Strömbergshyttan Large Rectangular Ice Blue Glass Vase with Engraved Tree and Birds, Shiny Chiseled Bark, Handmade in Sweden

This extra large, extra beautiful, vintage vase is made from an impressive mass of ice-blue, sparkling clear, Swedish crystal. The engraving depicts a tree with rough-cut bark and several birds in it. It is 9.25" high and 6.25" by 3.25" at its rim, and it weighs just over a whopping 8 pounds. It is perfect for display in a sunny spot. It is in excellent condition, clear and sparkling, with a just few scratches to show its age. The artist engraved the scene using the new "dental drill" engraving process, and chipped away at the glass in the trunk to create the uneven texture that plays so well in the light. It is signed and numbered, Strömbergshyttan B1040 C1491 Sweden.

The story of Strömbergshyttan begins in 1876, when a glassworks called Lindfors ("winding falls") opened about 50 km west of Orrefors. In 1933, Edward Strömberg, who was a former head at Orrefors, and his wife Gerda, who was a designer at Eda, leased the company and changed the name to Strömbergshyttan ("Strömberg's hut"). Edward and his son Eric devised a way to produce a glass that had a bluish-silver hue, which became characteristic for Strömbergshyttan. Eric Strömberg and his wife, Asta, bought the company in 1945, and they invested heavily to modernize it. The Strömberg family further upgraded the mill in 1960. For most of the 40+ years that the family controlled the glass mill, Gerda and Asta Strömberg designed the glass. A fire in 1973 left the glassworks in financial difficulties, and it was sold to Orrefors in 1976. Orrefors closed the Strömbergshyttan glassworks just three years later. (Adapted from Nils Bergqvist)