Loetz vase Marie Kirschner Pensée hell glatt Iris ca. 1905

Marie Kirschner began her artistic career studying painting in Prague, Vienna, and Paris. Over time, however, her focus gradually shifted toward the applied arts. In the 1890s, she made several trips to Klostermühle, where her interest in glass design flourished. Initially, Kirschner decorated Loetz glass with elaborate paintings, but she soon began creating her own glass designs. It is believed that her first designs date from around 1897 or 1898. Her vase designs were carefully conceived to harmonize aesthetically with the flowers for which they were intended, including lilacs, tulips, asters, and roses. Her designs are characterized by simple geometric and stereometric forms.
This large, bulbous vase, with almost 40 cm in height, impresses with ist reduced, modern formal language for ist time, around 1905. The colorless glass, overlaid with violet from top to bottom, carries the Pensée decor with a matte shimmer that gently interacts with light and movement.
The vase ranks among the largest and most expensive models designed by Marie Kirschner. The “MK” signature on the base appears exclusively on pieces that were personally commissioned and distributed by her.