Jurnikl Rudolf master and prolific designer Sklo Union mid 20thCentury and an accomplished one at that.

Once again the basis of this blog is taken from the book Art Before Industry by Marcus Newhall which with its CD gives a brief history of Rudolf Jurnikl....Link..Book and CD
Other resources may be found in the Glass Revue catalogues which are extremely hard to find in the public domain and yet most libraries carry the many years of production. So it was a rainy day that pushed me into spending lots of time perusing these and it was quite some fun as there is so much more that one learns from all the individual reports of the time.
One particular piece designed by him has caught my attention and that is the vase depicted here...

pattern 984 for Rosice and again for Rudolfova hut.,being one of his first commercial designs. These i have found in three different color ways. Clear,Amber and a striking blue all in the same size and as far as i am aware there was only one size in this design. It has a raised bead decoration and when light is thrown on the vase it explodes with reflection and even more so when it is filled with water.It seems to expand the beads and gives it a deeper feeling than it actually is.
These are not readily available in the market place so hunting one down is exciting.
In the following years Jurnikl was to become a prolific designer where many new designs would capture the publics imagination. The hobnail design must have being extremely popular as these are available and mostly in flint glass whereas the color range is more sought after. In Switzerland the publics taste was more for clear glass objects and this covers most designs as they are readily found.

Being aware that these designs are pressed glass of a very high standard they look like blown pieces and many of the traders would swear that they are not of the pressed glass variety. One telling me that it had belonged to her mother who is 70 years old, which means little,and she had travelled to Venice where she had purchased it from a Murano factory. Yeah well at the price she was asking there was no persuading otherwise but did spur me on thinking...wow if all thought the same i am onto a good thing here. I guess that the serious and well informed collectors would know a whole lot better. Going back later in the day i noticed that the vase was sold and she delighted in telling me she had got her price...stunning...now all i had to do was find another ten of her buyers.
Lens vases and jardiniers were also a great design with the so called hobnail following close behind
Thus far i found the lens objects only in clear glass as i guess this color way showed off its effect to the best, whereas the hobnail design comes in various colors.
Another important design for Jurnikl was to be his Osaka vase depicted here....

it had previously been named Slunce but after an exhibition in Japan in the 70`s it was named as Osaka by... i guess... the clever marking department. Always good to give the public that which they would hold dear and thats wise marketing...i guess! There is a very rare example of this vase to be found...if u are lucky enough...but then buy the book and find out what technique they used.
Another favorite and desirable design is that called `Iceberg`which can be found in many different pieces...vases candlesticks and so on.
Ashtrays and candlesticks by Jurnikl are found frequently and i have many examples in various colors.
To say the least this man brought to the market place some of the best designs and other than one other designer, Matura, where he had more designs exhibited than his fellow glass makers.
Should you wish to browse my library of Bohemian designer glass ....go here...Guide

I will follow up the next blog with another famous designer and until then i wish you all happy hunting.