http://www.modernistglass.com/ Latest pieces added to Modernistglass.com en-us Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:04:32 +1300 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss CakePHP everyone@modernistglass.com (Modernistglass.com Team) webmaster@modernistglass.com (Modernistglass.com webmaster) http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2780 This is a monster piece - 4.25kg or about 9 pounds. It has a layer of uranium oxide in the one of the layers which makes it fluoresce green under UV black light. (See the 4th photo.) This piece has the distinctive signs of age. Our guess is that it's from the 1960s or 70s. So who made it? It's unsigned, as was normal for mid-century Murano. We bought it from someone who thought it was from Murano. The green and yellow is certainly a classic Murano colour combination, and the gondola shaped centrepiece is a common Murano desigh. However, the bulbous ends and the way the thin green top layer is made are not quite like any Murano we've seen before. Often, when we find a quality piece which is unsigned and which doesn't quite seem to be Murano, we eventually find that it is Czech. Either way, it's a fantastic piece. It was bought with a particular customer in mind, but if she decides she doesn't want it, we'll remove the "hold" and open it up to whoever wants it. Please note that if you want us to find a particular piece for you, feel free to ask. We have a lot of happy customers. Length: 44.5cm (17.75 inches) Width: 19cm Height: 10 cm Weight: 4.25 kg Condition: Some shallow scratches and scuffs. A deeper scratch of about 4mm (see photo). A 2mm x 2mm chip in the inside (see photo). Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:45:54 +1300 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2780 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2708 Many of those who discover the beauty of mid-century art glass are immediately taken with the beauty of facet-cut vases from Murano. The problem with these, from the perspective of collecting, is that because they are still popular, they are still made. That means that there are lots of them around, some of them of inferior quality, and that unwary buyers may be buying something relatively new, rather than the vintage piece they think they are getting. As a general rule, the more facets, the more time and expense in producing the vase, so more modern pieces tend to have fewer cut glass sides. Unlike the Italian makers, Strombergshyttan from Sweden stopped making 'mid-century' facet-cut glass long ago. They had a serious factory fire in 1973, the business was sold to Orrefors in 1976, and it closed down in 1979 (though the name has been resurrected by a new business). This piece, in Stromberg's usual ice-blue crystal, has too many facets for us to count. It's very heavy for its height - 14.5cm (5.75 inches) tall but 3.2kg (nearly 7 pounds). Look at the last picture in particular and you'll see that each facet reflects other facets, giving an outstanding optical effect. It has a huge amount of workmanship in it - as with many big, complex pieces, you wouldn't want to make a mistake on the last cut and waste hours or labour. Although it was a production piece, you can buy it with confidence that, forty-something years later, there are now few others like it. Height: 14.5 cm (5.75 inches) Width: 12.5 cm Weight: 3225 g (!) (nearly 7 pounds) Engraved "Strombergshyttan B 1172" (?) to the base Condition: light wear to the base, a 1x3mm and a few less than 0.5mm fleabites to the cut decor Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:59:52 +1300 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2708 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2721 This was designed by Nils Landberg, for Orrefors. It's in the 1954 Orrefors catalogue. We have a matching Tan-si bowl also listed on the site. The two make a very nice set. It's shown in some of the pictures. They both have applied bases. Height: 23.5 cm Width: 8 cm Weight: 295 g Engraved "Orrefors Nu 3300/5" to the base, glue from old label (can be seen in the pictures) Condition: very light wear to the base, an unintended bubble with some colour changing around it from manufacture (see close-up), a few light scratches to the exterior (longest 3mm) Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:26:38 +1300 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2721 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2706 We've always liked the cast glass figurines of Uno Westerberg for under-rated Swedish firm, Pukeberg This is a wonderful piece, the best of the Westerberg figurines that we've seen. However, we picked it up for an embarrassingly low price, so we can pass it on at a bargain price. In 1935 the firm hired the architect, Westerberg (1914-85), to design lighting. From the 1950s he also designed tablewear and art glass. This 2kg bull, probably from the 1960s, was designed specifically for an advertising agency, according to the label. It is not one that we've seen before, and we suspect it was made only in limited numbers. Length: 21 cm (8.25 inches) Height: 14.5 cm Width: 7 cm Weight: 2010 g Labelled "Formgiven av Uno Westerberg för Rodemreklam AB" (=Designed by Uno Westerberg for Rodemreklam AB - Rodem advertising) and "Pukeberg Sweden" Condition: nothing to note except for some 0.5mm and less unintended bubbles and two or three lines from manufacture (see pictures), the old glue that attaches the glass to the wooden stand has got a slightly yellowish tone to it Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:49:17 +1200 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2706 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2769 Elis Bergh was design director at Kosta from 1929 until his retirement in 1950, when he was