Imre Jakabffy (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 8. (Budapest, 1984)
VARGA, Vera: Art Nouveau art glasses
3 For the signing of glassworks we find examples from very early times until today, these marks or signatures are technically made by moulding, scratching or engraving. One of the earliest marks is the signature of the Ennion workshop, in the 1st century A. D. (Ennion worked at Sidon and later in Italy.) Other early Greek and Roman marks are those of Aristeas, Neikais, Jason. — In the 16—17 centuries some Bohemian and German glass decorators signed their works: Caspar Lechmann, Heinrich Jäger, Elias Rosbach. At that time in the Netherlands Frans Greenwood and David Wolff, in Austria Anton Kothgasser marked their works. 4 In the case of René Lalique the signature of pressed and carved glass is different, in some cases the Loetz factory also uses different signatures. Speeking about factory products, beside the mark of the factory, the sign of the designer is often given. For example; the designers of the Loetz factory: Adolf Beckert, Maria Kirschner and the leading designer of the Loetz factory, Frederick Carder always signed their works. 5 A vividly characteristic example is the activity of the Nabis group (Rippl-Rónai was also a member of it), all if its members dealt with applied arts: Paul Ranson made tapisseries, Pierre Bonnard a draught-screen, Paul Gauguin ceramic designs. 6 The glasses, manufactured by c. 1900 represent autentically all of the types of Gallé glasses. These are the following: — The unique pieces up to 1889, most of them are clear glass works, with enamelled decoration and of highly personal character. — The cased glass types, decorated with floreal motifs, made in serial production after 1890, most of them are executed in the base of Gallé's own designs. We place here the standard Gallé glasses, which were made with little invention, technically on opacifyed white background with different conventional Art Nouveau decoration. — Glassware, produced in large series, mainly double-layered, acid-etched vases, with floreal decoration. — The experimenting and unique pieces of Gallé, made after 1889, prominent in their technical and artistic solution, as well. — Tableware (which were made since the existing of the factory), sometimes in very simple form, without any surface decoration, bearing witness to the extraordinary taste and knowledge of glass designing of its master. 7 The glass material, used until 1895, is of rather bed quality. It was a kind of transparent bottle green or amber coloured glass, which often mixed with different impurities in the furnace. The glass pieces, made of that kind of glass are rather simple in form and technical solution, as well. 8 Peacock type of glass, one of Tiffany's favourite and most popular art glasses, was made of 5 different kinds of glass, among these are two aventurine and opaline constituents. The inspiring source of Cypriote glass were the irizing glasses, with rough surface, excavated in Cyprus and exhibited in New York. Lava type of glass was Tiffany's best loved glass type, in spite of that fact, it was produced only in small series. The reasons of it were partly the difficulties of the execution, partly the very small popularity of the type. That is the collector's best loved Tiffany glass type, because of its modern form and rarity. 9 Among the most interesting examples is the „L'Oignon vase", designed for the Exhibition in Paris in 1900, symbolizing the process of growing. 10 „Aube et Crépuscule" with „Vitrine aux Libellules" were executed for Henry Hirsch on the occasion of his marriage. Each pieces are the combinations of different metals and mother-of-pearl, the eyes of the dragonflies of „Vitrine aux Libellules" were made of clair-de-la-lune glass, the insect body, depicted on the back of „Aube et Crépuscule" of opaline glass. 119
