From an Estate Sale of late 19th century - early 20th century CRYSTAL & CHINA, we offer from the MOSER Crystal Manufactory in Karlsbad, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, a FANTASTIC FIND of a VINTAGE GROUP of SIX 7 7/8" high by 2 1/4" wide CHAMPAGNE FLUTES with bulbous stem and wafer in stem having the RAREST OF COLORS - "ALEXANDRITE"(Moser called this color "Alexandrit"); and, a WONDERFUL ELABORATELY ENGRAVED PATTERN of a dancing couple, trees, fountain, birds, fancy scrolled gate, stand with vase & flowers on a foreground - also, with GOLD VERGE LINES around the top & bottom rims and the wafer in stem.
ALEXANDRITE COLOR - the Alexandrite color has a gorgeous lavender/lilac base tone that changes color depending on whether the light source is natural(bluish overtones) or artificial(pinkish overtones) - the last two photos show the color rendering under natural(next to last photo) and artificial light(last photo). Alexandrite is one of the rarest colors known in glassmaking and is one of the most difficult colors to achieve since its composition is unstable and the color is not consistent between batches of glass - Ludwig Moser was also a skilled chemist and the discovery of ingredients that would produce the rare Alexandrite color in glass and remain stable, is credited to Moser - Charon's book referenced below states: "It was the color alexandrite that put the glass makers of this famous glass works ahead of all other glass makers at the time".
Many years later, the American crystal manufactories of Tiffin and Heisey achieved the Alexandrite breakthrough, but, Heisey's production in Alexandrite was fraught with problems because they couldn't overcome the stability issue.
This group is in SUPERB CONDITION without any cracks, chips, nicks or stains - couldn't find and use marks or scratches - PROBABLY NEVER USED BUT STORED AWAY FOR MANY YEARS - COVERED IN GRIME UNTIL WE CLEANED THEM UP. THE THREE GOLD TRIM LINES ARE PRISTINE.
PROVENANCE:
these are not signed, however, much of Moser's early production were
not acid etched but only carried paper labels(which, after 85-125 years
have either been washed off or disintegrated). Baldwin's "Moser
Artistic Glass - Edition Two" book referenced below states: "Prior to
WWII, the majority of Moser glass was NOT indelibly marked" - and, on
pg. 139 of this book, 4 pieces of glass in Alexandrite and undecorated
are shown with 1977 prices from $350-$800 - no doubt a scarce color.
Further, we have obtained an Appraisal Certificate(SEE THIRD TO
LAST PHOTO FOR COPY OF APPRAISAL) for six of these Moser Alexandrite
Engraved water goblets, which has a GUARANTEE LINE stating that these
are "Moser Alexandrite Water Glasses" DATING from the 1930's-1940's.
Additionally, this group can be attributed to Moser by reason of the
Alexandrite color(which was discovered by Moser), the "trademark" Moser
RECESSED AND POLISHED PONTIL, and the stunning engraved pattern, which
is quite similar to other most attractive engravings shown in the Moser
books referenced below.
Based on the preceding, we have the confidence to guarantee this stemware as being genuine original stemware made by the MOSER manufactory from the 1930's - 1940's.
PRICING GUIDELINES: from the aforementioned Appraisal Certificate(SEE PHOTOS), an Insurance Value of $1,000 and an Auction Value of $400-$600 is indicated for six of these Moser water goblets. Also, we couldn't find any Moser Alexandrite(Alexandrit) stemware that sold on Ebay over the past 3 months or on Liveauctioneers over the past 15 years, however, there was one non-Alexandrite goblet with the same engraving but different stemware blank that sold for $81 - please checkout these Websites.
REF: GARY BALDWIN'S "Moser Artistic Glass - Edition Two"(1997); BALDWIN & CANO'S "Moser - Artistry in Glass 1857-1938"(1989); MURAL CHARON'S " Ludwig Moser King of Glass"(1984); R & L GROVER'S "Art Glass Nouveau(1973); Glass PAGE/FREDERICKSEN'S "A Collection of American Crystal"(1995); PAGE/FREDERICKSEN'S "Crystal Stemware Identification Guide"; S & M FROST'S "Comprehensive Guide to Pairpoint Glass Shapes & Patterns"(2006); DEAN SIX'S Lotus Depression Glass and Far Beyond(2005); FLORENCE'S Stemware Identification(1997); DEAN SIX'S West Virginia glass Between the World Wars(2002); Websites of the Leading Crystal Replacement Services; Ebay's 3 Month History of Sold Items; Liveauctioneer's 15 year history of sold lots.
Everything we sell is unconditionally guaranteed to be as described condition and, in addition, all the lots that we are offering are BONDED by "BuySafe"(backed up by a Liberty Mutual Insurance Policy). Our shipping costs do not include any "hidden" charges,as with some who set a low start price and then add $10-$20 as a "handling" fee. Usually, we will pack & ship the items ourselves, charging only the actual postage&insurance fees+$3.25 for the box&bubble wrap. INVENTORY#4010C-B600-B440-A390-A325#2