2019-08-01_Homes_&_Antiques 2

HOMES Calm Oasis

70 Homes & Antiques August 2019

CollectingMoserGlass

LudwigMoseropenedhisrstglass

engravingworkshopinKarlsbadin

the19thcentury(nowKarlovyVaryin

theCzechRepublic),followedbya

glassworksin1892.Fromtheearliest

enamelledandgiltpiecestothe

elegant20th-centuryexamples,

featuringdesignsbyJosefHomann,

RudolfWelsandKolomanMoser,

Moserglasshasalwayshada wide

appeal.Therearetwokeyperiodsfor

collectors:thehighlysurface-

decoratedlate19th-centurypiecesand

thecontrasting,early20th-century

Secessionist-stylepieces.

Intermsofidentifyinggenuine

Moserglass,aributioncomesdownto

styleandqualityforthe19th-century

pieces,whichcanberecognisedfrom

theexquisiteenamelling,gildingand

applieddecorationthatisoenona

cranberryground.Aertheturnof

thecentury,piecesaresignedona

fairlyconsistentbasis,although

stemware is sometimes unmarked and

canonlybeidentiedbypaern,such

asthe1920sBambooglasses.

TheLadyHamiltondesignisoneof

themostpopularpaerns,although

thegapbetweenretailandauctionis

vast.Recently,a setofsixharlequin

hockglasses,witha dierentcolour

casingtoeachbowl,soldfor£120at

auction,oeringrealvalueformoney.

However,theclearcrystalandgilt

variant(pictured)remains more

desirable,withsingle

decanterssellingfor

around£100,and

singleglassesfor

around£20;again,

representingreal

valueagainst

retail prices.

BuyingAdvice

Asever,condition

isvital.Especially

whenit comesto

theearly20th-

century facet-cut

AmandaHarling

talkstoAlexFrogga,

auctioneer at Sworders

Focus on

MOSER

GLASS

piecesdesignedbyJosefHomannfor

theWienerWerkstäe andmadeatthe

Moserglassworks.Chipstoedges

aectpricehugely:theformof

thesedesignsiscentraltotheir

appealandthissortofdamage

detractsfromthe clean lines of

that period.

Where toSeeMore

Thereisa

museumaached

totheglassworks

inKarlovyVary

withneexamplesof

Moserglassfromthe

1850stotoday.

moser.com

TOPLEFTMarisa’scollectionbegan

withtheseprettyhockglasses;the

Chloegildedcup,originallymade

in 1895,is availableasa limited-

editionreproduction,£1,204.

ABOVEMarisa’sMoserCaorle

vasein herkitchen.BELOWThe

Gracevasewasmadein 1880,

andis availableasa limited-edition

reproductionfor£11,440;thePurity

vaseandtwoglassesin theever-

popular Lady Hamilton design.