Ornamental vessel - With crawl glaze (so-called tiger glaze)

Ceramics and Glass Collection

Accession Nr.: 51.548.1
Manufacturer: Zsolnay factory (Pécs)
Place of production: Pécs
Inscription: alján masszába nyomva: 1089 (formaszám, szerepel a
2. számú Zsolnay-formakönyvben) / 37; arannyal
festve: öttorony ábrája, mellette 43
Materials: porcelain-faience
Techniques: brown-glazed; cast; crawl glaze (so-called tiger glaze); gilded
Dimensions:
height: 37 cm
maximum width: 21 cm
opening diameter: 3 cm
base diameter: 14 cm

The form of this ornamental vessel from the Zsolnay Design Book (Façon Book) number 2 attests to East Asian influences, as does the use of bulging white glaze applied to a base glaze of dark brown that brings to mind graphite glaze. This treatment is a sub-type of the cracked, so-called craquelé, glazes. Artists at the Zsolnay Factory gladly experimented both with forms and with the re-interpretation of glazing techniques. A vase made by Sándor Apáti Abt in 1903, for which presumably Géza Nikelszky designed decoration in 1907, shows similar qualities, although it was crafted in an overall more experimental manner with more meticulous detailing (see here).