Posted 12 years ago
bohemiangl…
(646 items)
On the surface, the similarity between these two pieces is striking, considering one was made sixty years before the other. The small bowl was made by Harrach in Neuwelt in about 1869. The larger bowl, from around 1930, was made by Wilhelm Kralik Söhne in Lenora. The older vase is made from dense alabaster glass, while the Kralik piece creates the same look with a cased glass bowl (translucent white cased in clear). Both have applied rims of a contrasting colored glass. The older Harrach bowl has a stand ring on the bottom; the Kralik is flat on bottom. Both have polished pontils, as the application of the rims would have to be done while the pieces were attached to a punty rod. The slope of the two bowls are also very similar. The thing that led me to pick the smaller bowl off the shelf was that from a distance (across the room) I thought - "oh, a neat little Kralik bowl". I was surprised to find that it was alabaster glass, and as it turns out, quite a bit older than Kralik.
Am I right in thinking the earlier piece could be classified as Biedermeier and that style can look more than a bit Art Deco!
I think so, Mike - other pieces in this Harrach line looked more traditionally Biedermeier in style (tall vases, ewers wrapped in serpents, etc). The bowl caught my attention because of its resemblance to the art deco bowl I had on my shelf at home. :)
Should be seen again!