An exquisite gold-coloured ovoid glass vase with iridescent ripples and a square neck, designed by Otto Thamm for Fritz Heckert glass company in Petersdorf, Silesia, c1902. This is a fabulous piece of decorative art and one fine example of European craftsmanship during the Jugendstil era.

Fritz Heckert Glass Vase, by Otto Thamm, c1902

£370.00

Quantity

In good condition, with two small firing bubbles from production, and a very small chip on the rim. The glass is unsigned. The glass is unsigned. If you have any further questions, or if you require additional photos with the vase, please do not hesitate to contact us.
The designer, Otto Thamm, was Fritz Heckert’s son-in-law. After Heckert’s death in 1887, Otto inherited the company and, together with Fritz’s widow and son, continued to run it until Otto’s death in 1906.

Under Otto’s direction, the company won a silver medal for modern decorative arts in Turin (1902) and the gold medal in St. Louis (1904). Other independent graphic artists worked with Otto to great critical acclaim, such as Max Rade, with his enamelled work in Japan and Antiquity style, and Ludwig Sütterlin, with his Gothic writings on glass. After Otto’s death, however, the company declined. It was first sold to von Loesch in 1910 and to the rival glass manufacture Josephinenhütte in 1923.

Because Otto Thamm did not sign his work –and because, in the eyes of many, he was “just” a son-in-law– it was assumed that his glass were made by Kralik or Loetz. Only recently, with the discovery of Otto Thamm’s designs, he is finally getting the long-waited recognition he deserves.

You can find a similar example in Stefania Zelasko's Fritz Heckert, Kunstglas Industrie 1866-1923, p187