replaced by Vicke Lindstrand. Some of Bergh's pieces, such as this 8-sided sommerso vase, foreshadow the style of glass that would prove to be so successful for Kosta in the 1950s. Width: 13.5 cm (5.25 inches) Height: 10.5 cm Weight: 1625 g Engraved "B 2236" (?) to the base Condition: expected wear to the base aside from a 1x2mm fleabite, two less than 0.5mm fleabite and a 1x2mm fleabite to the corners, a 0.5x2mm black mark inside the glass from manufacture (to the interior close to the base), a 3mm scratch Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:41:59 +1200 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2769 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2728 Here's something different, a cast art object designed by Jorma Vennola in 1978, and made from 1979 to 1982. It's shows three women sitting on a bench in a sauna with a window behind them. Vennola is an industrial designer who designed for Iittala in the '70s and '80s. His Iittala Village collector's series - stylised miniature houses - has been produced annually since the late '80s. Length: 13 cm (5 inches) Height: 8 cm Width: 3 cm Weight: 650 g Labelled "i IITTALA MADE IN FINLAND" Condition: very light wear to the base and label, a handful of scratches to the back (longest 9mm) Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:52:26 +1200 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2728 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2759 This is the sort of piece that words and pictures can't do justice to. It looks good in the photos, I think, but you'll find it much more impressive in real life. It's clever design, with an elegant shape and applied leaf 'feet' which avoid the need to cut a hole in the side for the cord. The cord cannot be seen inside the glass because the green layer is not transparent (which implies that there is a white layer underneath the green). On top of the green is a layer of clear which includes a trapped bubble pattern. The applied grapes are coated with gold and there is also plenty of gold in the outer layer of clear glass. We want to say this is the work of Archimede Seguso but really, we can't attribute it with any certainty to a particular Murano firm. It's certainly a spectacular piece of glassmaking, requiring a great deal of skill, probably from the 1940s. The frilly vintage shade shown in one of the photos is not included. (It comes with the Murano duck lamp listed on this site. Many of our customers will, I think, prefer to put a simpler, modern shade on it. Height: 19 cm (7.5 inches) (without fitting 14.5 cm) Width: 11.5 cm Weight: 570 g Labelled "MADE IN MURANO ITALY" Condition: some chipping/unpolished area underneath where the lamp is hollow, a few unintended bubbles Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:12:09 +1200 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2759 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2765 Stromberg pieces generally have the company name and model number engraved on the base. Those which are signed with the name of the designer tend to be special pieces. This one bears two names. One is that of Rune Strand, who was a leading engraver of the period (he also worked for Kosta during Vicke Lindstrand's time there). He also designed for Stromberg in the 60s, and we assume this was his design. The other name is L Swahn, who we don't know. He either did the engraving, or the cutting, or both. Note the subtle cutting on the sides (best seen in the last photo). The centre of this piece displays the 'chipped' cutting that we've seen on another Stromberg piece - Asta Stromberg and Rune Strand Strombergshyttan cut and engraved 3kg bowl - while the flower pattern is the usual style of engraving. For examples of Rune Strand's work at Kosta, see Large signed 'In the Harbour' 1950s Vicke LINDSTRAND engraved vase or (probably)Engraved signed and labelled 1960s Vicke Lindstrand Kosta heron. Height: 13.5 cm ((5.25 inches) Width: 13x5 cm Weight: 1150 g Engraved "Stromberg, R.Strand, L Swahn B 1042/C 1062" to the base Condition: light wear to the base, a few very small scratches and scuffs to the exterior (longest 2mm), a 2.8 cm long light scratch to the front (possibly from manufacture) Sun, 21 Sep 2008 19:00:15 +1200 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2765 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2710 This witty vase from Wiktor Berndt made us smile. It's a squared, stylised figure. Certain clues lead us to believe it's a female figure. Berndt came to Flygsfors in 1955. He was chief designer, taking over from Paul Kedelv, from 1956 to 1974. This is from about 1960. Pina and Vigier show the same piece in grey glass in their book, Scandinavian Glass 1930-2000, Smoke & Ice, and value it at US$350-$400, so ours, which we picked up cheaply, is a real bargain. For other Berndt pieces see: http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/search/berndt/0/0/0/1 Height: 24 cm (9.5 inches) Width: 8.5x5 cm Weight: 890 g Engraved "Flygsfors Berndt" to the base Condition: light wear to the base, a 1.5mm fleabite to the outer rim Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:03:04 +1200 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2710 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2717 Annette Krahner designed at Swedish glassmakers, Skruf, from 1982 to 1994. This curvy piece is a 1980s design which we've bought and sold previously; we like it, so we've bought it again. Height: 19.5 cm (7.75 inches) Width: 8 cm Weight: 650 g Labelled "SKRUF SWEDEN Exclusively Hand-crafted Design ANNETTE KRAHNER" Condition: very light wear to the base, a few smaller scratches to the exterior (longest 3mm) Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:21:31 +1200 http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2717