Topic: Swedish Glass Factories: Production Catalogues, 1915-1960.

[taylog1]

Frank,

I would assume that as it's signed kraka it's the same, ie colour cased on clear, cooled, then a pattern sandblasted through to the clear again, reheated and cased in clear - Kraka refers to a net like pattern I understand.

taylog1

[Frank]

Seems a bit regular for that graal-like approach and some of those bubbles look to follow the pattern. I would have expected a dip mould approach but with horizontal lines not so easy.

[Formgiva]

As i understand it a fine mesh is used in which air is blown through, this creates the regular net pattern, Sven Palmqvist clevery named the technique Kraka after a queen of norse mythology called Aslaug (later Kraka) wore a net shirt in one of the more famous tales.

[taylog1]

I guess with a thick enough net it becomes more like cameo, sand blast out the blue pattern and then heat and case.

Gareth

[Frank]

Gareth, that is Graal. I dont think these pieces are Graal.

Formgiva, that sounds plausible did you have a source?

[Anonymous]

Frank,
If you check out Ivo's book under Graal you'll see that Kraka is given as one use of the graal technique.

"Orrefors A Century of Swedish Glassmaking" has this description of where Kraka comes from - it also says that the first 19 pieces were marked Graal before the name was changed with the centenary anniversary of the swedish society of crafts and design in 1945.

taylog1

[Formgiva]

Hi Frank, no official source I can quote from sorry, it just something I have picked up. I have owned a number of the later pieces and curious by nature always ask for a bit of background, I had my unbacked up computer crash  a couple of months ago, lost everything including emails and photos <weep> so no definitive source sorry...but the very fine mesh used in the technique is definite..maybe!

As an aside the actual process of making glass has somehow eluded me, I am afraid I buy it because I like the look of it, but like a lot of 'things' in my life have no idea how it is created or what each component does. The closest I have come to understanding a tiny bit about the glass making process was a series of pictures of Astrid Gate
    http://web.telia.com/~u45608536/gate.html
I would really appreciated any links to info on glassmaking especially the scandinavian hand blown output, that anyone can offer, as I think it is about time I learn't a bit more... :wink:

[Frank]

Guuh, so now we have two different methods...

...Ivo come tell where your info came from.

[Ivo]

I seem to remember that my tech info leaned on the Ricke book and production catalogues but I have used other sources as well - notably Orrefors documentation.  
Graal is the general term for glass which was made in two stages. First the core with a colour layer was cooled, the successive operation introduced a pattern into the colour layer by cold working, either with sand/ grit blasting, or by cut-to-clear. The cooled piece was then reheated, covered in clear glass, blown out and finished as usual. This explains why you can have "U"  codes (=finished at the oven) on some Kraka glas, in stead of the "S" code you'd expect.
Now Kraka is one form of Graal whereby the colour core was broken open in a fishnet pattern.  It is not the technique which uses an asbestos ready made net around a hot core, like Harrtil glass or Merletto - these techniques are not to be confused.
The Graal technique was specific for Orrefors, I do not believe anyone else used quite the same method.
Fishgraal, Slipgral (cut pattern), Ravenna (mosaic), Kraka (net-shape) and Ariel (entrapped air bubbles) are all variations on the same technical theme.

[Frank]

Thank Ivo,

Proves me guilty of assumption  :oops: