ORREFORS 1959 SVEN PALMQVIST 5. 5 " ELEGANT MINIMALIST TEARDROP VASE - A1 Signed
Item History & Price
DESCRIPTION: for reference please see Smoke & Ice -Scandinavian Glass 1930-2000 Vigier & Pina - Page 18 for a similar smaller4" example.Absolutely stunning minimalist teardrop vase from themost eminent, revered and much respected Swedish art glass design master - SvenPalmqvist for the equally prestigious Orrefors factory, in an exquisitemodernist form. Sven Palmqvist was born in 1906 whose best known contemporarywas Nils Landberg whereby their career paths followed ...similar lines. Sven is acclaimedfor both his supreme technical knowledge and his innovative designs which havegraced the art glass world for many a decade. He began as an apprentice at thefurnace mouth, rather than Art school whereby his career took a distinctlyupward path. Joining the Orreforsengraving school he was appointed as assistant to the great Simon Gate in 1928and onto the design team in 1936. He then attended Art school in Stockholm andalso as a sculptural student at Paris'sprestigious Academie Ranson between the years 1936-39. His Kraka and Ravennaranges of 1941 and 1948 are indeed legendary in the world of art glass whereashis innovative centrifugue casting produced the extremely lucrative Fuga rangein 1954. The range won the Grand Prize at The Milan Triennale in 1957 and camein many sizes. The well weighted vase starts with an ovalhighly polished base pontil which houses the companies Orrefors signature in flowing script -please see below or the last photo. The piece ascends in an outwards directionforming a beautifully rounded waist which acts as the vases mid point. Thepiece then inverts with a slightly shallower gradient which eventually takesthe eye to the reduced oval mouthrim. The vase itself is of a flattened pillowform, on two sides with the vases side walls displaying magical, sinuous curvaceousarcs of sublime form. The vase displays a very tactile teardrop shaped form that resembles the proportions of small grenade whereby its external andinternal elements are of a magical simplicity. The vases external side wallsare symmetrical forming a clear counterpoint to the more classically shapedteardrop inner well. The latter follows the vases external shape only at itsupper reaches. The inner well has more pronounced vertically sloping side wallswhich eventually form a generous crescent shaped base - beautifully suspendedwith the vases crystal clear casing. Apart from the vases well balanced weight itsmain strengths are the very interplay between it's perimeter lines and the lines of it's internal well. The very thick walled yet delicate looking vase isaccentuated by its crescent moon, encapsulating side walls. When turn on endthe piece has an almost elongated oval torpedo form which is quitebreathtaking. Sublime half crescent andquarter crescents of light cascade down from its reduced summit, whereas thepieces outer ' skin' shimmers and glistens to magical and almost majesticlevels of exquisite beauty. I have seen similar example of this iconic Palmqvist vase engraved to one of its arcing fascias -which I have resisted buying over the years - as these pieces, to my wayof thinking, totally detract form the vases clean, simplistic, minimal lines.My passion for glass started with clear glass with a purity of design such asthis. As my passion for collecting art glass increased, I gradually began buyingcoloured pieces - but I think my heart still lies with an almost purist art glass where clear colour and form are central to the pieces veryessence. The vase inner and outer lines come together to form a piece ofexquisite and sublime beauty. Its symmetry in certain areas is counter balancedwith the inner well being suspended only two thirds of the pieces overallheight. Sven Palmqvist used this shape many times including his notable Krakarange. The piece has a purity of form which is not dissimilar to Sarpeneva'smore adventurous Lancetti series which can be described as a more elaboratenotable cousin. To this end the piece has a modernist and minimalist shape that is just divine which takes the design onto the realms of ..... a minimalism that is simply breathtaking.CONDITION – SIZE – WEIGHT – MARKSThecondition of the very elegant and sophisticated flattened Pillow Orrefors Teardrop vaseis A1 perfect with no chips, dents, cracks, abrasions, scratches orwater damage at all. The vase's highly polished oval pontil whichhouses the companies signature has three minute pinprick ( not pinhead ) nibbles to its base. The base also displays an array of small surfacescratches commensurate with its age and limited display only usage. The piecemeasures 5.5 " ( 14 cms ) in height with a diameter of 3.75 " ( 9.5 cms. ) approx. and weighs in at a hefty 982 gmsexactly ( sorry but the postage will suffer slightly ). The piece is engraved to its base - Orrefors in flowing script - please see the last photo.NB:Please see my other listings of Scandinavian, English, American & Europeansigned and unsigned art glass and a vast collection of unlimited & limitededition paperweights from Italy, Scotland and Englandlisted and to be listed – with much more to come each month & watch forliterally 100’s of other glass & china items over the next few months/years!! - which represents 38 odd years of avid collecting from around the world& far too many fairs & auctions etc. We’ve added 2 generations of thefamilies ‘treasures’ making 19 very, very large boxes/containers to wadethrough. The glass to come will include many pieces from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Russia, Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, The Czech Republic, Bavaria, Bohemia, The Isle of Wight, England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Malta & The United States to name but a few !Mostly all in pristine condition; we have a passion for glass above all of ourother collections. Each piece is either handeddown or bought with design & beauty in mind – the collection encompassingboth clear & coloured glass. Also, to keep all collectors & our regularbuyers happy, I can only list a few pieces of Mdina, Murano, Caithness Limited Edition& Whitefriars etc a month – restraints being time, tiredness, a heartcondition, stamina & the need to sleep ! As we are getting on in years wesincerely hope that our vast collection will reach new families who canappreciate the beauty & infinite variety of contemporary, minimalist andcontemporary 20th Century art glass. IAM MORE THAN WILLING TO HOLD ITEMS ie TO COMBINE – AND HELP YOU WITH THE NEVERENDING POSTAGE INCREMENTS. JUSTAN EMAIL IS SUFFICIENT WHEN THE FIRST ITEM IS SOLD & YOU INTEND BIDDING ONFURTHER ITEMS.Glenn
