Posted 4 years ago
kralik1928
(202 items)
These next few posts will be dedicated to one of Kraliks finest line of furnace decorated glass. With new information from Larksel I will attempt to compliment him with information and try not to get in the way of conclusions.
My first Marquetry vase:
see Pic 1.
It is white cased glass with applied powders and canes veining throughout, lastly it has three flowers applied one petal at a time, it stands 14" tall
About 10 years ago I saw a book in the Czech Republic about 1920's glass and I remembered a beautiful ruffled fan vase that was credited to Ernst Wald. My memory was faulty, It was credited it to Ernst SteinWALD. We all make mistakes and I wasn't too concerned with details of a book when "knowledgeable" dealers had already convinced me this shape and decor was certainly Wilhelm Kralik and Sohn.
You can get histories of both companies with a quick Google search so I wont go into that here. One thing is for sure there is evidence that both companies existed at the same time:
see Pic 2-
Notice the address of the Kralik factories... Ernstbrunn, I'm sure that is just a coincidence. In the adverting of Ernst Steinwald notice the vase on the far right. This is the first depiction of a 3-flowered vase that actually resembles Marquetry glass, with wobbly shape, foot decor and overall shape.
I have seen the Bambus Decor on Butler Bruthers (this helps with dating of the glass) but there is no Butler Brothers Marquetry offering. How could this be? since we have a great inventory of this glass in this country- and very little in the Passau Glasmuseum.
The Czech republic is very barren of good Czech glass- I now there were desperate times after the war and anything of value could have been sold off. There are well known theories the Czech people had a huge disparity of income when these pieces were produced, making this glass an export item rather than for local consumption.
Most compelling thing of all, the Ernst Steinwald & Co ad- it names Flowerall in the actual ad!
see ad here: https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/283784-ernst-steinwald
At least three Marquetry vases have been signed Flowerall. The ad also suggests that they specialize in luxery art glass; by looking at the add you only see cased- decorated glass, Marquetry fits the description of luxery art glass. Before I get ahead of myself there are still many scenarios where Kralik, and others could have made Marquetry pieces. If you compare them side by side you can see varying degrees of size, shapes, refinements and quality:
see Pic 3.
There could also have been collaboration IE, Kralik produced them and ES&Co marketed them to better than BB catalogue gift boutiques. Another pet theory is the migration of skilled labor, If you were on the glass line and knew how to make the decor, you moved to Teplic and started to make very similar glass.... there are many more theories
What I can contribute to the truth is an apology, I should have looked for more evidence and not excepted what the collectors, dealers (and some museums) were telling me. For expanding The kralik brand wider than it should go... So, Im sorry. Here is a post that I had to re-read and its important to remember:
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/222268-marks-too-many-to-count-and-many
Another thing I can add is loads of pictures; I sourced 347 images and 44 distinct shapes within 5 categories of glass. I am also copying the entire folder many times over and learning a lot- and will share a lot. I am categorizing them by size, shape, base glass, foot decor, veining colors, flower colors etc...
Lastly, I can show the marks that are seen on marquetry glass:
See pic 4.
This is not an indication of who actually made the glass since many more pieces are unmarked than are actually marked.
Marks are:
1- Arched Czechoslovakia. Believed to be made by Kralik but because of many reasons I started losing trust in that mark a few years ago
2- Small oval paper label. This mark is seen on many companies including Welz, Kralik (ES&Co) and many vanity items
3- Split line mark - seen on later kralik flashed pieces and baskets
4- Flowerall stenciled mark - only seen on a marquetry and is mentioned by name in an ES&Co add.... Also there is a confetti vase with paper label marked “flowerall” but I don’t know if the two vase types are related
I think the glassworks in Ernstbrunn has no connection with Ernst Steinwald. The glassworks in Ernstbrunn (Czech - Arnoštov) was founded in 1807. During the First World War, the operation of the glassworks was stopped. In 1924, Vaclav Hrdina (owner of the glassworks in Chlum near Trebon) resumed operation of the glassworks. The operation of the glassworks was definitively terminated in 1945.
The labor migration theory is my fav.
The glassmakers certainly migrated from Lenora (Kralik) to Teplice in the period 1890 - 1910 (about 20 glassmakers are mentioned). As Dr. Ln?ni?ková says - this complicates the identification of Art Nouveau glass - there is a considerable similarity of glass from Kralik, Rindskopf, Tomschick and Steinwald. I haven't read about the migration from Kralik to Teplice from later times, but I think it definitely happened.
Absolutely beautiful, and the details and information, thank you.