Collection of Blenko Decanters
View Similar Items
Collection of Blenko Decanters
About the Item
- Creator:
- Dimensions:Height: 22 in (55.88 cm)Diameter: 7.5 in (19.05 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 3
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:San Mateo, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU95365675323
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.
- Goran Warff Acid Etched Vase for Kosta Royal Art CollectionBy Kosta Boda, Göran WärffLocated in San Mateo, CAVase from the Kosta Royal Art Collection designed by Goran Warff. This vase has very thick walls, a large internal bubble in the bottom and an acid treated exterior. All this creates...Category
Vintage 1970s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass
- Pair of Rörstrand Hand Decorated VasesBy RörstrandLocated in San Mateo, CAPair of hand decorated vases by Rörstrand. These are decorated on two sides of each vase. The shape is probably a Carl-Harry Stalhane design.Category
Vintage 1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsPorcelain
$250 / set - Pair of Murano Glass Urn Shaped VasesLocated in San Mateo, CAPair of Murano urn shaped glass vases. These are a green opaque foamy glass.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Vases
MaterialsArt Glass
$400 / set - Flavio Poli Sommerso Vase for Seguso Vetri d'ArteBy Flavio Poli, Seguso Vetri d'ArteLocated in San Mateo, CASmall Murano sommerso vase designed by Flavio Poli. The vase is clear, red and violet one of the nicer color combinations of this series.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass
- Vivika and Otto Heino Studio Pottery Ceramic VaseBy Otto and Vivika HeinoLocated in San Mateo, CAOtto and Vivika Heino vase in a classic Heino shape. The glaze is a high gloss brown with black undertones. The vase is signed Vivika + Heino.Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- Gunnel Nyman Serpentini Vase for NuutajarviBy Nuutajärvi Notsjõ, Gunnel NymanLocated in San Mateo, CASerpentini vase designed by Gunnel Nyman in 1954. The vase was produced by Nuutajarvi Notsjo. This tall vase has a white ribbon that comes down from the lip and becomes an elongated ...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsArt Glass
- Collection of Large Blenko Glass PiecesBy Blenko GlassLocated in St.Petersburg, FLA collection of large, red-orange Blenko pieces, largest measuring 33.25" H.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Glass
$5,500 / set - Bischoff Handblown Footed Glass Decanter Vase in the style of BlenkoBy Wayne HustedLocated in Cincinnati, OHA handblown footed decanter vase in a smoked taupe color having the original flame stopper with a frost type finish to the inside executed in the Mid Century . Crafted in the United States for the Bischoff Glass...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Glass
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Winslow Anderson for Blenko "Pinched" Art Glass Vase, 1960sBy Blenko Glass, Winslow AndersonLocated in Costa Mesa, CAWinslow Anderson for Blenko "Pinched" Art Glass Vase, 1960s.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsArt Glass, Glass
$440 Sale Price20% Off - Winslow Anderson for Blenko "Pinched" Art Glass Vase, 1960sBy Blenko Glass, Winslow AndersonLocated in Costa Mesa, CAWinslow Anderson for Blenko "Pinched" Art Glass Vase, 1960s.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass, Art Glass
$440 Sale Price20% Off - Architectural Glass Blenko Tangerine Vessel by Wayne HustedBy Blenko Glass, Wayne HustedLocated in Palm Springs, CAArchitectural Blenko tangerine floor vessel/bottle by Wayne Husted. Bottle is 26.25" high and 9.5" diameter (bottom), 7" diameter (top). Manufactured ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Bottles
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Wayne Husted for Blenko Sea Foam Green Genie Bottle DecanterBy Wayne HustedLocated in Palm Springs, CASea foam green 5815L Genie bottle decanter designed in 1958 by Wayne Husted for Blenko. Decanter measures 25" by 8.5" and is signed with the acid...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Glass
MaterialsBlown Glass
$1,516 Sale Price20% Off