The Beránek glassworks was founded by Emanuel Beránek and his two brothers Bohuslav and Josef, in the village of Skrdlovice in 1941. When World War II ended in 1945, Emanuel bought his brothers shares and became the sole owner of the factory.
The factory name was changed to Skrdlovice around 1950, approximately the same time communism arrived in the country. Skrdlovice managed to survive nationalisation and continued to produced artistic glassware.
Although Emanuel lost ownership of the factory at this time, he continued to work at and run the factory, and was joined by his two sons in the 1950s, Jan Beránek and Jindrich Beránek.
Other designers to work at Skrdlovice include Milena Velíšková (1917), Maria Stahlikova (1922), Jan Kotik (1916-2002), Jaroslav Svoboda (1938-), Pavel Ježek (1938-99), Ladislav Oliva (1933-) and František Vízner (1936-2011).
Emanuel retired in 1959, by which time his son Jan had taken charge of the factory. The Skrdlovice glassworks was returned to the Beránek family in 1992, after the return of democracy. At this time the factory name was changed to Beránek Glass S. R. O., and Jan Beránek passed the ownership to his son, Vlastimil Beránek, who ran the factory until its closure in 2008.
Source '20th Century Glass' website, which can be viewed here.
THIS LISTING
Model #5344
Colour Yellow, with an Iridescent finish
Designer Jan Brož
Production 1953
Dimensions 20.5cm (8") tall, 11.5cm diameter
Condition Great to excellent vintage condition with no major wear that we can see. Some light surface wear but very minimal. Has a slight glow under UV light.
