Rare 3.5kg Asta Stromberg signed Ariel vase with trapped rings of air for Strombergshyttan

Here's another from the Strombergshyttan collection that we recently purchased.  I will ask some of the collectors we deal with whether they have ever seen any ariel by Stromberg before.  It's certainly not common.

It's in the typical Stromberg ice-blue colour, a glass recipe that was developed by Stromberg and his son.  As with most Stromberg design, it's brilliantly simple and elegant in conception, though complex to make.  Each ring is a single hollow bubble (see close-ups).  My assumption is that the only way they could make this is the ariel technique.  This would have required the vase, once it had reached a certain thickness, to be cooled so that circles could be carved into the side.  Each circle would become a ring of air. When the glass was heated again and more layers of glass applied, the next layer of glass completed the bubbles. 

The quality of Stromberg crystal is one of its major attractions.  In handmade, mouth-blown glass, the occasional small, unintended bubble is inevitable but it's important to minimise them - if you're going to make something really simple and elegant (e.g. http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/view/2565 which I listed a couple of days ago), flaws in the glass (unintended bubbles or lack of clarity, for example) will stand out.  On larger and complex pieces like this one (3.5kg or about 8lb, and using the ariel technique) the quality is even more crucial.  As a manufacturer, you don't want to spend lots of time and materials on a piece which ends up being less than perfect. 

The seller tells us that this was designed by Asta Stromberg, the wife of the son of the original owner.  The numbering indicates a design from the 1960s.  A rare and special piece; we've never seen one before.  It's sure to appreciate; snap it up. 

The last picture shows the five Stromberg vases we bought recently which are being listed over the next few weeks.

For more Stromberg, see:

http://www.modernistglass.com/glasspieces/search/stromberg/3/0/0/

Height: 22 cm
Diameter: 9 cm
Weight: 3500 g (!)
Engraved Stromberg B1044" to the base, stickered "STROMBERGSHYTTAN SWEDEN"
Condition: light wear to the base, wear to the sticker, a couple of mm and less white marks from manufacture, a few small scratches to the exterior (longest 2mm)

Share on Facebook

Our Reference: 2569

This item has sold for US $860.00

We only sell beautiful glass