Who was Stepan Tabery

There are things that I love about vintage items. And then there are also things that I hate. One of those that I really hate is incorrect statements on designers of the vintage items and its copying by lazy sellers. Time to time I spend time digging information to confirm the reality.

Today I made a small research on one designer that was always a mystery for me. It is nobody else but Stepan Tabery. Yes, this is his real name. Not Stepan Tabera, Stefan Tabery and similar nonsense. 

Who was he? He was born in Brno in 1929. After graduating from Glass industry school in Zelezny Brod he became glass technician and designer in Glass factory in Kostany near Teplice. This small glass factory was part of Osvetlovaci Sklo n.p. with its headquarters in Valasske Mezirici. The Kostany Glass factory was specialised in colored triplex opal glass, especially orange and red colours.

Stepan Tabery participated in several international exhibitions such as Gottenburg, Hannover and Paris. What makes his designs so special to receive international acclaim? His holistic approach to the shape of the lighting glass pieces that are very minimalistic and symetric. By hiding fixtures and connecting elements inside the lamps he achieved some kind of unity of the design that is great when turned on but also amazing during daylight as an art piece. My respect! Amazing iconic design.

It is often wrongly stated that Stepan Tabery designed the lamps for OPP Jihlava. This nonsense is unfortunately spreading as vintage sellers copy this information one from another. OPP Jihlava - Okresni prumyslovy podnik Jihlava was only providing Osvetlovaci sklo with fixtures for the glass lamps. There we can often find OPP Jihlava engraved in the fixture of the lamp that causes confusion. Sticker with logo of Osvetlovaci sklo is unfortunatelly often missing or overlooked by the seller or not known to the seller. My information is confirmed by original newsletter of OPP Jihlava (source 2).

Stepan Tabery is therefore unfortunately often introduced as designer for OPP Jihlava, general producer of metal parts, furniture parts and whatever with no art value. Instead of being linked to Osvetlovaci sklo, a company of international importance that represented Czech Republic in many international shows and was one of three major producers of glass lighting objects that created so many beautiful masterpieces.

Source 1: Zpravodaj Okresního průmyslového podniku v Jihlavě. JIhlava: Okresní průmyslový podnik, 1982-.

Source 2: ŘEPKOVÁ, Sylva. Sylva Řepková: tapiserie v architektuře ; Štěpán Tabery : Osvětlovadla : 20.1.-22.2.1976 : Galerie Jaroslava Krále, Brno. Brno: Český fond výtvarných umění, 1976.

Special thanks to Jiri Fojtik (former photograph of Osvetlovaci sklo) for allowing use of the photos from his personal collection

Disclaimer: The provided information was written as per acquired information in the given sources. Do not hesitate to contact me in case of additional information or to correct any parts of the text.