Amazing Rare Czech Porcelain Vase, Stamped ” Victoria Czecho-Slovakia”, Circa 1918-1939

The early 20th century Czechs made wonderful ceramics and porcelains as shown in this vase with intensely and wildly colourful glazes and applied decorative floral gold patterns. A frontal oval painted scene, trimmed in gold framing, depicts an “amorous figural grouping” reminiscent of Greco-Roman allegories. This vase is truly a historical piece that speaks to a “creative culture”, before being lost for 50 years in war and communism.

Like their glass, much of Czech export pottery and porcelain was in the form of vases for cut flower arrangements. Designs ranged from Egyptian and Art Deco styles to Victorian and Edwardian floral and scenic fashions. Much of the decorative work was hand-applied, so two seemingly identical pieces might have tiny variations. Usually, what first catches one’s eye are the very bold colours, especially as shown in this example with the intense reds, greens and blues.

Czech is shorthand for the citizens of Czechoslovakia, a country that existed for a few mid-century decades. It exported a great deal of decorative glass, porcelains and pottery in the 1920s and 1930s. As you probably know, the country formally named Czecho-slovakia (with a hyphen) was formed by international fiat at the end of the First World War in 1918 out of adjacent areas. The important point is that exporting was cut off when the Germans invaded the young Czechoslovakia just prior to the Second World War. The fine art and craft making that we now call “vintage/antique” Czech ended abruptly in 1939. Even when the Communists took over from the Germans at the end of the Second World War in 1948, skilled workmen were required to make utilitarian items specified by the government. With the end of Communist dominance in 1989, the formation of the new Czech Republic coincided with an enormous rebirth in modern Czech fine arts and fine craft wares.

Dimensions: height 15.5″ x widest diameter 6.25″