Josef Inwald Barolac Art Deco Winged Vase – Rosaline Glass, c.1930s Bohemia

There are vases, and then there is this. This is a Josef Inwald Barolac Art Deco winged vase in rosaline glass, made in Bohemia in the early 1930s, and it is one of the most dramatically beautiful pieces of pressed glass ever produced. The fact that you can own it for 60 euros is, frankly, the art world's problem to explain.

Josef Inwald's Barolac glassworks in Bohemia were producing some of the most inventive and collectible pressed glass of the entire Art Deco period. The winged vase — with its two sweeping side wings that rise from a square geometric base and curl outward at the top like a frozen moment of flight — is among the most recognisable and sought-after of their designs. The interior swirling relief pattern spirals downward into the base with hypnotic precision. The scalloped rim adds a final flourish of period drama.

The colour is that warm rosaline amber-pink that shifts from deep amber at the base to a soft blush pink in the wings, depending entirely on how the light decides to behave that day. In direct sunlight it glows. In candlelight it smoulders. On a shelf it simply commands the room.

Now, about the imperfections. This piece has them, and they are worth talking about. There are fine glass threads — slivers of molten glass that landed on the surface during production and fused there — and a small air bubble or two trapped in the glass. These are production characteristics, not damage. They are the direct result of this being made by hand, in a factory where molten glass was being worked at extraordinary temperatures by skilled craftspeople who were, after all, only human. Every one of these marks is original to the piece and over 90 years old. They are part of the story.

Height: 25 cm
Width: 12.5 cm
Weight: 1,156 grams
Material: Rosaline pressed glass
Maker: Josef Inwald, Barolac glassworks
Origin: Bohemia (Czech Republic)
Style: Art Deco
Year: circa early 1930s
Condition: Very good — original production imperfections (glass threads, minor air bubbles), no chips or cracks

WARNING: This vase has a wingspan. It will require more shelf space than you think. It will also require more attention from visitors than you are prepared for. Questions such as "where did you find that" and "is that Lalique" will be asked. The correct answer to the second question is "no, it's better" — because Inwald's Barolac pieces are rarer, more affordable, and arguably more interesting. Maison de L'oro stands by this position entirely.