Scandinavia: Ceramics and Glass
A marvelous exhibition, "Scandinavian Ceramics and Glass in the Twentieth Century" took place at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, England in the late 1980s. It offered a special insight into the 20th century awakening of Scandinavian design and showed that the Scandinavian countries, especially Sweden, have had a tremendous influence on design all around the world over the last 100 years or so.
World Interest in Scandinavian Glass
Glass was made in Sweden as early as the 16th century, mostly by immigrants coming from southern countries, It wasn't until the 17th century that more truly Swedish glass started to be made, most of it for the court and the upper classes. The first glass company was actually started by an Italian and it lasted until 1815. Inspiration for designs came from Italy, then Germany but finally the Swedish character shone through. The idea was to provide good design for the masses as well as special,, signed pieces for collectors and the nobility..
The Victoria & Albert Museum started collecting Scandianavian crafts and objets d'art as early as the 1930s, continuing to build the collection in the burgeoning days of design in the 1950s and 1960s and updating it substantially on a continual basis. The accompanying catalogue showed glass designs by Simon Gate and Edward Hald who both worked at Orrefors, Gate was employed in 1917 and Hald in 1917. Before that, the company had been trying to produce fine glass, starting in1898, but it wsn't until they employed the two artists that true art glass began to be made.
Swedish "Crystal Clear" Glass Exhibition Viewed Around the World
The Swedish glass industry used shallow engraving at first. It was charming but not unusual. The production was mostly windowpanes and footed glasses which were made and used according to size:.medium for wine, larger for beer and small for stronger drinks such as vodka. It wasn't until artists were hired that Swedish glass became unique. Part of the Swedish glass exhibition, "Crystal Clear", was shown in the spring of 1982 at the Glass Museum of the Haaretz Museum in Tel Aviv and then, with more pieces added, toured the United States from 1982 to 1983 and then travelled to Montreal that the Swedish contribution to glass art was fully recognized.
Kosta-Boda, Sweden's Oldest Glassmaker
Founded in 1742, Kosta-Boda is still a leader in glassmaking in Sweden. Signed pieces by their factory artists are in demand, as are signed pieces from Orrefors, especially from the 1930s, the 1960s and the1970s. Artists such as ingeborg Lundin and Gunnar Cyren, who worked at Orrefors as well as Lisa Bauer, Ulrica Hydman-Vallien, Bertil Vallien and Klas-Goran Tinback who worked at Kosta-Boda are sought out. Their signed pieces gain high prices at international auctions today. Prices may be checked if you go on ebay. The value of these and several other artists' signed pieces can only go up.
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