THE ITEM
This stunning work of art by Roger Guerin hints at Northwest Pacific tribal symbolism with the abstract bear and jaybird decor. This hand-thrown vase is an outstanding example of his work, featuring unusual spouts and additions to its shape as well as hand-incised decorations offers high artistic value.

This piece is hand-glazed with a rich mix of earth tones and shades of metallic cobalt blue, copper, pale green, deep and light browns. The special technique of salt glazing gives beautifully rich and variegated surface effect, making it even more unique.

CONDITION
Excellent. No chips, cracks or repairs. There is mild wear to the glaze that is consistent with age and use. Please refer to photos as they form part of the condition report. The underside of the vase bears Guerin's inscribed signature 'guerin' and number 'A25.6'.

MEASUREMENTS
Height c. 10.2" / 26 cm tall by c. 8" / 20 cm diameter (across the body's widest point). Rim diameter: c. 3.3" / 8.5 cm. Base diameter: c. 3.9" / 9.8 cm. Unpackaged weight: c. 1.8 kg / 1,817 gm.

NOTES
Vase will be securely packaged and shipping will be insured.
Shipping will be combined for multiple items.

Research into this piece has validated its rarity, with only one other piece by Roger Guerin that is also available for sale and although is similar in style, but different in decoration: Roger Guerin Double-Sided Vase

A BIT OF HISTORY
Belgian leading ceramicist Roger Guerin or Guérin (1896-1954 ) was a renowned Belgian studio master ceramicist from the village of Bouffioulx near Charleroi. He started his own workshop in 1918 and specialised in experimental salt-glaze techniques at the height of the Art Deco era.

Guerin's use of flowing glazes was typical in his work and he was true to the history of this region, often working on a type of hard ceramic (fired to over 1250 degrees Celsius), which had been made there since the late Middle Ages. His work won a medal at the Paris Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in 1925 and was exhibited in 1937 as well as internationally.

Guérin pottery was produced in short runs. Each piece is numbered and unique, which makes them extra special to have and enjoy.

THE ITEM
This fantastical, brutalist mid-century piece is from the Chamotte series (also known as the 'Hedgehog') and is by the renowned ceramic artist and designer Gunnar Nylund (b.1904 - d.1997). Nylund became well known for his Chamotte sculptures and designed the series during his time as artistic director at Rörstrand.

Personally, I see a resemblance to the thick shaggy fleece of a Scandinavian mountain sheep in the Chamotte decor. Chamotte is also known as 'firesand', a raw ceramic material which has a high percentage of silica and alumina. It can be produced by firing selected fire clays to high temperatures before grinding and screening to specific particle sizes.

The decor makes this an exceptionally tactile piece, the highly textured, rough surface with the glossily glazed decor is a fabulous juxtaposition and gives an ideal canvas to create varying hues in the Deep Gold glaze. The size of this piece is the largest of the three available sizes, giving it extra presence and making it a statement piece.

CONDITION
Superb. There is light use wear to the interior and the external decor that is commensurable with age. From production, there a minimal hairline crack that is visible at the rim. Please refer to photos as they form part of the condition report. The base bears the inscribed Rörstrand stamp, however, it is faint and only the letters 'Ro' and one crown from the stamp can be seen.

MEASUREMENTS
Height: c. 8.3" / 21 cm by c. 6.3" / 16 cm in width (across widest point). Base diameter: c. 3.1" / 8 cm. Rim diameter: c. 2.6" / 6.5 cm. Unpackaged weight: c. 2.9 kg / 2,883 g

NOTES
Vase will be securely packaged and shipping will be insured.
Shipping will be combined for multiple items.

A BIT OF HISTORY
Gunnar Nylund (b. 1904 – d.1997) Nylund was a Swedish ceramic designer since the 1930s and is perhaps best known as the artistic director of Rörstrand and was already a well-established ceramic artist in Denmark - first at the Bing & Grøndahl Porcelain factory in Copenhagen and later at Saxbo.

Nylund was resident at Rörstrand from 1931–1955 and for the majority of this time, as artistic director. He became well known for his new matte feldspar glazed stoneware in hare’s fur and crystal glazes and for his stoneware animal sculptures. Over five decades, Nylund crafted some 30 reliefs and sculptures commissioned for public spaces, including Europe’s largest stoneware fountain the “Scanisarius” in Bromölla, Sweden.

Most of Nylund’s original sculptures in stoneware chamotte ended up in museums, as did much of his other work. Sculptures such as the “Lion Head” is found at the National Museum in Stockholm, “Blue Bird” is at the Sèvres museum in Paris, his antelope head “Abyssinian mountain nyala”, is at the Röhsska museet in Gothenburg and the “Hamadryas Baboon” is at the Malmö Museum.

His piece “Bulls head in oxblood” was bought by the Ateneum museum in Helsinki. And a lot of his other work can be found at other museums around the world.

