Four stages in the “Course of Production of a Glass Animal” are still preserved at the
Technical Museum, Vienna (ill. 77). From front left to back right, we see the Progression:
the cylindrical rod with the ends drawn out, the body of the animal with the neckpiece
bent at a sharp angle, the pre-formed head and the hind legs that have been attached.
The antilope formed from Chrysoprase glass (ill. 73) was then finished (front
legs, horns, eyes, crystal base). In another Version employing different colors, it was
refined even more by the addition of applied molten color, a rust brown with a rough
feel (ill. 20, p.25). The stages of the production of a phantasy animal drawn by Karl
Bohdal in 1980 are very informative (ills. 79 and 80, from top to bottom). Bohdal told
me back then, that the amount of pure worktime he spent on a “Mythical Animal” (“Fabeltier”)
was about three-quarters of an hour. For the much more elaborate candle
stick with Pegasus, he needed about three hours. Of course this only applies to a
highly experienced glass blower, such as himself.
Serpent vases (ill. 78, p. 92) were made in large numbers. The photographs printed in a
Contemporary magazine (c. 1934) illustrate the successive Steps (ills. 82-90).
THE MODELS, THEIR NUMBERS AND NAMES
Within a short time after their founding, the “Bimini” Workshops created a large number
of models. Many “Bimini” glasses (vases, decorative goblets, boxes, flasks, etc.)
were not only given numbers in the catalogues and lists. Their unmistakable peculiarities,
their special identities, were underscored by giving them names. Most of them
have survived: “Atalante,” “Bacchus,” “Omphale," transcended numerical Identification
by giving the glasses the sound of stränge and unknown worlds. The names came from
distant realms in tales about ancient gods and heroes (“Prometheus,” logically for a
double candlestick) and from heroes of classical literature (“Tasso”) or their authors
(“Dante”). When animals were regarded as allegories, Symbols or caricatures, their
names corresponded: “Vanity,” “Ambition,” “Bureaucracy,” etc.
In regard to the chronological order of the model numbers, extreme caution is necessary.
A linear succession progressing from number 1 to 999 cannot be assumed. Although
groups of numbers can be applied to certain groups of objects, even here a
strict numerical-chronological order is not guaranteed:
Nos. 1-155, 206-211: vases, decorative goblets and other vessels
Nos. 350-392: flowers, grasses, trees, bushes, cactuses
Nos. 400-406: aquarium with animals and plants
Nos. 446-448: bowls
Nos. 501-551: flasks, but also boxes and bowls
Nos. 601-963: animals
Nos. 980-999: figures and groups of figures
VESSELS
A number of objects, especially vases and so-called decorative goblets of filigree glass
were made in styles oriented on antiquity and on Venetian glass. Glasses “ä la facon de
Venise” were made again and again from the 16th Century onwards. Their shapes
ranged from true copies of old models to variations, their process of manufacture extended
from techniques of the glass house to those of lampwork. It was not until the
late 19th Century, however, that the gas burner made it possible for larger vessels to
be made “at the lamp.” With the terms “ANTIK” or “ANTIKE FORM” (“antique shape”),
the style source of some of the “Bimini” glasses is clearly identified (Cat. no. 117). The
“Bimini” glasses whose Sketches are accompanied by the note, “VENEDIG XVI” (“Venice
XVI”) refer to the highpoint in the art of glassmaking in Italy (Cat. no. 117, model
no. 65).
The glass material used for “Bimini” glasses in general was also used for vessels: filigree
glass (preferred for Venetian styles), white and smoky opal, crystal, black, red,
blue, Chrysoprase, topaz (with applications of rod-glass).
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