to be apricot-color but that color only extends about ½" (1 cm) into the interior. I'm guessing this was also accomplished by a re-striking process. The initial gather (vase interior) is a white glass.
Nice post -I believe this finish (acid or oxide) was a sprayed when the piece was hot, then re-fired. The pontil shouldn’t have the Iris finish. Finishes where the pontil has the same finish as the rest of the piece the finish was applied cold. The oxide or acid used to create the finish can change the surface of the base color from white to pearl, custard, rust or dark brown. I even have a piece or two where the spray was used without refining or in the cold process - in these they look matt-brown
Thanks Jericho. The pontil scar on this piece has been ground but not polished.
Thanks all for the loves.
I can confirm the inside custard finish is the same luster finish of the outside, it was also sprayed on hot then the piece was furnace finished. I leaned this when a dealer looked at an iris and thought the inner finish looked like nail polish and polished off using some kind of scrubber. The interior is white under that custard color. There also some matching shapes and decors that I own with the interior being Iris (like yours) and the other being white. What I’m not sure is why some iris interiors are darker brown while others are very pale onionskin colored. It’s either the application was light or heavy or the piece sat in the furnace a little or a lot of time.