Harrach had some of the best engravers in the business, and made a massive variety of engraved glass. They utilized a state of the art hydro-powered engraving and cutting shop, powered by a stream that ran under the cutting shop. Talk about going green a century before it was a global phenomenon. The cutting shop was build in 1895, and is still in use today, looking virtually identical to its 1895 state, and it’s still hydro-powered. Visiting this cutting shop feels like walking back in time 117 years. It’s designated as a national historical treasure by the Czech government.
Harrach 1895 Historical Cutting and Engraving Room (Photo courtesy Mike Moir).
After handling thousands of pieces of Harrach glass, one is able to draw a hypothesis based on large sample sets of data. One conclusion I’ve been able to draw, is that Harrach engraved glass from circa 1900, was typically engraved on the base with the design number. I have not seen this on similar era Moser engraved glass.
The following examples will help illustrate this conclusion – click on photos to enlarge.
Harrach c. 1900 Engraved Glass Sales Photo 1
Harrach Engraved Vase Example 1A. Note the identical example is shown in the above Harrach Sales Photo 1, bottom row, last vase on the right (Severn Collection).
Harrach Engraved Vase Example 1A Base with Engraved Design No. D. 372.
Harrach Engraved Vase Example 1A Closeup (Severn Collection).
Harrach Engraved Vase - The Engraving is effectively identical to Example 1A. Note the identical example is shown in the above Harrach sales photo, bottom row, first piece on the left (Harrach Museum).
Although this vase is not engraved, this piece is shown in Sales Photo 1 (top row, third from the right). Notice this, and several other, shapes are interchangable between gilded with glass jewels, and engraved as shown on the bottom row, second from the right (Harrach Museum).
Harrach c.1900 Engraved Art Nouveau Glass Sales Photo 2
Harrach c.1900 Engraved Art Nouveau Glass Sales Photo 3
Harrach Engraved Art Nouveau Engraved Vase 1A. See Sales Photo 2 & 3 above for the same example (Severn Collection).
Harrach Engraved Art Nouveau Vase 1A Engraved Design No.
Harrach Art Nouveau Engraved Vases c.1900 Example 2A & 3A - See Sales Photo 2 & 3 For Identical Examples (Photo courtesy Warren Galle)
Harrach Engraved Art Nouveau Vase 2A Engraved Design No.
Harrach Engraved Art Nouveau Vase 3A Engraved Design No.
Harrach Engraved Art Nouveau Vase Example 4A. See Sales Photo 2 above for the same example (Photo courtesy Gary Baldwin).
Harrach Engraved Art Nouveau Vase Example 4A Engraved Design No.
Harrach Engraved Art Nouveau Vase Example 5A See Sales Photo 2 above for the same form (Photo courtesy Gary Baldwin).
Harrach Art Nouveau Vase Example 5A Engraved Design No.
While I certainly cannot say that all c. 1900 Harrach engraved glass also had their corresponding design numbers engraved on the base of the article, it is a good indication that it is Harrach glass.