James Keith
James Keith was a British master glassblower who arrived at Nøstetangen glassworks in summer 1755. He is an important figure in eighteenth-century Norwegian glass. Nøstetangen Norsk Glassmuseum emphasises his contribution to English influences on the factory's designs and to decoration carried out while glass was still hot.
This hot-working involves shaping or applying details to the heated glass. The museum associates the period after Keith's arrival with slender stemware incorporating air twists or coloured glass spirals. Such work differs from engraving, which works the finished glass. A glassblower and engraver can therefore have distinct roles in the same object.
Norsk kunstnerleksikon also records Keith's work on the chandeliers for Kongsberg Church, designed by Heinrich Gottfrid Köhler. Maker and designer must be distinguished here. A twisted stem or English-influenced shape cannot prove that an individual glass was personally blown by Keith. Provenance and comparison with documented museum objects should carry more weight than one stylistic feature. Keith was also associated with Hurdal glassworks.
