Pictured here is an amazing punch bowl and cover in the Praha pattern made for Rosice 1971 and designed by the master designer Adolf Matura.This pattern is highly regarded and according to Markus Newhall there were 15 pieces included in the Gottwaldov exhibition and it is suggest that the pattern was heavily influnced by the design "Barokki" by Erkkitapio Siiroinen for the Finnish company Riihimaen Lasi Oy.
Ref:-Art Before Industry.....Book
Over the last three years i have found this punch bowl with 6 matching goblets,a bowl and a large bowl on a pedastal....thats all...which means that there is not much around although this is a great design mostly as tableware.When light is cast on the items it seems to sparkle so i can imagine a entire table setting would be rather awesome.
Matura`s gesigns for pressed glass were seen as having a greater significence than the rest of his output for the period...book page 83.
His fist piece that was produced was an ashtray which took off like a rocket and was well received...an example can be found under reference guide(link on this site)...Adolf Matura.
These were made in several colors and as smoking is more or less a thing of the past they are still wonderful designed items.
Browsing through Art Before Industry we are shown other desirable articles by the man and these are also very difficult to find and call a good price for a designer pressed glass objects.
They are out there and as recently as 6 months ago i believe one of these pieces sold for in excess of Sfr500,00...my suggestion is that if interested in this designer is that you buy the linked book and have a look see.(P.S. i do not get a commission for punting the book)but then again it is the best publication on the subject.
In the next three weeks i will also feature other designers who made a big name for themselves and whos work is highly sought after.....look at the Reference Guide....
Guide
A picture of the footed bowl....

Czech glass has an amazing story to tell and those who know the history of the period will know and fully realise that the designers who worked for the various glassworks had enromous restrictions placed on them and were ruled by harsh standards.This certainly did not impead their style and design as over this period some of the most exciting styles,shapes and colors came to the Western market as inexpensive articles and sold extremely well.They had produced so much and comparative to the Finnish market which was popular at the time,the Czech glass has not had a great platform in the west and only now do we see a whole new field on catologues and books covering the period and subject.
A great book recently published on Czech pressed glass has opened the market to collecting these great works by a good number of great designers.Website Sklo Union
This link takes one to the source and leads to the new book Art Before Industry...by Marcus Newhall.
Book
Attached to this book is a CD with over 4000 patterns and many many designs and i can asure u that they will delight and surprise u as they seem so timeless and totally stylish.Here Markus gives good detail of the times that the country found itself in and yet they were still able to design high quality items.A good source to read is in the first link i have given but yet the full and detailed story is all in the book and is well worth its weight in gold.This is a must have if u are interested in pressed designer glass of the period.
The main designers covered in this book are as follows.....
Rudolf Schrötter
Rudolf Jurnikl
Frantisek Peceny
Frantisek Vizner
Adolf Matura
Pavel Panek
Vladislav Urban
Vaclav Hanus
Jiri Brabec
Vratislav Sotola
Miroslav Kubinec
Jiri Zejmon
Vaclav Zajic
Milos Philip
Jiri Zouzela
Jan Schmid
Frantisek Zemek
and there are great color pictures featuring these designer items as well as a full history on each.
The CD is expansive but there are plenty of items stated but no shown examples so when starting a collection and becoming ofay with the glass there will be some gems to be found where they have previously been relegated to bottom of the kitchen cupboard.
In the next blog i will cover another book on the sublect as well as a glass forum that is absolutely great.
Be sure to get the Art Before Industry ....book before its out of print and am sure if u miss it there will be a long long wait for a reprint....as there is further research been done and all the writers/researchers are busy busy busy.
till next time find yourself a piece of(Czech) Sklo.
Here u can visit the guide....Guide Sklo Union

