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Rindskopf |
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A reevaluation |
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Click on the numbers under each picture to see a larger version
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| 15 | 17 | 18 |
Another Rindskopf line is characterized by a network
of irregular raised threading on the glass surface.
I have pieces in amethyst glass with slate gray threading (photo 15) and light green with light green threading (photo 16- right, PMC 195, IV.328; left: it appeared as Loetz in a
Sotheby’s catalogue with a$2500/$4000 estimate).
As to vessels in clear glass covered with irregular silver gray/burgundy threads, a
controversy has arisen, for there is documentation showing Kralik produced vessels
corresponding to this description, but with a smooth, not a raised surface. Photo 17 shows a Kralik on the left and a Rindskopf (?) on the right, as
per Robert Truitt’s letter in CDG XIII, 1.
Two other Rindskopf lines can be identified through
shape and reference. The PMC, 180, IV.312 shows a vase in amethyst glass covered in gold
powder and irregular burgundy threading, its shape identical to the slate gray fan vase in
Photo 7 (mentioned in the PMC as a variant, in my collection, of the museum piece).
Also, a variant in light green glass is described (middle vase in photo 18). In this case the product resembles Pallme-König (which
should be called Elizabeth-Hütten, according to the PMC). The large opaque white vase
with amber loops in photo 18 is identical in shape to the threaded vase to the left in
photo 16.
The PMC 183, IV.320-21 illustrates two vases which had previously appeared as Loetz in German auction and collection catalogues from which I took my information for NATS (photo 17). They are identified as a variant on Rindskopf "Diluvium" glass (PMC 178, IV.308-09), whereas I had classified them as Loetz (the tall brick red vase appeared as Loetz in a Feldman, Geneva, 1990 catalogue with a SFr 5000/7000 estimate). A related line appears in PMC 181, IV.313.
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Through
shape another line can now be added: vessels in amethyst (photo 19). Vases on the left and middle: PMC 183, IV.319. The tallest appeared at Sotheby’s as an "Austrian vase" with a $1500/$2000 estimate. Light green (photo 20). Left: PMC 181, IV.314; right: PMC 182, IV.316, cafe-au-lait (photo 21) or brick red (photo 9, left), crisscrossed by a network of perpendicular silvery bands or green aventurine zigzag lines. They can be mold blown or hand-blown. |
| 19 | 20 | 21 |
| In NATS, I identified a
piece of Rindskopf as Loetz Papillon glass. After having been appraised of my error, I
noticed that, in the Loetz pieces, the Papillon decoration is applied directly to the
vessel’s surface. The Rindskopf piece had the silver spotting applied over a clear glass casing. I have never seen another Rindskopf piece so similar to Loetz Papillon; perhaps there was collaboration between the two glass houses (middle vase, photo 22). Papillon is not oil-spotting. Papillon spots have a metallic, silver iridescence; oil-spots have a transparent, rainbow-hued iridescence. Nedblake ventures the hypothesis that Rindskopf not only made vases for Loetz, but that the Loetz signature in some Rindskopf vases is original (3). |
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22 |
| A beautiful
Rindskopf line, illustrated as typical of their Art Nouveau production in photo 23 (PMC
184, IV.324) consists of vases shading from pink to aqua green, overlaid in clear, and a
continuous golden zigzag spiral band. Given the same color combination, I’d venture to say the small vase in photo 23 is also Rindskopf. On E-Bay there appeared a 12.5" version of the smaller vase, in ruby glass cased in clear with very wide diagonal silver bands. |
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This one was identified by W. Nedblake on plate 5.3.0483 (CCGI) | |
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Two other
lines can also be identified by through the PMC. The first, corresponds to 179, IV.311 (Persia?). I have two vessels from this family, identical in shape and decoration, one in red, the other in blue glass (Photo 24). Finally, the PMC illustrates a vase in "grating board" decoration (179, IV.310). I owned this vase and unfortunately disposed of it; however, I had taken a picture of its surface pattern (Photo 25). |
| 24 | 25 |
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On E-Bay, I
recently saw a vase in opaque green glass ( photo 20 ) with the same shape as the green
crackle vase I had identified as Pallme-König in NATS ( photo 26-these are most probably
Rindkopf ) The white vases with "martelé" decoration in photo 27 (appearing as Kralik in NATS) are most probably Rindskopf, given the characteristic inwardly cupped-mouth shape in the middle one. The glass in the Kralik vessels is heavy; the pieces usually have outer flower and fruit applications. Rindskopf pieces stress organic shape, the glass is much lighter, and the pieces have either a rough pontil or are blown from the top. |
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| 26 |
| Wes Nedblake identifies a line in
amethyst glass with deeply iridescent threading (plate 5.3.0488) as Rindskopf. I
have seen this type of decoration on vessels with a characteristic Kralik shape and
surface treatment. Dr. Jan Mergl classifies a piece in aqua-green with a spiraling silver band as Josephinhütte ( PMC 110; V.78 ). However, I have had it in the green to red characteristic of Rindskopf. Rindskopf vessels show some common features: I’d list the size (a preference for 13 inches); the feathering; the three or four-sided cupped mouth pinched inwards; the fact that vases with similar color and decoration appear in a hand-blown and molded versions; the appearance of the same shape in different sizes and with different surface treatments, minimal shape variants, and both hand blown and top cut versions; the use of green aventurine loops on clearcased orange/yellow glass (PMC 184, IV.32); certain glass colors, such as amethyst, aqua green, and opaque colors such as ivory/white, brick red, orange or sky blue. Once one gets to know Rindskopf glass, one learns how different it is from Loetz, Kralik or Pallme-König, However, it continues to be routinely marketed as "Loetz" by dealers and auction houses. I have quoted auction estimates to show the effect of mis-attribution on price inflation. A further source of information on Rindskopf, Loetz and other Bohemian iridescent glass can be found at Jeff Preston’s website: http://www. czechout.com. He can also be reached at jeff@czechout.com. His detailed explanation of the perils and thrills of identification and attribution must be read by anyone interested in the field. For the collector, identifying a piece, even if it changes attribution, is always a joyous endeavor. Let us hope the market reflects the newest, more accurate information. As to Rindskopf, identified pieces only constitute the tip of the iceberg. |
WORKS CITED
Adlerová, Alena, et.al. "Das Böhmishe Glass 1750-1900. Band IV, Jugendstil in Böhmen". Passau: Passauer Glasmuseum, 1995. [PMC-the section on Rindskopf by Jan Mergl]. Also, Band V: Jugendstil in Bayern und Schlesien.
Arwas, Victor. Glass: Art Nouveau to Art Deco. New York: Rizzoli, 1977.
Nedblake, Wes. "A New Focus on Rindskopf Glass". Czechoslovakian Collectors Guild International, 8, 3 (Autumn 1999): 2-6. [CCGI]
Villanueva-Collado, Alfredo. "All That Shines Is Not Loetz: Identifying Unsigned Bohemian Iridescent Glass," Glass Collector’s Digest XII, 6 (April-May 1999): 51-63 [NATS].
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