Michael Bang Glass Vase with Milk Glass Detail

Luscious black glass with white milk glass elements, made for Holmegaard in the 1970s.
Oval vase: 5" W x 7" H
(the small glass bowl with pink glass accent is also available)

Artist: Michael Bang (1942-2013): Danish designer behind some of Holmegaard’s most widespread and successful designs over the years, and many have become collectors’ items. Michael Bang was the son of Holmegaard’s first designer, Jacob E. Bang and, before he joined Holmegaard Glass Factory, he worked at Bjørn Wiinblad’s workshop, the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Factory, and Ekenäs Glasbruk AB in Sweden. In his design work, Michael Bang was a master of connecting the simple with the practical, which is synonymous with Scandinavian lifestyle and everyday life – and then adding that unique, original twist or fun shape to the glass, making him one of the best glass artists. It was Michael Bang who added bright colors to the glass, and became glass’ answer to contemporary pop culture with pieces made from mouth-blown glass in the original colors that were typical of the 1970s.

Michael Bang also created vases and flowerpots for the MB range in the early 1980s, and designed the iconic Mandarin lamps in mouth-blown, white opal glass – which was considered the specialty of the glass factory.

Holmegaard, originally established in 1825, is Denmark's oldest and largest glass manufacturer. Between the 1930s and 1980s, the designs of Jacob E. Bang, Per Lütken, and Bang's son, Michael are considered to have transformed the company into a powerhouse of Danish design. The company’s origins began when Christian Danneskiold-Samsøe, a Danish count, petitioned the King of Denmark for permission to establish the glass factory. Shortly after the Count’s death in 1823, permission was granted to his widow Countess Henriette Danneskiold-Samsøe. In 1825 she established a glass factory in Fensmark. The factory was built in the Holmegaard bog, the peat from which provided enough fuel available to produce the high temperatures required for the glass kiln.In 1928, Holmegaard welcomed its first designer, Jacob Eiler Bang (1899-1965). Originally trained as an architect, but due to his work for Holmegaard, he became known as Denmark’s first industrial designer and the creator of functionalism in Danish glassware. His son Michael joined Holmegaard as a designer and created some of their most rare and iconic works of design.