It has been some time that i have showed some german ceramics and i thought that this new find deserves a showing as it has a wonderful red fire over glaze lava with the base color being a strong sky blue.Scheurich was started in the early 1950s and achieved great noriety in the market with their stunning glazes and a huge stock of shapes and sizes.They were prolific in consideration of other factories of the time and this also meant that the rivals looked at the glazes being produced and rather designed their wares accordingly to what was being sold on the market.So throughout the german ceramics of the time one can see how competitive the market was as weird and wonderful shapes were created with glazes that no two are exactly the same.here we can say if u have a fat lava piece it is one of a kind and collectors are rushing to find great examples which are getting difficult to find.Collections are awesome when seen the shapes and lava drips that appear giving a glorius color range and even more difficult is finjding the same in different sizes right down to the minatures.i have previously posted an article on minatures so browse through as these are extremely difficult to find...especially those in the fat lava range and fetch a handsome price in the open market.
two years ago i was able to find plentiful but of late there has been very little available and i have noticed that the fleamarkets have up their prices to that of the serious sellers...ok a little cheaper...but then one also has to check condition very carefully as these ceramics are prone to cracking easily.

there will be a new book coming out in three months covering all the german ceramics of this ilk and those who are interested can e mail me for further information.I do believe that this will be one of the early bibles of fat lava.Do visit the shop for a large selection of fat lava.....Shop fat lava

here we have a stunning pair of bronzes by the world renown french artist Mathurin Moreau 1822-1912 with a wonderful brown patination and standing 55-56cm high.The original bases are lacking but this certainly does not affect the value of the pair.You have gussed right if you said "oh one of those back cupboard pieces" and you are correct...as i did have a very large cupboard.
these were purchased from a gentleman who opened the first sex shop in south africa which sold more toys than what we know today as the full range so it was modest and he made a stinking fortune over the years.He travelled widely and purchased some great antique items over a ten year period which i had the pleasure of buying.Some of these are still boxed up as i rather liked his taste and put them into my collection so i guess one day i will have to unpack...and start dispersing these wonderful items.So i am rambling...ok here is a link to the history of the man....moreau...and i also have a copy of the bronzes sculptors & founders guide 1800-1930 depicting these two items nos 2395/6
they have being added into the shop along with the copy of the guide...so have a look.
these are a great buy and rather rare to find a pair that are in such great condition...saying that they havent being touched up or repaired. visit the shop.

The worcester company that was formed in 1751 still manufactures high quality goods in todays market.The early period that called Dr Wall period lasted till about 1776 where they produced amazing translucent ceramics as well as experimenting with new techniques.When these items are held to the light one can see a green shade showing through the body yet there are a few other companies that show a similar effect so its once again down to shape style and painting that helps the collector to determine the factory when there is no mark on the article.underglaze blue decoration was perfected by the worcester period in comaparison to what was made for the market by other factories.
the over glaze transfer printing was not that sucessful until mr richard hancock joined the company in 1757. here it is noted that the underglazed wares were usually marked whereas the over glaze printing were rarely marked...this certainly helps when dating this factory`s wares.
the spoon tray pictured here (used in the art of making tea....teatime...)is of that fine worcester porcelain of 1765 period and finely painted with flowers.there are so many different styles and designs that we find with this manufactory and are each so delightful.
A link to detailed books on this well respected factory.....books..... and yes it is a bit pricey but then u get the full package...here u will have to scroll down to the revelant book...worcester.
mr sandon is the authority on the worcester factory and shares his passion with charm and delight.
visit the shop for early blue and white worcester....Shop...

well there are times when i just shake my head in disbelief as what happened when i purchased this plate on a local auction it was lotted together with two other english plates and rated at 30/40 francs for the lot.I bought them and there was no one else interested..astonishing as all the top dealers were present perhaps because they were all so dirty and shabby looking.Alright it has a small chip but then dating from 1765 that makes for nought in my books especially as this is the finest of english porcelain...example
..chelsea and there are plenty more sites on chelsea.
I would also like to give you a link to the start of the factory and its history....chelsea..and yes a lot of reading but then education takes time and lots of reading.The plate pictured here has a small gold anchor and has three stilt marks underneath.A similar plate featured here....chelsea plate
i will also be showing at a later stage some other very fine english porcelain with revalant links so all those interested in updating their knowledge will find it on the future blogs...and hopefully you will also strike it rich(lucky).