Demitasse cup and saucer

Designed by: Otto Prutscher (Austrian, 1880–1949)
Manufactured by: Meyr's Neffe Manufactory (Adolf bei Winterberg, Austria, 1841–1922)
Retailed by: E. Bakalowits & Söhne (Vienna, 1845–present)

Austrian

about 1907

Object Place: Vienna, Austria

Medium/Technique Glass

Dimensions 4.44 x 8.73 x 6.64 cm (1 3/4 x 3 7/16 x 2 5/8 in.)

Credit Line Museum purchase with funds donated by The Swan Society

Accession Number1998.402a-b

ON VIEW
Gallery at foot of Hemicycle Staircase (Gallery 149)

CollectionsEurope

ClassificationsGlass

Prutscher, a key figure in the modern design movement in Vienna, produced a number of elegant designs for glass. This cup and saucer illustrate the process of cased-and-cut decoration in which a layer of colored glass is overlaid upon a clear glass form that is then cut away to form alternate clear and colored sections, usually in geometric patterns. The retail glass firm of Bakalowitz commissioned designs for domestic wares from many of the avant-garde designers of the period.

DescriptionClear glass with wheel-cut overlay in blue glass. Short round cup in clear glass with wheel-cut windowpane overlay pattern in deep blue, clear glass ear-shaped handle. Saucer with slanted rim in the same pattern as cup.

ProvenanceBy 1988, private collection, Seattle, WA; August 1998, sold from this private collection to Historical Design; 1988, sold by Historical Design to the MFA (Accession Date: December 16, 1998)