Bohemian Art Nouveau Harrach Blue and White Botanical Cameo Glass Vase, 1860

Harrach has been the backbone of Bohemian, and possibly European, glass for the last 300 years. It proudly celebrates its tri-centenary in 2012. Before Ludwig Moser was allowed to have his own Glassworks he, like almost everyone else in the region, bought his blanks from Harrach. In fact we will probably never know how much glass, supposedly made my other great glass makers of Europe, were in fact made and finished in the Harrach Glassworks. We do know that vast ranges of Legras was made by Harrach, probably under licence and possibly the majority of the glass we think of as Fratelli Tosso was also made by Harrach. British Glass historians have only just started to review 19th century English glass and reallocate many of the high points to Harrach. Sadly neglected over the years, Harrach made some of the greatest glass of the 19th and 20th century. Much of their production has, not surprisingly, been often been wrongly attributed.