Topic: Oy Kumela biomorphic boat bowl by Jacobino.

[Nordic-NZ]

This is my latest prize, and I am very proud of this one!
It is a boat-shape bowl, 200 mm long, 75 mm wide, 55 mm high.  Clear cased over a biomorphic grape-amethyst colour which has a white and grey appearance from the outside.  The polished pontil is engraved "Oy Kumela, A. Jacobino".  http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-1061  Difficult to photograph, so I have tried two views.  http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-1060
I have only found one comparable piece in a Google search, a similar biomorphic purple three-cornered bowl by Armand Jacobino, so I wonder about the rarity of my boat bowl.
Despite the troubled history of Kumela glassworks at their Riihimäki location before bankruptcy in 1985, some innovative designs came from Armand Jacobino and Kaj Blomqvist, continued when they went on to work for other Iitala companies.  Any of you Finnish glass experts know more about the maker and designer?  
Kiitoksia paljon ja kippis!
 :lol:  :lol:

[Frank]

bump

[Max]

The photos don't work for me.  

[paradisetrader]

Hi John
The experts don't like being called experts, even if they are, as on the one hand it sounds like a challenge and on the other, the deeper a researcher delves into a subject the more she is aware of the vastness of the unknown.

No-one here specializes in Finnish glass as far as I know but maybe TMaritta, as a native, may have an angle and Bill Geary's knowledge of Scandinavian glass in general is almost encyclopaedic, having been invoved with it for so much of his working life.

Me ? I'm very much a learner, frequently needing new boots ! You ask no specific questions but I'll tell you what I think I know, which ain't much.

Armando Jacobino was an Italian master glassbower who emigrated to Finland in the 50's to become the master glassblower at Nuutajarvi Notsjo where he worked with Hopea and Franck to perfect the Ariel technique. After working at Nuutajarvi for nearly a decade, he went to work for Kumela from 1959 until his death in 1970.

He seems to be best known for his modernist figures, particularly of cats and birds !! Various signed pieces have cropped up here a few times in the past couple of years - use "search" to find them. I suspect they are more numerous in Scandinavia and possibly the USA.

Of molded Kumela items, instances of them turning up with Riihimaki labels have been noted. This is more likely to have happened with Kaj Blomqvist's work. Some Blomqvist designs are very well recognised. He worked at Kumela 1968-1976. Which company did he move on to ?

Kumela was taken over by Humppila in 1976. There's quite a lengthy bio of the company in Pina Smoke & Ice p176. Jacobino's use of opaque glass is also mentioned.

Your pic links do not work. Here are the correct ones
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-1468
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-1469

[paradisetrader]

Kaj Blomqvist

Which company did he move on to ?

I've now found out:
1976-88 Humppila
1988-99 Freelance for Iittala
'99 Retired aged 68

[Nordic-NZ]

Thanks for the comments on Jacobino, Peter, and for fixing my picture links.  Yes, Fire and Sea has greatly expanded the information and examples of glass from less well-known Glass Works, than in Smoke and Ice.  Both excellent references and worth waiting for.
With designers and glass blowers migrating between Glass Works in Sweden, Finland and elsewhere, it is difficult to ignore good Finnish glass, even when you wish to concentrate on Sweden's best glass.
We stayed in Riihimaki back in 1994, as a convenient rail junction for visiting Helsinki, Tampere and St Petersburg, but everything was closed for the Midsummer's Eve weekend, so we missed out on the Finnish Glass Museum.  You can see similarities between my Jacobino dish and his other designs shown in Fire and Sea, but little comes up on a Google search.

[Tigerchips]

found this:
http://koti.mbnet.fi/jost/jacobino.htm

[Nordic-NZ]

Thanks Tigerchips.  If you link to http://koti.mbnet.fi/jost/ for Jost's index pages, he has extensive but slightly disjointed biographies and history of most of the major Finnish glassworks and designers.  He seems to be the only Finn who has tried to put this information together.
Tina has some good pictures of her Finnish Glass collection at http://glassart.5u.com/index.html, but I get a security warning about "Arcade" spyware attempting to download from this site.
Also some interesting pieces at http://www.old-items.com/Index.html.
We continue to learn.