Inventory Number AM107
Size 15.75" H x 6.5" Diam.
Material Earthenware
Period Art Nouveau
Country of Origin Austria
Year Made c. 1900
Twisted epitomizes the artistic heights sometimes reached by Amphora, Bohemia’s preeminent maker of Jugendstil art pottery. The dynamic sculptural form evokes surging plant growth through a swiveling base that culminates in a stylized flower head. Stalk-like ribs direct the body’s torque, which resolves in a circular neck composed of floral bulbs. A tour de force of abstracted life force, this exquisite example of Twisted is also a masterpiece of glaze artistry. Streaks of grass-green peek through gunmetal gray, all softly iridized. Vigorous and verdent, Twisted gives fresh meaning to fin-de- siècle expressions like “youth style” and “new art.” This example is also notable for a rare RStK mark painted near the base. Most likely designed by Paul Dachsel for Amphora.
Publications
Model illustrated in Scott, Richard L., Ceramics from the House of Amphora: 1890-1915 (Sidney, OH: Richard L. Scott, 2004) 170.
