BLACK MAGIC!...

Glorious Austrian jet black crystal bib necklace and huge bow pin.

The 3-strand bib necklace features shimmery, faceted jet black crystals. Fastens via a lobster-style clasp. Weighty and substantial. Silvertone base metal. An adjustable 18 1/2"L.

The huge dimensional bow sparkles with Austria crystals. Blackened/Japanned base metal. Measure 4" by 3".

No markings.

Excellent vintage condition.

Austrian crystal:
In the middle of the 19th century the glasshouses of central Europe were producing a great variety of the layered and colored wares that had become particularly associated with Bohemia in the preceding Biedermeier period. They were also producing a great amount of cut crystal glass in the deeply cut English style, and indeed work of this nature continued with little change throughout the modern period.

A revival of the indigenous art of engraving was initiated by Ludwig Lobmeyr, who from 1864 was in control of the Viennese firm of J. and L. Lobmeyr. His first opportunity came at the Paris International Exhibition of 1867, and his reputation was firmly established at the Vienna International Exhibition of 1873. He commissioned designs for his glasses from the leading Viennese architects and painters of the time, and his work was carried out by the finest craftsmen in Bohemia and Austria.

From around 1900 onward a movement toward a modern purist approach to glass was largely fostered by the work of designers connected with the Vienna Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Industrial Art). Men such as Kolo Moser and Josef Hoffmann, who were also closely associated with the Vienna Werkstätte (Workshop), were designing glasses in simple rational forms. Much initiative in this movement was shown by the firms of E. Bakalowits Söhne of Vienna and J. Lötz’ Witwe. The Czech architect Jan Kotěra was influential in the modern design of glass, and in the early years of World War I the Czech Artěl organization of artists and architects was concerned with the design of glass in a forward-looking Cubist manner.

In Austria after World War I the Lobmeyr firm under the control of Stefan Rath produced many engraved and relief-carved pieces designed by artists such as Ena Rottenberg, Lotte Fink, and Vally Wieselthier. Lobmeyr also produced some of the best designs of Michael Powolny, who had his own workshop and had designed for the firm of J. Lötz’ Witwe.