Pair 19th Century Amberline Moser Crystal Vases w/ Enameled and Gilt Decoration

Description

A Fantastic and Quite Rare Pair of 19th Century Amberline Moser Crystal Vases with Hand-Enameled and Hand-Gilt Decoration. Each of oviform, in translucent amber glass, with applied branch and flowers, and decorated in the cloisonné style with scrolling vine and insects and a fantastic beasts to the body. The glass vases are superbly enameled: scrolling golden arabesques encompass the surface, their tendrils winding their way onto every part of the vase. These arabesques, which are imitative of cloisonné wire, evince an Islamic influence. The arabesques are occasionally filled with vibrant pockets of color, and flowers of many kinds intermingle among the scrolls. Strikingly, thick glass has been applied to the surface to create a raised, transparent image of a floral spray. Moser is one of the most famous and celebrated glass manufacturers and decorators of the 20th Century. Its slogan ‘King of Glass, Glass of Kings’ refers to the many important clients for whom it has provided glass since its foundation in the mid-19th Century. These guests include the Austro-Hungarian Emperors, Edward VII of Great Britain and Pope Pius XI. Its founder, Ludwig Moser, established the company initially as a glass decorating workshop in 1857. It was based in Karlsbad in Upper Bohemia (now Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic). Moser was only granted a license to start producing its own glassware in 1893, for which it would win medals at World Exhibitions in 1893 and 1900. Moser was known primarily for the pieces it produced in the Art Nouveau style, which was the preeminent design style at the turn of the 20th Century. Their pieces, including drinkware and vases, often featured the surface floral decorations and colored glass highlights so characteristic of the style. Despite this obvious stylistic influence, Moser glassware exhibited designs borrowed from the European Baroque, the Japanese Meiji style and from Islamic art. Bohemia, Circa: 1880

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