Orrefors Vase Man Sowing Seed, Swedish Lead Crystal, Palmqvist 1943

Sven Palmqvist designed this image of a man scattering seed from a basket, with birds arriving to feed. The large crystal vase is hand blown, planed, and copper-wheel engraved.

This vase is 7.5 inches tall and 4.5 inches wide, and it's heavy, weighing 5 pounds. There are some fine scratches inside of the piece that are evidence of its age. The design code 2809 tells me it was designed in 1943, and the date code B6 means that this particular piece was made in 1949.

The Orrefors story began in 1726, when an ironworks and smith was built near “the beautiful river that flows into Lake Orranäs” in the Swedish countryside. It was given the name Orrefors, which means “the Orre waterfall.” ("Orre" is the Swedish name for the black grouse, which is the bird seen on their iconic labels.) The foundry was converted to a glassworks in 1898, as the demand for iron decreased. By the mid-1920s, Orrefors was celebrated for the quality and beauty of its glass.

Orrefors employed master artists and craftsmen, some of whom worked their whole careers of 40, 50, or more years with the company. Sven Palmqvist (1906-1984) was born in the glass district of southern Sweden and started his career with Orrefors in 1928, where he remained until 1972. In those years, he designed hundreds of engraved glass motifs. According to his daughter, he had a particular fondness for portraying people and animals.