Blenko Midcentury Glass Sculptural Candleholder
View Similar Items
Blenko Midcentury Glass Sculptural Candleholder
About the Item
- Creator:Blenko Glass (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 2.25 in (5.72 cm)Width: 8 in (20.32 cm)Depth: 7 in (17.78 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1990-1999
- Date of Manufacture:1990s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Wear consistent with age and use. As a vintage item, light cosmetic wear might be present but with no structural damage. Wear consistent with age and use. Any questions please inquire.
- Seller Location:San Diego, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: Blenko Mid Century Glass Sculptural Candleholder 1stDibs: LU936622616832
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 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. His 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 stem- 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 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 1950’s 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.
- Brutalist Midcentury Blenko Amoeba Shaped Glass CandleholderBy Blenko GlassLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful vintage Blenko candleholder. Shaped in an artistic organic amoeba form, this glass sculpture is beautiful, artful and sculptural all at t...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Candelabras
MaterialsGlass
- Vintage Pair Blenko Amoeba Tangerine Glass CandleholdersBy Blenko GlassLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful pair of vintage Blenko Amoeba Glass Candleholders in Tangerine. The beautiful freeform and color of these catapults them to sculptures. The joyo...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsGlass
- Vintage Midcentury Glass Owl Bookends by BlenkoBy Blenko GlassLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful pair of midcentury glass owl bookends by Blenko from the 1960s with original signature seal sticker. Incredible craftsmanship and detail in this pair of glass bookends that...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Midcentury Clear Glass Trumpet Vase by BlenkoBy Blenko GlassLocated in San Diego, CAFun midcentury clear hand blown glass trumpet vase by Blenko, circa 1970s. The vase is 7" W x 6" D x 15.5" H and in very good condition with n...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Vintage Midcentury Glass Owl Bookends by BlenkoBy Rosenthal, Blenko Glass, Jonathan AdlerLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful pair of midcentury glass owl bookends by Blenko from the 1960s. Incredible craftsmanship and detail in this pair of glass bookends that can adapt to your style as sculpture...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
MaterialsBlown Glass
- American Midcentury Textured Glass Owl Bookends by BlenkoBy Blenko GlassLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful pair of midcentury glass owl bookends by Blenko from the 1960s. Incredible craftsmanship and detail in this pair of glass bookends that can adapt to your style as sculpture...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Blenko Clear Glass Candleholders, a PairBy Blenko GlassLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLVintage pair of puck shaped glass candleholders by Blenko. Handmade from solid glass, slightly different in size. Manufacurer: Blenko Origin: USA Year: 1960s Syle: Mid-Ce...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Candlesticks
MaterialsGlass, Art Glass
- Blenko Glass Owl Book EndsBy Blenko GlassLocated in Denton, TX1960s Blenko glass bookends, designed by Joel Myers rare clear solid cast glass with textured design in the front and smooth on the back.Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
MaterialsGlass
$500 / set - Six Blenko Glass Zodiac BoxBy Blenko GlassLocated in New York, NYSet of Blenko art glass zodiac plaques. Being sold individually. There are: 2 Taurus 1 Aries 2 Cancer 1 Libra.Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
MaterialsArt Glass
$175 / item - Hand Blown Head Vase Attributed to Blenko Glass / Hank AdamsBy Blenko GlassLocated in Cincinnati, OHA amethyst colored hand blown glass head vase with a stylized face and hair attributed to Hank Adams and the Blenko glass company. This piece was purch...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Blenko Ice Cube Pillar Candleholders, a PairBy Blenko GlassLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLPair of vintage hand blown pillar candleholders by Blenko. Heavy weight construction in aqua blue glass with the look and texture of ice. Manuf...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Candlesticks
MaterialsGlass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
- Modern Blenko Glass Owl BookendsBy Joel MyersLocated in Cathedral City, CA1960s Modern Blenko glass owl bookends Joel Myers, USA.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Bookends
MaterialsArt Glass