As well as Italy and Scandinavia, some of the finest quality glass was coming out of Germany in the 1940's & 50's. Where much of the Scandinavian modernist aesthetic was produced in large quantities from moulds and in series, Italian and German glass was proudly unique and individualistic. Italian glass tended towards the sculptural and freeform, while the German technical mastery of the medium was expressed in cutting, turning and etching. Two examples on the site at the moment were made as one off pieces by Nora Ortlieb, a pupil at the Stuttgart technical art school of Wilhelm von Eiff, considered one of the 20th centuries very finest glass workers. Ortlieb (1904-1984) started her own workshop in 1943 but I would guess these vessels date from the 1950's. The weight and quality is outstanding and compared to Venini for example, are very reasonable in price. Each is signed, and very much a work of art in their own right.
 |  |
RSS Feed