THE ITEM
This sleek, handblown work of iconic Scandinavian Modern design is by Vicke Lindstrand (b. 1904 - d. 1983). Lindstrand was a Swedish textile and ceramic designer and painter, and is considered as one of the most influential 20th-century glass artists and a pioneer of glass art.

Lindstrand's prolific career included many design highlights, including his ability to excel at a technique called Cased Glass (known to many glass collectors as 'Sommerso'), in which a vividly coloured or patterned section of glass is surrounded by and seems to float within a clear crystal body.

This particular piece is a rare work from the Zebra series and even rarer, is the colour which displays as black but is in fact, a shade of very intense red-brown. This stunning work of art glass very much embodies Lindstrand's expertise in the Sommerso technique. It also exemplifies the tenets of simplicity, minimalism and functionality influences of the Scandinavian Modern design movement.

The core of rich, Dark Mahogany red-brown around the central chamber is surrounded by visual overlapping of the white ribbons of glass. Depending on the angle, you can see the space between the white ribbons and the core colour and that the white ribbons are in fact a separate layer. All of this is suspended in the thick-walled, curved and clear crystal glass form that is characteristic of Scandinavian art glass. Such is Lindstrand's skill and beauty in this series, the version in red became the cover feature for Martin Miller's book 'The complete guide to 20th Century Antiques'.

CONDITION
Excellent. No chips, cracks or repair. There is negligible surface wear and movement marks on the underside of the base that is commensurable with the age of the piece - please see photos as they form part of the condition report. The underside of the base is signed with Lindstrand's Kosta initials of 'LH ['Lindstrand Hyttarbete'] 1116 / 234' and a further 'u' which was used as an indicator for 'Unique' piece.

MEASUREMENTS
Height: c. 4.9" / 12.5 cm tall (from base to rim) x c. 3.5" / 9 cm in width (across widest point). Depth: c. 2.2" / 5.5 cm. Unpackaged weight: 1.1 kg / 1,088 g

NOTES
Vase will be securely packaged and shipping will be insured. Shipping will be combined for multiple items.

A BIT OF HISTORY
Vicke Lindstrand (b. 1904 - d. 1983) was a Swedish textile and ceramic designer and painter. He is considered as one of the most influential 20th-century glass artists and a pioneer of glass art. Lindstrand along with his peer Edvin Öhström, pioneered a new glass-colouring process called the Ariel technique.

Lindstrand's prolific career began in commercial illustration before finding employment at the glass manufactory Orrefors. He would join Kosta Boda 1950, remaining there until 1973. Beyond his commercial work, he also produced several massive public sculptures around the world. Today, his works are in many museum collections, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and The Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Kosta Boda, Sweden’s oldest glass company, was founded in 1742 and would only begin making art glass — that is, unique and limited edition pieces — with the hiring of the painter Gunnar Wennerberg in 1898. Kosta Boda enjoys a reputation as the country’s most artistic and experimental glassworks, featuring artists and sculptors.

Two post-war Kosta Boda designers stand foremost in the minds of collectors, one is Vicke Lindstrand, who excelled at a technique of 'Sommerso', or cased glass. The other is Erik Höglund, who had an almost artisanal eye for glass shapes, and liked to produce glass that had a textured, warped look.

THE ITEM
This fantastical Art Deco stag sculpture is handmade from lampworked glass by master glass sculptor Istvan Komaromy (b.1910 - d.1975). Described as the 'Michelangelo of glass', Komaromy numbered royal families, amongst those who collected and commissioned his work.

Komaromy produced his work by hand without the use of assistants and all of his glass pieces were made using a Bunsen burner to transform solid or tubular coloured, or opaque glass rods into the most delicate shapes. A short clip of his exceptional talent at work can be seen in the archives of the British Pathe website: Istvan Komaromy - Blow Pipe Art! 1935

This elysian piece presents the stag as balancing on a black glass ball, a characteristic common to Komaromy's pieces produced in the 1950s, as is the mounting of the piece to the marble plinth. The arched, sculpted curves and stylised contours bring elegance on many levels, from the form and posture of the overall piece to details such as the delicate eyes, horns and tail. The glass itself is a blend of opaque pale blue, translucent opalescent and hairline swirls of charcoal grey, giving an overall effect of marble. 

Note: accompanying this piece is also an original brochure.

CONDITION
Excellent. No chips, cracks or repairs. Please refer to photos as they form part of the condition report. The underside of the base is lined with protective felt. 

MEASUREMENTS
Height: c. 9.6" /  24.5 cm tall (from horns to plinth base) x c. 4.9" /  12.5 cm width (from nose to tail). Base measurements: c. 2.9" / 7.5 cm x c. 2.9" / 7.3 cm

A BIT OF HISTORY
Komaromy was born in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1910 but grew up in Budapest studying science at the university. He began making scientific glassware to sell to his fellow students for additional income, which led him to experiment with creating artistic Art Deco pieces. Komaromy showed some of his glass pieces to his University professor, who was so impressed that he persuaded Istvan to give up his scientific studies and become a glass artist. He arranged sponsorship so that Komaromy could travel to major exhibitions around Europe, at which the young glass artist was successful in winning a number of gold and silver medals (the estimate is as many as 16).

