Kralik Art Nouveau Iridescent Glass Vase | Bohemian, C. Early 1900s

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Description

There are objects that hold light differently than everything around them — and this Kralik vase is one of them.
… Read more There are objects that hold light differently than everything around them — and this Kralik vase is one of them.
Produced in the Bohemian glassmaking tradition in the early twentieth century, it carries the luminous, shifting iridescence that made Wilhelm Kralik Söhne one of the most celebrated names of the Art Nouveau era. The surface moves — pearl to champagne gold to soft violet — depending entirely on where the light finds it. Photographs simply cannot do it justice.
The form itself is a quiet marvel. The body is full and rounded, ribbed in gentle vertical channels that catch the iridescent finish with particular depth. At the shoulder, the glass opens into a dramatically sculpted tri-point ruffled rim — each lobe curling outward in a deep, confident wave, edged in vivid green that glows against the opalescent body. It is not a delicate piece. It has presence.
Applied to the front is a naturalistic floral sprig — thick, sculptural green glass petals and leaves fused directly to the body, themselves iridescent, catching purple and teal within the green. The base reveals a beautifully formed ribbed pontil, evidence of the hand work that went into every stage of its making.
Bohemian iridescent glass from this period is seriously collected, and Kralik examples with applied decoration and this quality of form are among the most desirable. This one has been well-loved and well-kept. See less