Franz Welz - Bohemia - Perfume bottle - ART DECO - spotter glass - 22 cm

Franz Welz Art Deco Spatter Glass Perfume Bottle – Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, c. 1920s–1930s

An exceptional and highly decorative Art Deco perfume bottle by Franz Welz, produced in Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, during the interwar period.

The bottle is executed in one of the colourful spatter glass decors strongly associated with Franz Welz production. Against a rich red ground, irregular fragments and elongated streaks of yellow, orange, blue, white and darker tones create a remarkably vibrant composition. The colours become particularly dynamic around the shoulder and neck, where they stretch into vertical ribbons following the movement of the blown glass.

The elegant elongated form is completed by its original contrasting black glass stopper, whose sculptural, stepped silhouette gives the bottle a particularly strong Art Deco character. The combination of the vivid multicoloured body and almost architectural black stopper makes this an especially striking example of Bohemian decorative glass of the period.

At approximately 22 cm in total height, this is a substantial and unusually large perfume bottle, giving it considerably more decorative presence than many smaller toilette bottles of the period. It is preserved in excellent overall condition: the bottle itself is in exceptionally fine condition, while the original stopper shows only very minor imperfections consistent with its age. Its survival together with the original stopper is particularly desirable from a collector’s perspective.

A rare and visually powerful piece, this perfume bottle captures the innovative spirit of Bohemian Art Deco glass through its vivid palette, energetic abstract decoration and bold geometric form. Franz Welz is particularly celebrated for distinctive colour combinations and experimental glass patterns, qualities beautifully represented in this example. With its impressive scale, original stopper and exceptional state of preservation, it is a highly collectible and characteristic example of Franz Welz production from the Art Deco period.


Franz Welz and the Bohemian Glass Tradition

The history of the glassworks associated with Franz Welz reaches back to 1728, when the enterprise was established by the Kopp family in Bohemia. The Welz family became connected with the business in 1794, and in 1894 Franz Welz established a new glassworks at Klostergrab (today Hrob, Czech Republic), known as Antonienhütte. The company subsequently became especially noted for its colourful artistic glass of the early 20th century.

Franz Welz formed part of the remarkable Bohemian glassmaking tradition that combined highly developed craftsmanship with continual experimentation in colour and decoration. During the early decades of the 20th century, the factory produced an extensive variety of spatter, striped, spotted and Tango-style glass, often using complex combinations of strongly contrasting colours. Welz pieces were only occasionally labelled, with surviving examples known bearing “Welz” or “F.W.K.” (Franz Welz Klostergrab) marks, which contributes to both the challenge and fascination of identifying the factory’s production today.



Will be carefully packaged and well protected