Orchid Vase in Clear Glass with Pulled Air Chambers by Emanuel Beránek for Škrdlovice, 32.5 cm, 1960s

This heavy orchid vase is free-formed from a solid gather of mouth-blown clear glass, tapering from a round, flat base to a slender, pointed silhouette. Inside, several elongated, petal-like hollow chambers were trapped in the hot glass and drawn upwards. Their outlines are traced with fine touches of yellow, pink and green, while small accents of lemon yellow and raspberry red sit at their upper ends. As the viewing angle and light change, the lines shift and the slightly green-tinted glass casts ever new reflections, so the vase shows a different picture from every side. The narrow opening holds a single stem, such as an orchid spray, a grass ear or a branch.

The vase was made at the Škrdlovice glassworks in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands to a design by Emanuel Beránek (1899–1973), who founded the glassworks with his brothers in 1941. Around 1959 Beránek designed a series of sculptural bud and spear vases intended as display objects and orchid vases, their pulled hollow chambers created with the so-called wet-stick technique. The thick clear glass, the tapering pointed form and the delicate pink and yellow accents are typical of this series.

Displayed on its own on a sideboard, windowsill or shelf, ideally against a light background or in backlight, the play of the hollow chambers comes into its own, and the vase complements any collection of mid-century and Bohemian art glass. The condition is very good, with no chips, cracks or hairline cracks; small bubbles and irregularities in the glass are inherent to the making. The vase is 32.5 cm high and has a diameter of 7.5 cm.