Monumental Cut Blown-Crystal Vase — Kosta Boda — Sweden, 1947

A large vase in blown and cut crystal, signed and dated beneath the base 'Boda 1947'. A piece from the Boda Glasbruk manufactory (Sweden), predating the Erik Höglund period and the merger of the manufactories that gave rise to Kosta Boda AB in 1976.

The vase presents a slender form with thick walls, structured by six vertical ribs cut into the mass of the crystal, creating a remarkable optical effect of an inner cylinder suspended within the material.

Colourless crystal of exceptional purity and clarity, of significant weight attesting to the high lead content characteristic of quality productions of this period. In 1947, Boda Glasbruk was still an independent manufactory, producing pieces  in the great glassmaking tradition of Småland.

This pre-Höglund period is little documented and signed and dated pieces from it are rare. The formal vocabulary of this vase — architectural rigour, interplay of mass and transparency, geometric treatment of surfaces — fits squarely within the nascent Nordic Modernism of the post-Second World War era.

Good general condition for a piece of this age. A small chip on the base may be noted, as well as two minuscule nicks on one of the ridges, with no impact on the overall aesthetic legibility.

Engraved with the point beneath the base: Boda 1947