Exceptional pair of Bohemian glass amphoras with gold enamel decoration, realised in transparent green glass. The decoration in gold enamel represents the foliage motifs that form a quintessential part of the iconographic repertoire of Hispano Moresque Art. The shape clearly recalls the one of the large vases made for the Alhambra in Granada.
Glass making workshops have been known in Bohemia since at least the 13th century. In the 17th century, Czech glassware became as prestigious as jewellery and was sought-after by the wealthy and the aristocracy of the time. Czech glass could be found in the palaces of the French king Louis XV, Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, and Elizabeth of Russia. During the 19th century Bohemian workshops specialised in single colour opaque glass or in two-colour cased glass. These were decorated in thickly enamelled flower subjects that were painted with great speed. A number of these vases started to bear the foliage and calligraphic motifs typical of the Hispano Moresque Art that had become so highly sought at the time.