This new book by Alastair Duncan is the first major study and history of the output of the Orrefors factory and will be of great interest to all collectors and connoisseurs of glass. Very little has been published on the subject and this standard work of reference will be welcomed by glass collectors as well as lovers of twentieth century craftsmanship, and by all those who appreciate Scandinavian quality and design. In 1914-15, the first art glass creations, heavily inspired by art nouveau glassware from France and Belgium, were produced at the Orrefors Factory in Sweden. Soon realising the need for an identity, the company experimented with techniques and forms of decoration and by the 1920s, with the outstandingly talented designers Simon Gate and Edward Hald and the excellence of the engravers, the firm was producing individual pieces of the highest quality At the Exposition lnternationale in Paris in 1925, Orrefors glass received international acclaim, and was awarded the coveted Grand Prix.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Glass in all its forms is the essential theme of these two works: both offer an opportunity to enjoy the endless shapes this basic element can take, and both give commercial and personal histories, but the end results are quite different. Written by a scholar and specialist and produced by the reliable Antiques Collectors' Club, Orrefors Glass describes a single firm over almost a century of production. It traces Orrefors from its origin as a means of utilizing excess timber to its current international renown, supplies biographical information on designers, identifies marks and signatures, and offers a short section on techniques. As a useful reference work on a specific topic, this volume should be part of any library serving the collecting public. The second book is a more elaborate study of the multiple firms producing glass on the famed Ventian island of Murano. It has much to commend it but is seriously flawed as a reference work. The dust jacket promises more than the book provides, and the contents frequently fall short of what the reader might reasonably expect. The indexes of model numbers are very useful but are not provided for all the firms; nor are they all as detailed or as precise as predicted. While this may be the result of poor record-keeping by a particular firm, it is disappointing to the reader. The biographies of the artists/designers are quite useful, and perhaps the best section is that on labels, trademarks, and signatures. However, the index and notes are not easily navigable; although illustrations of works by Calder, Cocteau, Sottsass, etc., are promised, the index cannot locate them. It is unfortunate that the flaws in this volume keep it from being the excellent work it could and should have been, but it is valuable for its elegant illustrations, its scholarship, and its details of the techniques and methods of the art of glass-making. [The publisher promises a revised edition of Art Glass from Murano by early next year.?Ed.]?Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New Yor.
-?Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New York
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
-?Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New York
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
What many collectors fear usually comes to pass as a result of the printed word. In other words, when information on a specific antique or period or collectible is published, others will start buying and amassing the objects--and the prices will skyrocket. Since Orrefors began as a Swedish art-glass company in the late 1800s, the collecting trend is well under way, so there's no need to fear the publication of Duncan's overview. It's a basic, somewhat impersonal blend of company history and designers who helped innovate a number of glass-decorating techniques, set in the environment of Scandinavian design movements. Color photographs, most gathered from the Orrefors museum, and biographies of designers will rescue the turgid prose in the eyes of collectors; but how much more intriguing it would be if the author had included more tidbits about, say, company personalities, famous collectors, and competitors. Barbara Jacobs
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