Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => Scandinavian Glass => Topic started by: Pinkspoons on December 13, 2007, 01:47:16 PM
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Picked this piece up in a lot with some Strömbergshyttan and Whitefriars glass at the weekend, and I've not managed to find anything out about it. I don't think it's terribly old or exciting - just pleasantly decorative if you like busy glass.
It's decorated all around with four scenes - a tall tower or church, a horse, a fountain in the shape of a nude woman, and a chap with a reindeer. On the base is pressed 'Schweden - Sweden', and this is surrounded by a floral vine motif. I'm assuming it was made in a centrifuge, judging by the finish of the piece.
Apologies for the duff photographs - I've not really got the time to drag all the lighting and such out today.
Tower / Spire (http://www.zeitgeist-i.com/GMB/swd_bowl/1.jpg)
Horse (http://www.zeitgeist-i.com/GMB/swd_bowl/2.jpg)
Fountain (http://www.zeitgeist-i.com/GMB/swd_bowl/3.jpg)
Reindeer (http://www.zeitgeist-i.com/GMB/swd_bowl/4.jpg)
Bowl Base (http://www.zeitgeist-i.com/GMB/swd_bowl/5.jpg)
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Nic,
It looks related to the Kosta Boda Kjell Engman Sweden bowl, esp. the tower and reindeer so that may be a place to start.
robbo
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Sweden and Rhapsody (with snogging couple motif) are the only 2 Engman centrifuge cast bowls in the Kosta book, yours does not look like either. The Rhapsody came in 2 sizes, 150 and 190 mm diameter...FWIW.
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Oh, that's curious. The two designs do bear striking resemblance - even the reindeers' antlers have the same configuration of prongs. Mine lacks the moulded foot, though.
My bowl comes in at 140mm in diameter.
So I wonder if mine's a variation on a theme by Kosta.... although that probably would be recorded... or a knock-off by another factory... which seems pointless for such a mundane design. :huh:
I hadn't even considered Kosta, to be honest, and just assumed it was most likely by a smaller, cheaper glassworks - kind of like the Swedish version of Muurla, who I actually thought it was by before I looked at the writing on the base.
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I am not aware that Swedish glass companies signed Sweden in the German language.
Can anyone let me know if my information is correct?
Bill Geary
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Oh, that's a point. Might it have been for the export market... or is some European copyist naughtiness more likely?
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This looks like a tourist piece to me - the "Dala" horse is a fave motif in Swedish touristware,
as wood carvings, and as motifs on other things. The Sami man with his reindeer another.
Reindeer antlers in grown males look like these so I wouldn't read too much into that.
The tower/spire appears to be Stockholm City Hall - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_City_Hall
This dates it to no earlier than 1920'ies, probably later. The City Hall was completed in 1923.
Sweden has had a long and good relationship with Germany, even during WW2, and lots of German
tourists take a ferry over. So I'm not surprised to see German and English sign on the bottom.
Edit - It could be that the Schweden/Sweden is part of the design as a tourist piece rather than a manufacturer's mark.
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Agree with Ivo; this is similar to but not the same as Kjell Engman, and Kosta would not issue something so close in design.
If it is Swedish, it could be Nybro. A few years ago they were adept at imitating ( with a twist of course ) Kosta designs. Now they have their own designers and don't have to imitate any more.
Am a bit doubtful whether it is Swedish, to date I've only ever seen one piece with Schweden on the bottom and that's this one. ;)