Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => Scandinavian Glass => Topic started by: Glassyone on November 14, 2005, 08:12:00 AM
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I bought these recently and believe they are Riimihaen Lasi. [not Oy] They are perfect and have the remains of labels at the top. One just has the remains of glue!
The photos are not good but it is night and poor weather.
They seem to be candle holders and have the metal inserts.
They are yellow, just, verging on yellow brown.
I have discovered a little about Riimihaen Lasi.
'The Riihimaki Joint Stock Company was founded in Riihimaki, Finland, by M. A. Kolehmainen and H. G. Paloheimo in 1910 and renamed Riihimaen Lasi in 1937. Riihimaki manufactured household glass, container glass, crystal, window glass, and eyeglass lenses and was Finland’s largest glass factory in the 1920’s to the 1960’s. The company underwent modernization in 1927 to 1948 under the direction of Roope Kolihmainen. Riihimaki began a cooperative agreement with A. Ahlstrom in1961 and manual production of glass ended in 1976 when the company turned to mass production. Household glass was also produced in1977 by the newly founded Kotilasi unit. A. Ahlstrom bought Riihimaen Lasi in 1985 and in 1988 was merged with Karhula to form Ahlstrom Riihimaen Lasi Oy. Riihimaen Lasi closed in1990 and in 1995 Owens-Illinios, an American company, bought Karhu'
but I would be very grateful for any more information about these. I can't find anything similar from books or the Internet.
Yellow has always been my favourite colour, after primroses!
Regards Ruth
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Hello Ruth. No photos - well none that I can see, that is :lol:
Riihimaki also made a superb range of very sought-after Carnival Glass.
Glen
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http://tinypic.com/fnxmo5.jpg
Good grief, leave it a week and lose the habit!!!
Thanks R.
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But....they're upside down! Are those metal 'plugs' a good fit Ruth? I have a few of this style and wondered why they had an indentation at the base, is the base actually the top? :shock: :shock:
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Ruth, I'm not entirely sure of the veracity of some of the info you have there on Riihimaki. My understanding is that Karhula actually merged with Iittala (c 1915) >> later (c 1987) merging with Nuutarjarvi.
Glen
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AH GOOD, here I am pondering the difference between Sterident and Pepsident and hoping I never have to have dentures, never mind that the boys cannot wash up, for glass all over the kitchen, full of frothy stuff.
I can believe that the info may be wrong in some respects and would be pleased to be corrected.
I think they are the right way up, the metal bits fit fine. They don't look too classy that way with those in but they seem functional. I 'm more used to buying British glass but got adventurous by virtue of reading people's posts here and liking yellow.
'Riimihaki Lasi Oy' has been a torture to me for several weeks, like a song going round and round. However I don't think these are 'Oy'.
One of the labels, prior to washing, had a paw print at the top. The other was not a label, just a trace of glue.
That begs another question, when people buy glass which is filthy but has a label, what do they do to protect the label while they clean the glass???
Oh well, they could be another Chimera.
Regards Ruth
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Ruth, is the "paw" from the Hame Lynx? You may like to view this "back" thread.
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,1281.0.html
The photos of the museum on the link Frank gives are very good (but a disappointment to me as they don't show the Carnival - for anyone who wants to see Riihimaki Carnival in the museum you can click on my webpage and choose "Remarkable Riihimaki" from the left hand menu).
Glen
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Good links, my searching did not find these!
But no, it was an oblong label clear, with a paw print and underneath it had Riimihaen
LASI
Just like that, if I remember correctly.
Ruth
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Sounds like the right label for Riihimaen Lasi. It's a (I think) lion's paw, and it will also have 'Made In Finland' at the base of the label.
I remember when I could pick these (and their much larger counterparts) up for about £3. That was only about 2 years ago. Now these 'hooped' vases (or candleholders) command a significantly greater price. The red seems to be the most common colour and green and amber are scarcer.
Edit: There's someones personal website that shows this vase, it's been on the GMB several times. I can't find it as my AOL has been deleted with all my favourites <sigh> Perhaps someone can link Ruth to it?
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Ruth you seem to be in some confusion
However I don't think these are 'Oy'.
Oy just means "limited company" or similar equivalent in whatever country
Nad Lasi just means Glass
Its as simple as that.
Max
I think this is the site you're ref to:
Tiina's Finnish Glass Art
http://glassart.5u.com/kuvia.html Mod: Link dead
The item is at #12 and in yellow
and the right way up ....sorry Ruth
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Thanks for finding that site Peter :D I was quite annoyed I'd lost it! xx
On the subject of Riihimaen Lasi Oy, I think Ruth's found something I had overlooked previously. According to 'Smoke & Ice', this company was called Riihimaen Lasi until 1988 when it was merged with Karhula, forming Ahlstrom Riihimaen Lasi Oy. As the book says 'Riihimaen Lasi closed in 1990', perhaps it kept going as an independent unit also.
