Pineapple Glass Vase – Frantisek Vizner for Skrdlovice, 1971

Heavy hand-blown art glass vase from the “Pineapple/Ananas” series, designed in 1971 by Czech glass master František Vízner for Škrdlovice, with a pineapple-like relief that creates strong optical depth in clear, softly smoked glass. A sought-after example of Czech mid-century studio glass from one of the country’s leading post-war glassworks, represented in major museum collections.

• Dimensions: H 19,5 cm, Dia 9,5 cm
• Material: Hand-blown glass
• Brand: Škrdlovice Glassworks (Baranek Glasswork)
• Designer: František Vízner
• Color: Clear with subtle grey tone
• Condition: Excellent vintage condition; light shelf wear on the base, no chips, cracks or repairs
• Era: 1970s (design 1971)
• Origin: Czechoslovakia
  
• Remarks: Model Nr. 7117/20

For collectors of Czech mid-century art glass and design-led interiors; perfect as a sculptural accent on a sideboard, console or shelf.

František Vízner (1936–2011) was a Czech glass designer and studio-arts pioneer, trained at the glass schools in Nový Bor and Železný Brod and at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague (graduated 1962). He worked as a designer at Sklo Union near Teplice (1962–67), then at the Škrdlovice glassworks’ Centre for Artistic Craft (1967–77), before establishing himself as an independent artist known for rigorously minimal, precisely ground geometric vessels. His refined cast-and-polished forms earned wide institutional recognition, including a dedicated exhibition, Masters of Studio Glass: František Vízner, at the Corning Museum of Glass (2008–09). Vízner died on July 1, 2011, leaving a legacy that bridges Czech industrial design and high-art studio glass.

Baranek Glassworks – better known by its post-war name Škrdlovice – was founded in 1940-41 by master glassmaker Emanuel Beránek and his brothers in the village of Škrdlovice (Vysočina, Czechoslovakia), quickly gaining a reputation for heavy, hand-formed “hutní” art glass with rich colors, bubbles, and layered effects. Nationalized after 1948, the factory operated within the state design system and collaborated with leading artists; highlights include Jan Kotík’s celebrated “Propeller” vases (designed 1955, executed in the Škrdlovice hot shop) and limited hot-worked series by František Vízner, among others. After restitution in 1992 the works returned to the family under Vlastimil Beránek, continuing hand-made production until its closure in 2008; today, Škrdlovice’s output is recognized as a cornerstone of 20th-century Czech studio glass and remains highly collectible.