Pair of Amphora Imperial Turn vases. Austria, ca. 1910

Pair of AMPHORA IMPERIAL TURN vases. Austria, ca. 1910.
Glazed porcelain.
With manufacturer’s marks and serial numbers on the reverse.
Shows some visible old restoration (on the head and wing of one angel, and a finger on another).
Measurements: 59 x 27 x 17 cm.
Pair of ornamental vases in the Modernist or Jugendstil style. Crafted from glazed porcelain, they are characterized by their soft tones and the charming sculptures of two classical putti on each vase: one is entwined among the floral garlands, and the other looks down at his companion from above. There are subtle differences between the two vases in the positioning of their graceful figures. The structure of the vases evokes the shape of a large raffia basket decorated with garlands of small mauve flowers, among which the putti frolic.
The Austrian manufacturer Amphora was founded in 1892 under the name Riessner, Stellmacher & Kessel (R.S.K.) Amphora in Trnovany, now in the Czech Republic (then Turn-Teplitz, Bohemia, Austria). Even in its early years, the factory received awards for the excellent technical and decorative quality of its pieces at international exhibitions in Chicago in 1893, San Francisco in 1893 and 1894, and Antwerp in 1894. In 1905, Eduard Stellmacher left the firm to start his own company, and the firm was renamed Amphora Factory Riessner & Kessel. In 1910, Kessel also left, and between 1910 and 1945, the factory’s name became Amphora Works Riessner. In 1945, the factory was nationalized.