Glass Vase “Propeller” – Jan Kotík for Beránek (Škrdlovice) Glassworks, ca. 1958–1962

Heavy free-formed uranium glass vase by Czech artist Jan Kotík for Beránek Glassworks, with a dynamic propeller-like body, trapped air bubbles and sommerso layering that shift from chartreuse to blue-green depending on the light. A classic example of Czech mid-century organic glass that glows vividly under UV and reads like frozen motion in daylight.

• Dimensions: H 20 cm, Dia 12 cm
• Material: Uranium glass, hot-worked free-form
• Brand: Beránek Glassworks (also known as Škrdlovice)
• Designer: Jan Kotík
• Color: Transparent yellow-green uranium glass with teal/icy-blue nuances
• Condition: Excellent vintage condition; no chips or cracks, minimal wear to base from age
• Era: ca. 1958–1962, Mid-Century Modern
• Origin: Czechoslovakia
• Remarks: Approx. 2,5 kg; glows under UV light

A statement piece for a sideboard, low cabinet or plinth where it won’t have to compete: let it sit near a window or soft spotlight so the colour can deepen through the day. Pair it with just a couple of quiet companions – a stack of design books or a simple ceramic bowl – and skip the flowers entirely; the flowing glass, air bubbles and shifting greens are already the main event.

Jan Kotik (1916–2002) was a Czech painter, printmaker, industrial designer, and art theorist- co-founder of the post-war avant-garde Skupina 42 (Group 42) and, from 1950–53, head of an atelier at ÚLUV, the state design center. His applied-arts work included influential hot-shop glass for the Škrdlovice/Baranek glassworks, notably the “Propeller” (model 5503) vase designed in 1955 and produced into the 1960s. Kotík also earned international recognition with a silver medal at Expo ’58 in Brussels for glass, later settling in Berlin in 1970, where he continued exhibiting and writing until his death in 2002.

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.