05/2026 Glass sculpture of a woman with a child

The exhibit of May is a glass sculpture of a seated woman, originating from the production of the Železný Brod glass artist Rudolf Hloušek’s company. The delicately modelled figure of a woman holding her child in her arms was acquired by the museum’s collection in 2006. The sculpture stands out for its matte surface, which gives it a soft and subdued expression.

Rudolf Hloušek Company

Rudolf Hloušek (1909–1992) attended the glassmaking school in Železný Brod between 1924 and 1927. In 1930, he founded his own company specializing in artistic glass production, focusing on cut and engraved glass. His specialty was vases with relief sandblasted and engraved figurative motifs.

The company’s chief designer was Bořek Neužil, a specialist in sandblasted glass. Other collaborators included Jindřich Tockstein, Alois Metelák, Zdeněk Juna, and Stanislav Mikuláštík. Original mould designs for pressed glass were created by František Pazourek, Stanislav Honsejk, Božetěch Medek, and Oldřich Žák.

The company became renowned for the high quality of its products and received awards at world exhibitions in Brussels (1935, Grand Prix) and Paris (1937, collective Grand Prix).

After the Second World War, Rudolf Hloušek planned to begin the production of figurative pressed glass. However, his business was nationalized in 1948 and incorporated into the state-owned enterprise Železnobrodské sklo. After 1989, when Czechoslovakia underwent the privatization of state enterprises, the company did not revive its pre-war tradition and was not re-established.