I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and bid for it. The description did not attribute it to any company or even country; all it said was "possibly Bohemian". After i got it home, to my surprise, I found it stamped twice with a mark that I could not identify, but that said: "Czechoslovakia". I even made the mistake of attributing it to Schliersee, without realizing it was a German, not a Czech, glass factory. Luckily, Deborah Truitt pointed the mistake to me, but even she could not place the vase.
 1. Front
The vase is not easy to describe. It has an enameled outer layer with fighting Greek warriors, a "Greek Key" ornament and a line of orange dots. The warriors are outlined in gold, black and orange and seem to be tridimensional. The outer color is a pale lavender, the warriors are a darker lavender, and the inside is a bright, iridized orange yellow.
 2. Detail front
 3. inside
It is also enameled in the back, with a warrior's helmet:
 4. Back
The mark was unlike I had ever seen before:
 5.Mark
 6. Drawing of the mark Just this morning, while cleaning old folders, I stumbled into an article by Robert and Deborah Truitt for Antiqueweek (April 30, 2001) where they announced the discovery of the "propeller" mark previously thought to be Webb as being in reality a "three plume" Harrach mark, coming out of the family's coat-of-arms. In that article they also talked about the opening of the Harrach archives and of the wealth of information thay had discovered, including designer books with watercolor illustrations. And there, to my amazement, were vases with Greek warriors and maidens, including one quite similar to mine (the one on the right)
7. Harrach vases 1
The design book from which picture 7 is taken is dated to the 1860's and 70's. After stating that they have chosen two designs from the book to illustrate their article, they proceed to describe the Greek warrior vases: "The other depicts transfers applied to white glass, with hand painted trim and borders. The transfers depict Etruscan and old Roman/Greek motifs with extensive use of the "Greek Key" borders. Bright blue and a distinct orange ground are favored in most pieces. Men engaged in battle and women hunting or engaged in battle seem to be the dominant themes. The 50 or so transfers and the hundred of vase styles produced a seemingly endless possibility of combinations." The caption acompanying Pic. 7 states: "The figures on these Harrach vases are well-made transfers. The Greek Key and bright borders are hand-painted. Bright orange and blue were the favored border colors. . . . Both vases are decorated front and back."
The only other use of Greek/Roman motifs in Czech glass that I know of is the "Etruscan" line by Loetz, and that is executed in cameo. Here are the remaining pictures from the Truitt article:
 8. MAIDEN VASES
 9. MUSICIANS
SOME FINAL REMARKS:
1. There is no doubt in my mind that my "mystery" vase can be safely attributed to Harrach, on the basis of the Truitt's description: the warring Greek males, the enameling in orange, the use of the "Greek Key". The bright yellow ground color.
2. Harrach probably made use of the Greek motifs well into the 1900's, as my vase is less "neo-classical" than conventionally Jugendstil. The persistence of interest in Greek motifs into the 20th Century is also borne out by Loetz "Etruscan" line. |
