Orrefors Glassworks

Orrefors: from industrial site to art glass and tableware

Orrefors Glassworks was established in 1898 on a site with an earlier ironworks. The ironworks dates to 1726. These dates concern different activities: Orrefors glass should not be dated back to the founding of the ironworks.

Gate, Hald and skilled manufacture

Art glass gained importance after Johan Ekman’s acquisition in 1913. Simon Gate joined in 1916 and Edward Hald in 1917. Orrefors Museum highlights collaboration with glassblower Knut Bergqvist and the Graal technique, in which a decorated blank is encased in clear glass and further blown. The designer did not necessarily perform every manufacturing operation.

The Paris exhibition of 1925 brought an international breakthrough. This history explains the maker’s development; it does not prove that a particular vase appeared in the exhibition.

Intermezzo distinguishes brand from producing glassworks

Nationalmuseum holds an Intermezzo champagne glass designed by Erika Lagerbielke, NMK 59A/1998. The object is dated 1998 and records Sandviks Glasbruk as manufacturer. Its characteristic blue drop connects the model to Orrefors’ tableware history. The record shows why the brand and the actual manufacturing works should be recorded separately.

Orrefors also presents a gold-coloured version of the drop. A blue drop therefore does not describe every Intermezzo variant. The model name alone cannot establish whether a glass belongs to an early or later production.

Examining an object

Our practical advice: photograph the base, lettering, model numbers and labels before interpreting them. Compare shape and measurements with documentation for the particular variant. Distinguish an exact transcription from an opinion about who actually signed it.

Examine the rim, foot and stem for chips and cracks, describing cloudiness without asserting its cause. Record findings in a condition report. Receipts and older photographs may contribute to ownership history, but do not replace model identification.

Next step

Browse OBA’s glass and crystal. Assess the maker, designer, dating and condition together for each item.

Sources

Företagskällan: Orrefors glasbruk; Orrefors Museum: historie; Nationalmuseum: Intermezzo, NMK 59A/1998; Orrefors: Intermezzo.