Chřibská sommerso vase, pink & green with white rim, attributed to Josef Hospodka, 34 cm, 1960s

This sculptural vase made of mouth-blown art glass is attributed to Josef Hospodka (1923–1989), the influential designer of the North Bohemian Chřibská glassworks, and was presumably created in the 1960s in what was then Czechoslovakia. Chřibská is considered one of the oldest continuously operating glassworks in Europe, and Hospodka’s free-form Sommerso works in pink, green, and clear glass with a white thread trim are known on the international collector's market as typical designs from this glassworks. There is no label or signature on this piece, which is why the attribution should be understood as a stylistic classification rather than a verified manufacturer identification.

Rising from a narrow, round base, the strongly ribbed body slims upward and opens into a wide, flower-like lobed rim, the lobes of which are rolled outward and folded into sculptural ears, making the vase look like an opening lily or calla. In the Sommerso technique, a luminous core in fuchsia-pink, which deepens to a dark aubergine toward the waist, is fused into thick, clear crystal glass, while the base shows a fresh yellow-green; a fine opaque white glass thread traces the wavy rim. Depending on the incidence of light, the colors shift between pink, magenta, and amethyst, and the clear ribs bundle the light so that the silhouette stands out sculpturally from all sides.

The vase is an expressive solo object for a sideboard, windowsill, or display cabinet, but also holds individual long-stemmed flowers and fits just as well into a mid-century interior as it does into a contemporary setting. The thick-walled glass has a tangible weight and shows the fine tool marks and occasional air bubbles of free-form furnace work. It measures 34 cm in height and 18 cm in diameter and is in very good condition.