Advanced Search

Exglas (Inverted Glass)

Exglas (Inverted Glass)

Artist: (Decorator) Hilda Jesser (Austrian, 1894 - 1985)
Designer: Josef Hoffmann (Austrian, 1870-1956)
Manufacturer: Ludwig Moser & Söhne (Czechoslovakia (Carlsbad))
Date: about 1919
Dimensions:
H: 10 in. (25.4 cm); Rim Diam: 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm)
Medium: Glass; blown, tooled, polished, and painted.
Classification: Glass
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 2004.52
Label Text:The name “Exglas” refers to the X-shaped form of this glass, which can only rest on a surface once the liquid it holds is consumed. The crossing ribbons of the decoration are also a play on the X shape. The designer Hilda Jesser (Austrian, 1894–1985) was said to exemplify the “Wiener Werkstätte [Vienna Workshops] craftswoman” because she worked in many media, including ceramics, commercial graphics, glass, embroidery, and metalwork. The flute reflects the stylistic shift of the Vienna Workshops after the First World War to more exuberant form and decoration.
DescriptionConical beaker, blown of colorless glass, its base tooled to form a ball finial. The rim is ground and polished. The flute's body is painted with a pattern of thin, intersecting curved bands in black and red enamel forming trapezoidal fields. These bands emanate from the finial base that is painted with opaque purple enamel and extend to the rim. Gilded stars and painted floral sprays are scattered between the ribbons near the rim. Octagonal stars, placed on opposite sides of the bowl, serve as bases for opposing pairs of figures resembling Harlequin and Columbine. The figures, which are holding floral sprays or drinking glasses, are painted in opaque white enamel with black details.
Not on view
In Collection(s)