Beyond Decorative – The Story and Allure of Studio Glass
From ancient cultures to contemporary studios, glass has fascinated and inspired creators for centuries. Art Glass and Studio Glass artists craft exquisite glass sculptures and objects that are equally placed in the home or the museum – and that are coveted by collectors.
From Ancient to Contemporary Glass
From ancient cultures to contemporary studios, glass has fascinated and inspired creators for centuries. While glass is organic – when elements high in silica such as sand experience extreme heat followed by rapid cooling – it is also made by subjecting raw materials including sand, soda ash and limestone to high temperatures, with copper or other metals added to produce colour.
The first core formed and cast glass vessels appeared in Egypt and Mesopotamia as early as the 15th century, with glass primarily used for beads and amulets. Between the 2nd and 1st Centuries BCE, Roman Empire expansion coincided with new innovations in glass making, as the Romans aquired and further developed techniques from other territories. One of these was glassblowing, first developed by Syrian craftsmen in the 1st Century BCE. This revolutionary technique (either free-blowing or using moulds) allowed makers to create larger glass works in a myriad of new shapes, including elaborate decorative vessels, drinking glasses and jugs. Coldworking techniques proliferated – where glass is shaped or decorated after cooling by grinding, polishing, cutting, engraving, etching or sandblasting. Rome also produced stunning glass mosaics in rich colours.
A major innovation was the invention of stained glass – in the Mediterranean or Northern Africa according to scholars – which quickly spread throughout Britain and Europe. Hundreds of years later it would form a striking centrepiece to architecture masterpieces such as Notre Dame Cathedral, the 13th Century Sainte-Chapelle Chapel, also in Paris, and the 17th Century Blue Mosque in Istanbul. In the 1600’s, glass studios proliferated in Japan, while China’s Imperial Palace Workshops produced glass for domestic buyers and export, its fine quality making it a luxury item.
Glassmaking has become synonymous with places as well as makers. Venetian glass for instance, which originated during the Renaissance, incorporates filigree glass and techniques such as calcedonio (where metal oxides are added to create marbled patterns reminiscent of opal and agate), the unique design’s contributing to the city’s ongoing reputation for fine and colourful glassware.
From the Arts & Crafts Movement to Art Deco, glass artists diversified, spreading the craft through Europe, America and beyond. In reaction to the mass glass factories that sprang up in the late 19th century to cater to this widespread demand, new styles of glassmaking ultimately emerged – with both Art Glass and Studio Glass harking back to the handmade aesthetic of original glass makers.
The Origins of Studio Glass
Originating in the 19th Century, the term Art Glass refers to decorative glass produced in a variety of shapes, colours and textures. Famed art glass creators emerging in the 19th and 20th Centuries included Murano, Lalique and Tiffany.
The name Venetian Glass is often used interchangeably with Murano Glass. Produced on the small island of Murano in Venice, Murano Glass had already been around for centuries before flourishing in the 1800’s. A unique sodium based formula that allowed for a longer cooling period gave glass artists the freedom to create more complex shapes and designs. Murano Glass entered a new era in 1921 when Paolo Venini opened a glassworks on the island. He embraced traditional techniques, and partnered with exceptional makers to craft the delicate, translucent designs that are prized to this day.
Established by René Lalique in 1922, Lalique Glass is also known for it’s exceptional quality and beautiful design – often around themes of women, flora or fauna. Its vases, sculptures, bowls, perfume bottles, clocks and ornaments are hand crafted by hundreds of skilled artisans, using know-how passed down over generations. Techniques include Hot Glass, Cold Glass and Lost-Wax, with a single pieces sometimes requiring over 40 steps.
In America in the 1960’s glass artists took creativity a step further, by moving glassmaking into the studio. Studio Glass artists treating glassmaking as an artform, eschewing mass produced utilitarian objects in favour of exquisite glass sculptures and design-centred items, all made by hand using traditional techniques such as glass blowing and cold glass. Contemporary studio glass artists continue to push boundaries with new aesthetics but retain a central focus on high quality craft and design.
The interest in decorative glass among collectors and the wider public is illustrated by the popularity of institutions including The Corning Museum of Glass in New York, which holds over 50,000 items, the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia in Murano (the Venice Glass Museum) and Musee Lalique in Wingen-sur-Moder, France and Hakone, Japan.
Pictured: A Gino Cenedese, Italy, Murano Filigrana Glass Vase
Collecting Australian & International Studio Glass
For new collectors of Art & Studio Glass, there are some indicators to help gauge quality and authenticity, as Amelia Scott, Head of Asian & European Decorative Arts at Theodore Bruce Auctioneers, explains: “With studio glass, it’s important to look for a signature first. Matching it to a known artist’s signature and style then allows you to learn more about their oeuvre, and a signed piece often draws a higher price at auction. When an item is hand crafted rather than factory made, there will be bubbles and variations in colour and wall thickness and there will be a pontil mark.”
A pontil mark is a round mark or ‘scar’ that is left on the base of a glass piece when the rod – used to hold it when blowing the glass – is removed. Pontil marks may be rough or polished, and they can be faked, so they need to be taken into account among other factors.
Amelia says that form is another key consideration for collectors. “Certainly, a piece needs to be in good condition but buyers often look to form first. Unique sculptures or objects with unusual forms are of much more interest to buyers. Contemporary Studio Glass does tend to retain its value at auction, particulary if signed and an interesting, one-off design.”
Pictured: A Setsuko Ogishi Studio Glass Vase
Famed Glass Artists
Some studio glass artists have achieved global acclaim, thanks to their capacity to take the medium in new directions. Amerian glass artist, Harvey Littleton, is considered a “father of the studio glass movement”, establishing workshops at the Toledo Museum of Art in the 1960s and developing groundbreaking techniques adopted by artists including Dale Chihuly (possibly the most high-profile glass artist today) in the late 1970s. While Littleton worked across both organic and geometric forms, Chihuly is well known for his astounding large-scale glass creations, often intricately detailed and richly coloured. Other major names in 20th century glass include Dominick Labino, Marvin Lipofsky, Ginny Ruffner, Lino Tagliapietra and Sidney Hutter.
Theodore Bruce has brought to auction some outstanding contemporary glass artists, among them the British artist and filmmaker, Anthony Stern. Collectors of Stern’s vessels, lamps, chandeliers and other objects – described by the artist as “abstract paintings in glass” – have included The Queen, Elton John, the Victoria & Albert Museum and Barclays Bank.
Leading local studio glass artists including Japanese born, Setsuko Ogishi Mizuno, who trained as a painter before turning her hand to delicate glass creations, and Ben Edols and long-time collaborator, Kathy Elliott. Known for their opaque and intensely coloured glass forms, the pair have worked extensively overseas and conducted workshops at esteemed institutions including The Corning Museum of Glass, the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington and Japan’s Toyama Institute of Glass Art.
Pictured: A Large Anthony Stern (British 1944-2022) Studio Glass Landscape Cylindrical Vase
Glass Art at Auction
Theodore Bruce offers Art Glass, Studio Glass, Antique & Vintage Glassware in our regular Decorative Arts auctions, The Fine Monthly Collection, and Single Vendor Collections. Most recently, you can find a beautiful selection in The Collection of an English Gentleman.
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Pictured: A Murano Glass Yellow & Opalescent Shallow Bowl
