Legras Series 89.000 Vase, Ref. No. 89.001, ca. 1920

I guess it's a sign of the times that this piece was mistaken for Czech spatter glass. It's used to be the other way around - Czech glass was (and is) mistaken for French, English, everything under the sun. At first glance, one could see how it might be mistaken for Czech so-called "end of day" glass, but the devil is in the details, and in this case, the devil is Legras. The big differences are readily apparent once the piece is handled - it is thick cased satinized clear over a mottled yellow, red, and green (mostly yellow). Fire polished rim and perfect ground and polished pontil. The decoration of stylized vines is somewhat crudely done, as are many of the pieces with this particular Legras signature - abbreviated as "Leg" and completely overlooked by this seller (see photo No. 3). There used to be contention among collectors that this Leg. signature was not genuine, because the refined glass is lesser quality than the more spectacular Nouveau era pieces, but it has been found on known Legras forms in other decors, and it has now been found on advertised pieces, thanks to reprints found in the latest book on Legras, Francoise Theodore Legras, Verrerie Artistique et Populaire Francaise, by Marie-Francoise & Jean-Francoise Michel and Dominique & Jean Vitrat, newly published. In this book is a reprint of an advertising plaquard for Legras Series 89.000 - this very piece is shown as catalogue number 89.001. (see photo No. 4). It is a large piece - 13.25" tall, and it weighs 2 lbs, 4.4 oz (roughly a full kilo). Though the decoration is more spartan, the quality of the blank is still very good, and this is a piece that is better in the hand than it is to the camera.