Moser Glassworks celebrates 160th anniversary with special collection

160 years ago Ludwig Moser opened a glass-workshop and store in the West Bohemian town of Karlovy Vary. Today the Moser Glassworks is a world leader in glass making, selling its products around the globe and getting commissions for special pieces for royal palaces and five-star hotels. It is celebrating its 160th anniversary with a grand exhibition at Prague’s Municipal House.

Photo: CTK

Admirers of glass art now have a unique opportunity to see the very best of what this leading glassmaker has created over the years. The exhibition, entitled The Moser Crystal Story highlights the important periods in the glasswork’s development. And the MOSER 2017 anniversary collection, specially created for this occasion, offers the best of what was produced in the course of that time.

There are fourteen sections showing, among others, crystal glass pieces with engraved Art Nouveau plant decorations and gilded African scenes, which brought the glassworks fame and world-recognition. It was created by prominent glass artists and the company’s best glass masters. The Masterpiece of the 2017 collection – a chandelier for Ludwig Moser - is a tribute to the glassworks’ founder. The company’s art director Lukáš Jabůrek says the crystal chandelier forms a bridge between the historical craft legacy of Ludwig Moser and modern elements of design, light and the craftsmanship of the current master glassmakers and grinders. The chandelier is 220 cm high, has a diameter of 190 cm and weighs nearly 200 kg. It is unique in that it is gilded with several layers of 24-karat gold. The arms of the chandelier are festooned with 133 drops from hand blown and cut crystal in a warm topaz colour. It took 40 glass masters a year and a half to craft this masterpiece for the exhibition.

The Moser Crystal Story is on show at Prague’s Municipal House until March 22nd. After that it is scheduled to go on a foreign tour, which should include Italy, the United States and Taiwan.