By 1935 he was visiting Britain as a celebrity artist, giving demonstrations all over the country including venues specialising in high-quality glassware, such as Harrods in London. He was featured on British Pathe News that year, making a beautiful glass figurine - a 'dancer' - and also a statue of the cameraman filming him. The short film entitled 'Istvan Komaromy - Blow Pipe Art! 1935' can be found in Pathe News archives on their website.

Komaromy would eventually move to London in 1937 and in 1939, he set up his glassworks in Croydon. He numbered several Royal families amongst those who collected and commissioned his work. In 1953 he made a leaping stag and two does on a wooden stand, known as 'The Leader' for Queen Elizabeth's coronation. It is thought that the Queen collected a number of Komaromy's pieces. Although famous for his 'dancers' - which were popular items and sold very well in specialist glass outlets, he also sculpted other classical figures, animals such as does, stags and horses. His range extended to candelabras, goblets and decanters, vases, abstract forms and complicated figure studies. He used over 200 kinds of glass, often manufactured by Pilkington's to his own recipes.

During his lifetime Komaromy frequently featured on television and radio and in art magazines; his work is held in the archives of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and in the Pilkington's Museum of Glass, as well as in the Museum for Applied Arts in Budapest, Hungary.

THE ITEM
This exquisitely simple yet detailed work of Modernist art glass is by renowned glass artist and designer Sven Palmqvist (b. 1906 - d. 1984), one of the great innovators of Swedish glass. 

This sculpted glass features the Palmvist's Kraka technique developed in 1944, which creates the illusion of a net within the glass. The technique uses copper wire which traps air bubbles when the outer encasing of glass is applied. These beautifully patterned pieces were created by hand. The Kraka series was produced from 1944 until 1986, the colour scheme of these pieces was white until 1947 before it became the well-known golden-yellow and blue. 

This piece is particularly special as it is from the Kraka Gallery. The form of this piece is a superbly balanced tear-drop shape and an excellent canvas to highlight the spectrum of oceanic blues cradled in an edging of yellow.

The name “Kraka” was inspired by the old Nordic Legend of Kraka from when she appeared before Ragnar Lodbrok to answer his riddle of how you could be “neither dressed, not undressed”, Kraka solved the riddle by appearing wrapped in a fishnet.

CONDITION

Excellent. No chips, cracks or repairs. There is mild wear commensurate with the age of the piece - please refer to photos as part of the condition report. The label denoting 'ORREFORS SWEDEN' is present. The base is inscribed with 'Orrefors 958140 Kraka' and Palmqvist's 'Sven Palmqvist' signature. This piece is additionally inscribed with 'Kraka Gallery 2-89'. 

MEASUREMENTS

Height: c. 8.3" / 20 cm tall (from base to rim) x 2.4" /  6.2 cm in base diameter. Diameter across widest point: c. 5.7" / 14.5 cm. Rim diameter: c. 1.5" / 3.8 cm. Unpackaged weight: c. 3.2 kg / 3,168 g

NOTES

Vase will be securely packaged and shipping will be insured. Shipping will be combined for multiple items.

A BIT OF HISTORY
Sven Palmqvist (b. 1906 - d. 1984) is best known for his collaboration with the famous glassworks Orrefors where he developed a number of new art glass techniques. He developed the Kraka technique in 1944, then came Ravenna in 1948. Another notable success by Palmqvist was Fuga, which involved centrifuging the glass in a scaled and rapidly rotating form, instead of blowing the glass. 

Palmqvist’s distinguished career with Orrefors spanned over four decades, the creative and versatile designer also created a number of commissioned pieces for public spaces including glass sculptures that can be seen in churches in Sweden, the entrance to the SVT television studio in Stockholm, the National Museum of Sweden, the Kalmar Art Museum as well as in the decoration of a ministerial palace in Dubai.

Orrefors Glassworks (1898 - 1989)

Orrefors glassworks was a glassworks in the Swedish village Orrefors in Småland. Founded in 1898 on the site of an older ironworks, Orrefors originally produced mainly window glass and bottles and it would be 1913 before their range began to expand to drinking glasses and vases. Orrefors first attempts at art glass making were in the style of the famous French glassworks such as Daum and Gallé.

During its long history, Orrefors was host to a vast number of glass artists and designers including the likes Edward Hald, Vicke Lindstrand, Edvin Öhrström, Anne Nilsson and Sven Palmqvist. 

The original Orrefors glassworks became part of the Kosta Boda group in 1989.