Engraved glass vase, Edition Orrefors, Sweden, circa 1950

Large vase in thick, slightly bluish glass, wheel-engraved with a woman holding a fruit basket. Attributed to Orrefors. Unsigned.

Story

The Swedish design philosophy of “beautiful things for everyday life” is brought to life in vintage glassware from Orrefors. Founded in 1898, this glassworks was one of the leading companies in the Modern Scandinavian movement. It is revered by collectors for the finesse of its work and the innovation of its superlative art glass.

In 1913, Orrefors began making art glass, i.e. works which, unlike mass-produced pieces, are made in small numbers to showcase the skills and talents of artists and craftsmen. Two of the first artists hired by the company were Simon Gate and Edward Hald, who first worked in the organic Art Nouveau style, then proved adept at the geometric imagery of the Art Deco period.

Hald and Gate worked closely with glassblowers to refine traditional glassmaking methods, creating new materials such as “graal” glass. In the graal technique, a pattern made from colored glass is wrapped in layers of clear glass, preserving the image while the overall shape of the glass is worked and shaped. Orrefors gained international renown when it presented these pieces in Paris in 1925 at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes – the design fair whose name gave rise to the term Art Deco.

In the years following this success, Orrefors attracted more dynamic and experimental artists such as Vicke Lindstrand and Edvin Ohrström, who joined the company in the 1930s. Lindstrand and Richere worked with glassblowers to create the “ariel” glass technique, an innovation that produces deeper, richer images that seem to transform and flow as light is refracted through the glass.

Orrefors vintage glass has a special aesthetic quality. Whether it’s a vase or a set of wine goblets, the work of this leading Swedish company represents the pinnacle of functional art.

Source: 1stdibs