Three Blenko Glass Vessels, One is a Decanter with Stopper
View Similar Items
Three Blenko Glass Vessels, One is a Decanter with Stopper
About the Item
- Creator:Blenko Glass (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 9.5 in (24.13 cm)Diameter: 23 in (58.42 cm)Length: 9.5 in (24.13 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 3
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:20th Century
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. water staining to the decanter and inor marks and surface scratches to the other two.
- Seller Location:Palm Springs, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU83505699463
Blenko Glass
A producer of hand-blown glass since 1893, Blenko Glass is currently headquartered in Milton, West Virginia, where it has operated since 1921. Among its many illustrious projects are the stained-glass windows it produced for St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Washington National Cathedral. Blenko is known today for the brilliant colors of its glass vases, decanters and other vessels and objects — particularly those produced in the 1950s and ’60s — which range from jewel-like blues and greens to brilliant reds and yellows.
The company was founded by William J. Blenko, an English immigrant who was apprenticed to a glassmaker in his native London as a young man. Blenko developed expertise in the production of rondels, the round panes used in stained glass windows.
Blenko's interest in the potential of natural gas to fire glass furnaces led him to Milton, where abundant reserves of the fuel had attracted a pool of skilled glassblowers. Under the name Eureka Glass, his company began making window glass in 1923, and in 1925, he was joined in the business by his son, William H. Blenko.
When the Great Depression quelled demand for stained glass, William J. Blenko brought local Milton glassblowers into the company to begin producing stemware and tableware, products for which the company, which changed its name to Blenko in 1930, is now best known.
Up until the end of World War II, Blenko’s tableware designs were fairly straightforward, and they sold well at American department stores such as Gump’s, in San Francisco. The company was also commissioned in 1930 to produce a line of reproductions for Colonial Williamsburg.
In 1947, the company hired as its art director Winslow Anderson, who introduced artful, fanciful and modern vessels and objects in vibrant colors. This began what collectors refer to as Blenko’s “historic period.” A number of Anderson’s designs were honored by the Museum of Modern Art’s Good Design Awards in 1950, and throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, the company enjoyed robust sales and critical acclaim. The forms Blenko produced during this period followed the contemporary vogue for biomorphism, or organic modernism, which favored rounded and fluid shapes inspired by nature.
One of Blenko’s most influential designers, Wayne Husted, who was active from 1953 to ’63, is credited with aligning Blenko’s products with the prevailing mid-century modern aesthetic by pushing the envelope on both form and color, particularly in his wedge-cut and Spool decanters and his Echoes series.
Joel Philip Myers, who designed for Blenko in the 1960s, brought a sense of whimsy and visual excess to the product line, in keeping with the psychedelic look favored during the period.
Blenko Glass still produces many of its classic designs in items ranging from stemware and tableware to decorative objects and ornamental decanters.
Among collectors, pieces created under Husted’s creative direction are of special interest. The company has come to the attention of younger audiences through the documentaries Blenko: Hearts of Glass and Blenko Retro: Three Designers of American Glass, both of which aired on PBS. Blenko also designed the glass award trophy for the Country Music Awards.
Find vintage Blenko glass for sale on 1stDibs.
- Seguso or Cenedese Scavo Corroso Handled Green VesselBy Seguso & CenadeseLocated in Palm Springs, CAA beautiful greenish likely Suso or Cenedese vase purchased from the same estate as the signed Seguso white one we bought. It has two handles and is a pretty shade of light green.Category
20th Century Italian Glass
- Large Flared Handblown Glass Vase with a Corroso or Scale FinishLocated in Palm Springs, CAA lovely large oversize centerpiece handblown glass vase, likely Murano. It has some scratched name on the base, but I can't make it out. It has ...Category
20th Century Italian Glass
- Robert Eicholt Art GlassLocated in Palm Springs, CAA nice piece of signed art glass in beautiful iridescent shades, by Robert Eickholt, signed and dated 78 on the base. This is an extremely early piece of eickholt's work, as he found...Category
Vintage 1970s American Vases
MaterialsArt Glass
- Salviati Murano Glass SculpturesBy SalviatiLocated in Palm Springs, CAA beautiful pair of luminous murano glass sculptures by Salviati. These are made of glass with Uranium deposits that allow the glass to 'Glow" in UV light. Similar to American made V...Category
20th Century Italian Glass
MaterialsArt Glass
$3,800 / set - David Garcia Glass chargerBy Michael AmisLocated in Palm Springs, CAA very post modern looking piece of art glass by the noted glassmaker David Garcia. it has unique applied decoration to the surface. It is signed on the b...Category
Late 20th Century American Sculptures
MaterialsGlass
- Elio Raffaeli Glass SculptureBy Elio RaffaeliLocated in Palm Springs, CAA wonderful smoked glass twisted sculpture by the Italian Master Elio Raffaeli. Approximately 21 inches tall. In good age appropriate condition, with s...Category
20th Century Italian Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsArt Glass
- A Pair of Blenko Glass Works Genie Bottle Decanters with Solid Glass StoppersBy Blenko GlassLocated in San Francisco, CAA good example of Blenko hand-blown glass, each with long neck above a bulbous body fitted with a water-drop solid glass stopper all in a cerulean blue clear glass; with pontil marks...Category
Vintage 1960s American Modern Glass
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Blenko Lemon Yellow Optical Art Glass Flame Stopper DecanterBy Blenko GlassLocated in Greenport, NYWe assume this is by Blenko Glass Company however we’re still combing through their catalogs to find an exact match. It is in their popular Lemon Yellow. It has optical ribbing on th...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Glass
MaterialsArt Glass
- Midcentury Blenko Charcoal Grey Crackle Glass Decanter with Stopper, Circa 1950By Blenko GlassLocated in New York, NYATA1433 A Blenko charcoal crackle glass decanter with clear crackle glass stopper. Due to the antique nature of this fixture, there may be some nicks ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Glass
MaterialsBlown Glass, Glass, Art Glass
- Vintage Blenko Light Purple Decanter Bottle With Stopper and Molded DesignBy Blenko GlassLocated in North Miami, FLThis lovely vintage molded glass decanter bottle by Blenko has a teardrop original long stopper. The design on the front and back are abstract bod...Category
Vintage 1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Glass
MaterialsGlass
- Pair of Blenko Art Glass DecantersBy Blenko GlassLocated in Norton, MAA pair of Blenko charcoal crackle glass decanters with charcoal crackle stoppers, circa 1950s.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Glass
MaterialsGlass
$1,245 / set - Crackle Glass Decanter Manner of BlenkoBy Blenko Glass, Viking Glass CompanyLocated in Fulton, CAYellow or citrine blown crackle glass decanter with stopper. Made in the manner of the 1960's art glass makers of the mid-century period, Viking, Blenko, Pilgrim, etc. Measures 9.25 ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Glass
MaterialsBlown Glass