Edward Hald - Nordic Design London Wednesday, September 30, 2015 | Phillips

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  • Literature

    Jennifer Hawkins Opie, Scandinavia: Ceramics & Glass in the Twentieth Century, exh. cat., Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 1989, p. 101, fig. 41, p. 124, cat. 443 for the vase with underplate
    Derek Ostergard and Nina Stritzler-Levine, eds., The Brilliance of Swedish Glass, 1918-1939: An Alliance of Art and Industry, exh. cat., The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, New York, 1996, p. 194, fig. 38 for the vase with underplate, p. 195, fig. 39
    Kerstin Wickman, ed., Orrefors: A Century of Swedish Glassmaking, Stockholm, 1998, pp. 36, 175 for the vase with underplate

  • Catalogue Essay

    Having studied arts and started his career under Henri Matisse, Edward Hald’s long collaboration with Orrefors began in 1917. Despite Hald’s inexperience with glass, he soon understood the potential and properties of this material and applied his figurative compositions to Orrefors' production.

    The ‘Fireworks’ vase was first exhibited in 1913 at the Gothenburg Jubilee Exhibition, where it was an immediate success, and declared by the esteemed advocate of Swedish design, Erik Wettergren as 'Halds masterpiece'. The present version in deep blue glass is one of the most remarkable examples of the model, which was introduced in 1921. The engravings executed on the surface illustrate moments of celebrations, where families share music with loved ones and joyful children play under the light of the numerous fireworks. Such decorations were untraditional for the glassworks repertoire, but at the time new motifs were being adopted in the discipline due to the influence of chinoiserie and other artistic movements. To achieve a sharp contrast, a layer of coloured glass is applied and engraved to reveal the frosted glass decorations.

    Examples of the ‘Fireworks’ vase can be found in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, the Orrefors Museum, Sweden, the Museum at Malmö, Sweden, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the Art Institute of Chicago.

251

Important 'Fyrverkeriskålen' (Fireworks) vase, model no. 248

designed 1921, executed 1947
Engraved overlay coloured glass.
21.5 cm (8 1/2 in.) high
Produced by Orrefors Glassworks, Sweden. Underside acid-etched with Orrefors Hald 248. B4 and engraver’s initials, engraved with monogram and commemorative date 23 / 7 1945.

Estimate
£15,000 - 25,000 

Contact Specialist
Madalena Horta e Costa
Head of Sale
+44 20 7318 4019

Nordic Design

London Auction 1 October 2015