Josef Inwald - not one "Eureka" moment, but two!

For some time we were unsure about the Drapery Variant pattern - was it really made by Riihimaki? A tumbler is shown in the Riihimaki catalogue, but …….. there were some things that didn't quite fit.

The mirror shiny ground base and the shimmering peacock iridescence found on Drapery Variant pieces were very characteristic of Inwald, not Riihimaki.

Inwald was known to make decanter sets, but they are not typical of Riihimaki production.

Drapery Variant is shown in catalogue from Cristalerias Piccardo (Argentina) which included imported glass. It was actually named "Checo", clearly implying the source to be Czechoslovakia.

A lot of Carnival from Czechoslovakia is found in the UK, and later, in the 1950s, a lot of clear crystal Drapery Variant tumblers from Czechoslovakia were sold in the UK (most homes had a set of them).

A couple of Drapery Variant tumblers surfaced with an unusual colour finish - not at all like Riihimaki's glass.

Two sizes of marigold Drapery Variant tumblers

So, although we thought that Drapery Variant was probably not made by Riihimaki, we did not have absolute proof for the maker.

Then in 2005, thanks to Siegmar Gieselberger and Herr Neumann, some Markhbeinn catalogues surfaced. Markhbeinn was a glass wholesaler and distributer, not a glass maker. In these catalogues, we see a range of shapes in the Drapery Variant pattern, alongside known Inwald patterns such as Jacobean, Nola and Double Diamond.

Eureka One! 

The circumstantial evidence was backed up by a prime catalogue source - Drapery Variant was made in Carnival by Josef Inwald of Czechoslovakia. It was originally called "Lido". The Markhbeinn (Inwald) inventory includes a wide range of shapes in the pattern - but best of all is that they list them in irisé (iridised - that is, Carnival). Proof.

Inwald Drapery Variant pitcher, marigold

For more information, see our Expanded and Revised Second Edition of Carnival Glass The Magic and the Mystery

Above: a catalogue image showing part of the Drapery Variant range.

Eureka Two!

Inwald made Carnival in colours other than marigold.

We said above: "A couple of Drapery Variant tumblers surfaced with an unusual colour finish". They are shown in the centre of the picture, left (photo courtesy of tumbler expert, Bob Smith).

This got us thinking that yes, that was not at all like Riihimaki's Carnival Glass, but equally it was not like Carnival we knew from Inwald which was thought to be marigold only.

How do we know? In 2008, when we issued our Second edition of Carnival Glass The Magic & Mystery we included the following in the section on Inwald:

..... it is possible that some blue Carnival from Inwald may also exist, as we have seen two pieces in a 1936 catalogue described as “Azurit Irisé” which means iridised blue. This means that irdised blue Inwald Carnival may exist.

We were thinking the shade of blue might be a vibrant colour. 

But let's picture instead a delicate pastel blue. This ties in with the Drapery Variant tumbler (or shot glass) in that colour. 

Now let's take it up a notch. Pale amethyst iridised was also made by Inwald! We have a Triangle Panels decanter in that delicate iridescence, and we're aware of a Drapery Variant tumbler too.

Triangle Panels decanter

Whoa! Stop press! Here's a shocker. 

Inwald made this delicately iridised decanter. 

It is a rare Triangle Panels decanter in a clear base glass with a soft pink-amethyst and gold iridescence. It matches (in colour) the Drapery Variant tumbler that we show above (third from the left).

We believe this is one of the colours that Inwald described as Azurit Irisé.

We may need to think of a way to distinguish the colour from the soft blue iridised items from Inwald too!

There are more revelations to come - stay tuned.

Triangle Panels decanter, in Azurit Irisé