This sleek work of Scandinavian Modern art glass is by Vicke Lindstrand (b. 1904 - d. 1983). Lindstrand is considered one of the most influential 20th-century glass artists and a glass art pioneer. His prolific career held many design highlights, including his ability to excel at a technique called Sommerso in which a vividly coloured or patterned section of glass is surrounded by and seemingly floats within a clear crystal body.
This particular piece comes from the Colora series, named after the technique pioneered by Lindstrand. The technique applied to this piece involved carefully layering the Cobalt, Lapis coloured glass, reheating and manipulating the layered glass to form the final shape before encasing it in the clear, crystal casing and magnifying the underlying pattern. The piece is finished with a bevelled around the rim and base, giving the effect of a polished gem.
The design of this work embodies the tenets of simplicity, minimalism and functionality influences of the Scandinavian Modern design movement.
CONDITION
Excellent. No chips, cracks, or repairs. There is negligible surface wear and movement marks on the underside of the base that are commensurable with the age of the piece - please see photos as part of the condition report. The underside of the base is signed with the inscription 'Kosta' and the model number: '06085'
MEASUREMENTS
Height: c. 6.6" / 16.7 cm (from base to rim) x c. 3.4" / 8.6 cm in diameter (across widest point). Base measurements: c. 3.4" / 8.6 cm. Unpackaged weight: c. 1.5 kg / 1,500 g
A BIT OF HISTORY
This sleek work of Scandinavian Modern art glass is by Vicke Lindstrand (b. 1904 - d. 1983). Lindstrand is considered one of the most influential 20th-century glass artists and a glass art pioneer. Lindstrand, together with his peer Edvin Öhström, pioneered a new glass-colouring process called the Ariel technique.
Lindstrand's prolific career began in commercial illustration before finding employment at the glass manufactory Orrefors. He would join Kosta Boda 1950, remaining there until 1973. Beyond his commercial work, he also produced several massive public sculptures around the world. Today, his works are in many museum collections, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and The Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Kosta Boda, Sweden’s oldest glass company, was founded in 1742 and would only begin making art glass — that is, unique and limited edition pieces — with the hiring of the painter Gunnar Wennerberg in 1898. Kosta Boda enjoys a reputation as the country’s most artistic and experimental glassworks, featuring artists and sculptors.
Two post-war Kosta Boda designers stand foremost in the minds of collectors, one is Vicke Lindstrand, who excelled at a technique of 'Sommerso', or cased glass. The other is Erik Höglund, who had an almost artisanal eye for glass shapes, and liked to produce glass that had a textured, warped look.
