Chřibská Sommerso vase, amethyst & aqua blue, Josef Hospodka, 40.5 cm, 1960s

This tall, slender vase made of mouth-blown art glass is attributed to Josef Hospodka (1923–1989), the influential designer for the North Bohemian glassworks Chřibská, and was likely created in the 1960s in what was then Czechoslovakia. The fluid color gradient from vibrant amethyst to delicate lilac and clear glass, down to the aqua-blue base, reflects a color combination frequently found in Hospodka’s vintage designs for Chřibská and is particularly sought after by collectors. This piece bears no label or signature; therefore, the attribution should be understood as a stylistic classification rather than a certified manufacturer identification.

Rising from a solid, square-shaped base, in which an aqua-blue core is encased in thick clear glass, is a bulbous body that tapers into a long, slightly waisted neck. At the top, the mouth opens into four wide, petal-like points, the edges of which glow darkly due to the thickness of the glass, giving the vase the appearance of a blossoming flower. Using the sommerso technique, the layers of color are fused into clear glass, causing the hue to shift between deep violet, light lilac, and cool aqua-blue depending on the incidence of light.

With its impressive height, the vase is an expressive statement piece for a sideboard, console, or windowsill, looking just as beautiful with individual long-stemmed flowers or branches as it does empty as a glass sculpture, in a mid-century interior just as much as in a contemporary setting. Occasional small air bubbles and fine tool marks in the glass are typical of the free-form shaping process at the furnace and are not a defect. It measures 40.5 cm in height and 12.5 cm in diameter and is in very good condition.