A LARGE BOHEMIAN GILT-DECORATED CLEAR GLASS VASE ON STAND

Luxurious and impressive in scale, this gilt glass vase and stand is closely related to works often attributed to Wilhelm Hoffman for the Harrach Glassworks manufactory, Prague. Founded in 1712, the prolific studio was renowned for the quality and brilliance of their colored glass, so much so that in 1838 the iconic French firm of Baccarat 'offered a prize of thirty thousand francs to the first technician to discover a method of producing coloured glass, so rivaling Bohemian production' (R. Truitt and D. Truitt, “Harrach Glassworks: 300 Years of Quality and Innovation”, Journal of Glass Studies, vol. 47, 2005, p. 110). However, it was not until the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition in London, and subsequent fairs, that their international fame was solidified. At the 1862 International Exhibition, the firm displayed a gilt 'Alhambra' form vase and stand to great acclaim (J. B. Waring, Masterpieces of Industrial Art & Sculpture,1862, plate 125).