The Brilliance of Swedish Glass, 1918-1939: An Alliance of Art and Industry - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300070055 ISBN 13: 9780300070057

Publisher: Yale University Press, 1996

Synopsis

Since the mid-1920s Swedish glass has been synonymous with excellence in design and craftsmanship, the most highly acclaimed product of the Swedish applied arts industries in the international marketplace. Its development and stunning ascendancy came about through the concerted efforts of Swedish artists and manufacturers to improve the technique of glassmaking and to explore the full range of aesthetics of the medium.

This book examines the emergence of Swedish glass against a historical, socioeconomic, and art-historical background. The authors discuss how the transformation of Sweden from an isolated agrarian society to a modern industrial nation parallels the modernization of the glass industry, and how the triumphs of Swedish glass in the period between the two world wars had repercussions beyond the applied arts.

This book also presents a wide selection of 157 works, shown in color, that trace the development of Swedish glass during the interwar years. In addition to superlative art glass, there are examples of domestic glassware, stemware, scent bottles, light fixtures, and other forms, all of which represent themes and variations that encompass the Swedish response to modernism. The texts that accompany these objects examine the complex technical aspects of glassmaking and the aesthetic possibilities of glass as a medium.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Since the mid-1920s Swedish glass has been synonymous with excellence in design and craftsmanship. It has become the most highly acclaimed product of the Swedish applied arts industries in the international marketplace, virtually unrivaled by glassmakers elsewhere. Through a series of ten essays, this book examines the emergence of Swedish glass against an historical, socioeconomic, and art-historical background. This book also presents a wide selection of 157 works, shown in color, that trace the development of Swedish glass during the interwar years. In addition to the superlative art glass, there are examples of domestic glassware, stemware, scent bottles, light fixtures, and other forms, all of which represent themes and variations that encompass the Swedish response to modernism. The texts that accompany these objects examine the complex technical aspects of glassmaking and the aesthetic possibilities of glass as a medium.

About the Author:

Derek E. Ostergard is associate director and Nina Stritzler-Levine is director of exhibitions at the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts. Stritzler-Levine is also the editor of Josef Frank, Architect and Designer, published by Yale University Press.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0300070055
• ISBN 13: 9780300070057
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336
• Editor: Ostergard Derek E., Stritzler-Levine Nina