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Antique Amphora “Grès Bijou” Jeweled Art Nouveau Vase — Stylized Face & Spiderweb Motif
Offered here is a striking antique art pottery vase produced by the renowned Amphora-Werke (Riessner, Stellmacher & Kessel) of Turn-Teplitz, Bohemia — a firm celebrated for pushing Art Nouveau ceramics to their most theatrical extreme. This piece is executed in the factory’s famed Grès Bijou, or “Jeweled Stoneware,” technique: introduced around 1904, the line is instantly recognizable for its raised, hand-tooled surfaces studded with simulated cabochon “jewels” of vitrified glass enamel.
The heavily modeled body depicts a stylized grotesque or mask-like face — deep-set green cabochon eyes flank a dramatic dark cobalt beak/horn, above a shell-form ear or wing motif, all rendered in swirling Art Nouveau line work. The reverse and lower body dissolve into a textured honeycomb/spiderweb ground, scattered with dozens of applied jeweled cabochons in emerald green, cobalt blue, and oxblood red — a hallmark of Amphora’s most collectible jeweled output. The rim is finished in a rich, glossy cobalt-black glaze, and the matte sandy ground gives the piece an intentionally weathered, ancient-artifact feel typical of the factory’s most avant-garde designs.
The base is impressed and stamped in blue with the oval factory mark reading “Made in Amphora / Czecho-Slovakia,” placing production in the 1920s, after the founding of the Czechoslovak state (the earlier mark simply reads “Austria”). The interior glaze shows attractive fine craquelure consistent with age.
Condition: Excellent antique condition. No chips, cracks, or repairs noted — only light, expected age-related crazing to the interior glaze. Please examine all photos closely, as they are part of the description; a magnified inspection under light is always recommended for century-old pottery, and I’m happy to answer condition questions before you buy.
Measurements:• Height: 9.5 inches• Base diameter: 2 1/8 inches
Provenance/Background: Amphora operated from 1892–1945 in Turn-Teplitz (now Trnovany, Czech Republic) and is considered one of the most important Art Nouveau/Art Deco ceramic houses of Central Europe, with jeweled Grès Bijou examples actively sought by collectors of Bohemian pottery, Art Nouveau design, and Jugendstil ceramics.
Please review all photos carefully as they form part of the item description. Ships promptly and carefully double-boxed with ample padding for this fragile, irreplaceable antique.
