Posted 13 years ago
bohemiangl…
(646 items)
Michael Powolny (1871-1954) was trained as a potter, and in 1906, he founded the "Wiener Keramik" workshop with Bertold Loeffler, and their products were sold through the Wiener Werkstaette. From 1909 through 1936, Powolny was a professor at the School of Applied Arts in Vienna. The Putto motif featured prominently in his works and is almost universally linked to his name.
In 1918, Professor Powolny designed a series of glassware pieces commissioned by J&L Lobmeyr in Vienna and executed by Loetz. Some of these featured the clear glass "Putti" prunts. This piece in "bright opal" glass dates to around 1936 based on the form and the tiny "Made in Czecho-slovakia" square mark within the polished pontil. I photographed it against a black background so you might get an idea of the subtlety of the color. There is an identical vase on display in the Pavilion Skla (PASK) museum in Klatovy, Czech Republic.
amazing piece the prunts are so different from the butterflies i expected
The use of truly winged putti on this piece is unusual for Powolny, as his putti for Wiener Keramik were more childlike and without wings. Maybe tastes had changed by the mid-30s...
I noticed that, too - so I've tried to be careful in my wording. Since Powolny was still active at the time this piece was made, I feel comfortable tying the design to him. I don't have any evidence to prove or disprove a Lobmeyr connection to this piece, though. I assume since it has the square mark that it was made for export.