Smoky Brown Art Glass Vase Duo – Václav Horáček & Miroslav Klinger for ŽBS Sklo Union, 1960s

Curated Czech glass duo in warm smoky-brown tones — one compact with a tactile, chiseled surface, the other wider and softly contoured with an amber glow. Designed by Václav Horáček and Miroslav Klinger in the Železný Brod tradition, the pairing balances raw texture and quiet, modern form with beautiful depth in natural light.

• Dimensions:
• Vase 1 (Horáček): H 19 cm, W 6 cm, D 5 cm
• Vase 2 (Klinger): H 20 cm, W 10 cm, D 8 cm
• Material: Art glass
• Brand: ŽBS Sklo Union (Železný Brod)
• Designer: Václav Horáček & Miroslav Klinger
• Color: smoky brown
• Condition: Excellent vintage condition; minimal surface wear consistent with age; no chips, cracks, or repairs reported
• Era: 1960s
• Origin: Czechia
  

Perfect for collectors of Czech modern glass, and easy to style day-to-day. Looks best on a sideboard, coffee table, or windowsill where light can travel through the brown tones.

Železný Brod Sklo (Železnobrodské sklo, often abbreviated ŽBS/ZBS), created in 1948 in Železný Brod, North Bohemia (then Czechoslovakia) through post-war nationalisation, became a prominent state glass enterprise drawing on multiple local workshops and traditions. It is best known for handblown, free-formed “organic” vases and bowls from the 1950s–1980s, strongly associated with designer Miloslav Klinger (1922–1999) and related studio-led production. Alongside art glass, the broader Železný Brod output also included glass beads, costume jewellery, and glass buttons, reflecting the region’s long-standing decorative-glass economy. After 1989, the original state structure was reorganised, and today the name appears both as a collector attribution for mid-century Czech art glass and in modern listings tied to bead/jewellery and glass production in the area.

Václav Horáček (b. 1928) was a Czech glass designer trained at the Glass School in Železný Brod and later at the School of Applied Arts in Prague (UMPRUM) under Prof. Štípl. He is known for clean modern forms and refined surface work, and he collaborated with multiple Czechoslovak glassworks, including Josefodol and the Železný Brod region, designing both artistic and industrially produced pieces.

Miloslav Klinger (10 January 1922 – 5 July 1999) was a Czech glass artist and designer closely tied to the Železný Brod school and glassworks. He trained at the Secondary Vocational Glass School in Železný Brod, continued at the Academy of Arts and Crafts in Prague (UMPRUM), and worked for Železný Brod Glass (ZBS) across multiple decades—also serving as director of the local glass school in the mid-1960s.