Loetz Candia Silberiris Astartig

I was on pins and needles waiting for this one to arrive today. I purchased it on August 4th, and I was worried that it might not be perfect, or that it might not survive the shippers' packing, but I need not have given it a second thought. Double-boxed with new peanuts and bubble wrap, as it should be. My second example of the Astartig decor. This new one reflects more blues and pinks than my previous one, and it is not quite as bright, mostly owing to the fact that the surface of the smaller one is very smooth, whereas this larger one is more like the iridescence of butterfly wings, reflecting the whole spectrum depending on the type of light hitting it.

The second photo shows the paper pattern for this vase, shown in the Loetz/Series II book by Jitka Lnenickova. 1904 Production number II-1349. The previous number is a mirror image of this form, but the same size, which is 6 1/2 inches tall by 5 5/8 inches wide at the base. There is a seam that runs vertically down the inside surface of each of the shorter two tubes, meeting about halfway up the taller one. This must have been a real headache to create, shearing the glass into a calculated shape, and then joining the edges together to make the three necks, but the work did not end there...then they had to smooth the seams, create the pulls on the surface and lips of the tubes, and then apply the Silberiris finish to it. I can just image the cursing when something didn't line up, or if it was damaged during this process.

My old one was about 6 inches high, Prod. Nr. II-1829. It looked a bit like a gilded potato.