Should the correct attribution be Riihimaen Lasi (no Oy) before 1988 and only have the 'Oy' added post 1988? :?:
I feel like I'm hair-splitting, but I'm confused. :? Have I misunderstood?
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Hi Max,
The company name was Riihimäen Lasi Oy well before 1988 - quick google in Finnish brought some reference to Riihimäen Lasi Oy from 1910. Ahlström Riihimäen Lasi Oy changed its name to Karhulan Lasi Oy at some point. Today Karhulan Lasi Oy produces packing material out of glass for medical, food and brewery industry according to one recent document I found on the web. Karhulan Lasi Oy now belongs to Owens-Illinois, Inc.
According to book that I have, "Moderne Zeiten - Finnisches Glass 1929 -1999", Riihimäen Lasi ceased to produce studio glass (my translation for "in Handarbeit hergestelltem Glass") in 1976. I would guess that the reference to Riihimäen Lasi ceasing its operations in early 90's probably is meant to indicate that the company stopped producing any kind of decorative glass then (but couldn't really find any conclusive evidence, i.e. no full history recount of Riihimäen Lasi). I would also speculate that was when the name changed to ARL.
Regards,
TMaritta
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TMaritta, I was hoping you'd see this thread. :D :D
Thank you very much for your help. After a while, you don't easily believe anything you read on glass! Perhaps Smoke & Ice could have been worded better, but I suppose that condensing a companys facts into a short paragraph was bound to cause some problems.
I think I'll tread carefully around the subject...the more you learn, the less you realise you know! :x
What do you think of the little metal plugs in Ruth's initial photo? I've never thought of having these vases (or perhaps candleholders) upside down - do you think that was the intention?
xxx Max
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What do you think of the little metal plugs in Ruth's initial photo? I've never thought of having these vases (or perhaps candleholders) upside down - do you think that was the intention?
I think the intention may have been that the object can be used both as a vase and a candle holder. Quite clever, isn't it?
TMaritta
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Here is a comparision. One, one way up and the other, the other.
I'm very grateful for all the information and discussion.
One last point is that the label was placed such that it would be read downwards from the one on the right! That suggests that the labeller regarded the ' bowl' as going at the top.
http://tinypic.com/fokpig.jpg Mod: Link dead
Cheers Ruth
:?
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Here is a comparision. One, one way up and the other, the other.
I'm very grateful for all the information and discussion.
One last point is that the label was placed such that it would be read downwards from the one on the right! That suggests that the labeller regarded the ' bowl' as going at the top.
http://tinypic.com/fokpig.jpg
Cheers Ruth
:?
Cheers Ruth, and yes, it is clever TMaritta. :D I've had this type of vase for years and never knew about the metal component. I'll see them in a whole new light now! :D
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We will be trying candles!
'vaasina tai kynttiläjalkana', may mean 'vase or candle holder'.
Just a punt.
Ruth
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Hi Max,
The company name was Riihimäen Lasi Oy well before 1988 - quick google in Finnish brought some reference to Riihimäen Lasi Oy from 1910. Ahlström Riihimäen Lasi Oy changed it's name to Karhulan Lasi Oy at some point. Today Karhulan Lasi Oy produces packing material out of glass for medical, food and brewery industry according to one recent document I found on the web. Karhulan Lasi Oy now belongs to Owens-Illinois, Inc.
According to book that I have, "Moderne Zeiten - Finnisches Glass 1929 -1999", Riihimäen Lasi ceased to produce studio glass (my translation for "in Handarbeit hergestelltem Glass") in 1976. I would guess that the reference to Riihimäen Lasi ceasing its operations in early 90's probably is meant to indicate that the company stopped producing any kind of decorative glass then (but couldn't really find any conclusive evidence, i.e. no full history recount of Riihimäen Lasi). I would also speculate that was when the name changed to ARL.
Regards,
TMaritta
An old one but just in case someone (else) bumps in here I'll define:
"Osakeyhtiö Riihimäki" (shortened "Oy Riihimäki", in which the "Oy" stands for a Limited company or alike: "Ltd.") was founded in 1910
The name was changed to Riihimäen Lasi Oy in 1937. ( "the glass of Riihimäki Ltd." in English)
Hand made glass was no longer produced after 1976 and they continued with automated machine pressed glass as well as packaging glass and plastics.
The name was changed to Ahlström Riihimäen lasi Oy in 1989 just to arrange for the discontinuing of operation in 1990.
(Ahlström (company "A.Ahlström Oy") had acquired Riihimäen lasi's ownership in 1985.)
This was about company names. An other thing is the labels or marks they have used. In some they only print "Riihimäki" for short - that is the name of the city.
One shouldn't, however, get mixed up with another Riihimäki situated glass works ie. "Kumela Oy" that also had "Riihimäki" on their marks. :)