Moser Glass
Encyclopedia
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
manufacturer based in Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately west of Prague . It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, previously Karlsbad in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
. The company is known for manufacturing fine stemware, decorative glassware (such as vases, ashtray
Ashtray
An ashtray is a receptacle for ash and butts from cigarettes and cigars. Ashtrays are typically made of fireproof material such as glass, heat-resistant plastic, pottery, metal, or rock....
, candlestick
Candlestick
A candlestick, chamberstick, or candelabrum is a holder for one or more candles, used for illumination, rituals, or decorative purposes. The name 'candlestick' derives from the fact that it is usually tall and stick-shaped.Candlesticks are also called candle holders...
), luxury glass gifts and various art engravings. Due to the quality, Moser is one of the most collected of 20th century decorative glass and have been used everywhere from palaces to local restaurants. From its beginnings in 1857, as a polishing and engraving workshop, it developed into a glass manufacturer lasting through the 20th century until the present time using a lead-free and acknowledged as manufacturer of high quality products.
History
The original company of Ludwig Moser & Söhne, founded in 1857 by Ludwig Moser in Karlovy Vavy, was a glass workshop initially polishing and engraving and later designing and making the finest quality colourless and decorated art glass products. Engraving blanks from Loetz, Meyr's Neffe and Harrachov was performed by the workshop in the early years. At the Vienna International Exhibition of 1873 he was awarded a medal. Ludwig took over a glass manufactory in Meierhofen bei Karlsbad in 1893 to create a full service glassworks employing 400 people under the name of Karlsbaderglasindustrie Gesellschaft Ludwig Moser & Söhne where his sons Gustav and Rudolf also worked.In 1904 Moser received a warrant to supply the Imperial Court
Imperial Court
An Imperial Court is the noble court of an empire .For example:*The noble court of an Emperor of China, Emperor of Japan, Emperor of Ethiopia, Emperor of Austria, Emperor of India, Emperor of Persia, etc....
of the Emperor of Austria
Emperor of Austria
The Emperor of Austria was a hereditary imperial title and position proclaimed in 1804 by the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, and continually held by him and his heirs until the last emperor relinquished power in 1918. The emperors retained the title of...
and four years later became supplier to Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
. In 1915 the company exhibited at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915)
The Panama-Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California between February 20 and December 4 in 1915. Its ostensible purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely seen in the city as an opportunity to showcase its recovery...
and was again awarded a medal, which Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
and Charles Tuthill thought well deserved because to the outstanding quality of the hot glass applied decorations on coloured Bohemian glass. Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
glass pieces were produced Moser with surface decoration with natural themes and simple cameo glass
Cameo Glass
Cameo glass is a luxury form of glass art produced by etching and carving through fused layers of differently colored glass to produce designs, usually with white opaque glass figures and motifs on a dark-colored background...
. They also used a the Eckentiefgravur technique employing a sharp angular body deeply cut in the form of intaglio
Intaglio
Intaglio are techniques in art in which an image is created by cutting, carving or engraving into a flat surface and may also refer to objects made using these techniques:* Intaglio , a group of printmaking techniques with an incised image...
flowers.
Following the death of his father in 1916, Leo Moser took over the direction and the company expanded significantly resulting in their recognition by a Grand Prize award of the at the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
International Exhibition of Decorative Art in 1925. They also exhibited in London, Belgium, Italy and Vienna. The depression of the early 1930s exacted its toll, reducing it staff to 240 and eventually Leo resigned from the company in 1932. Later, having sold their shares in the company in 1938. The city of Karlovy Vary was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1938 after the Munich Agreement and the family fled the country during this anti-Semitic period. Because of its international reputation, the company was able to retain some independence during the communist era while the rest of the Czech glass industry was nationalised in 1948.
The Art Nouveau designs of heavily engraved lillies and the Fipop series from c1914 were some of the most notable pieces. Several cheaper lower quality derivatives of the Fipop designs were produced by other companies and between 1927 and 1933 two American glassmakers made copies calling them Woodland and Deerwood. Moser was one of the few Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
n glassmaker to sign their pieces.
King of Glass, Glass of Kings
The slogan King of Glass, Glass of Kings is associated with the company because of its famous clientele who in addition to Edward VII and the Austrian Imperial Court include such people as, Pope Pius XIPope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
and the Turkish sultan Abdul Hamid II
Abdul Hamid II
His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...
.
Present day
Ludwig Moser developed a lead-free sodium-potassium glass that is more ecologically friendly than lead glassLead glass
Lead glass is a variety of glass in which lead replaces the calcium content of a typical potash glass. Lead glass contains typically 18–40 weight% lead oxide , while modern lead crystal, historically also known as flint glass due to the original silica source, contains a minimum of 24% PbO...
yet is extremely hard and remains the basis of their products. Moser still produces some of its classic Fipop designs. A factory museum shows the 150-year story of the company in more than 2,000 pieces on display supplemented by documentaries and audio guides. Besides having four retail outlets in the Czech Republic, two in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and two in the company's hometown Karlovy Vary, Moser has a worldwide network of retailers. Moser's US distribution company was established in Northern Virginia in 1957.