A rare 1970s Czech Chlum u Trebone ‘Garnet’ glass vase, designed by Pavel Hlava

Description

Pavel Hlava’s studio vases are iconic in the lexicon of postwar Czech glass. Although the studio glass movement was gathering pace outside Czechoslovakia in the late 1960s and Hlava had had direct experience of this when he visited London’s Royal College of Art, it was never really taken up as an separate movement in Czechoslovakia. Unique forms of art glass were created, but these were made primarily in factories, and typically by glassmakers, rather than by the designers themselves. From a limited production series designed in 1972 and produced around 1973, this example crosses the divide between mass-produced, inexpensive ranges and his ultra-rare unique studio pieces.

Heat-sensitive glass was Hlava’s favoured material, and allowed him to explore colour. Known as 'Garnet', this vibrant colourway was a speciality of the Chlum u Trebone factory and also a favourite of Hlava's. The glass mixture contained colloidal gold so that when parts were reheated in the furnace, they changed colour and tone. The hotter the glass and the longer it remained hot, the deeper and stronger the colour. The graduations from yellow to red throughout the body are due to the differing levels of heat. Most examples graduate from yellow to red, but some also include greens and blues.

Hlava’s vases are more sculptural than functional. He introduced internal protrusions for a series of vases made for the 1960 Milan Triennale. They explore the internal space and create an optical effect in combination with the undulating form. They were created by pushing the hot, soft walls inwards using pins, rods or spatulas. Forms vary widely, but are typically geometric.

Although sometimes produced in a series, each piece is unique as it was handmade, typically by Hlava himself (he learned how to blow glass himself at Chribska in 1956), or under his direct guidance. This example was rapidly signed on the base by Hlava with a diamond point ‘P Hlava Czechoslovakia’. Hlava’s signature adds greatly to the desirability of this fine example in a known shape, which was exhibited in a gallery in Germany in the early 1970s.

8in (19.5cm) high, 7.75in (18cm) wide.

Condition
Excellent, original vintage condition with no cracks or chips.

Literature

Czechoslovak Glass Review, published by Artia in 1973. A similar series of vases is shown in an article called New Products From A Glassworks With Longstanding Traditions. Detail images shown here are taken from this article.

Pavel Hlava Glass, by Dr Sylva Petrovà, published by Vincenc Kutac in 1995. See p.13 and pages 28-35 for other examples of his designs with internal protrusions.

Czech Glass, by Dr Sylva Petrovà, published by UMPRUM in 2018. See pages 139-140 for similar vases with protrusions.

Shipping
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