Monumental Rare Blenko Glass Blown Out Vase Designed by Husted, 1954
View Similar Items
Monumental Rare Blenko Glass Blown Out Vase Designed by Husted, 1954
About the Item
- Creator:Blenko Glass (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 22.25 in (56.52 cm)Width: 6.5 in (16.51 cm)Depth: 6.5 in (16.51 cm)
- Style:Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1954
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Phoenix, AZ
- Reference Number:Seller: A18921stDibs: LU187535321823
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.
- Large Pair of Unusual Moderne Blown Glass Vases, 1940s, Aquatic and Flora MotifsLocated in Phoenix, AZAmber color blown glass vases (Italian?) with engraved designs. Etched glass, ground pontil, circa 1940s. One vase features aquatic life: Seahorses, Starfish, etc. One vase featu...Category
Mid-20th Century Vases
MaterialsGlass
- Blenko Large Pinched Vase in Bright Blue, Mint ConditionBy Blenko GlassLocated in Phoenix, AZBeautiful blue tall cylindrical pinched vase with Blenko acid etched signature. Measures 12 ½ inches tall. The angular top measures 6 3/4" x 5 5/8" wide....Category
Mid-20th Century Glass
MaterialsGlass
- Fratelli Toso Tall Venetian Glass VaseBy Fratelli TosoLocated in Phoenix, AZVenetian glass with ribbed sides and scalloped edge. Measures: 11.5" H. Mint condition. Bears the castle import label on the side which usually denotes the fact that it came from ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass
- Galle French Cameo Glass Cabinet Vase, ScenicBy Emile GalléLocated in Phoenix, AZBeautiful French cameo piece featuring Islands and Palms. Signed "Galle." Measures: 3.63" H x 4" W. Mint condition.Category
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Vases
MaterialsGlass
- Camille Faure Art Deco Copper Enamel Geometric Design VaseBy Camille FauréLocated in Phoenix, AZStriking enameled vase by Camille Faure. Signed C. Faure, Limoges. Excellent condition consistent with age. Measures: 10.25" H x 5.5" W. One of the finest examples of French ...Category
Vintage 1920s French Vases
MaterialsCopper
$15,000 Sale Price33% Off - A.D. Copier Leerdam Unica Dutch Glass VaseBy A. D. CopierLocated in Phoenix, AZLeerdam glass vase by A.D. (Andries Dirk) Copier (1901-1991). Pale gray with beautiful craquelure. Created circa 1935-1940. Marked on the bottom: Leerdam Unica...Category
Mid-20th Century Dutch Vases
MaterialsGlass
- 1965 Blenko Hand Blown Vase Bottle by Wayne HustedBy Blenko GlassLocated in Allentown, PAThis is an original Blenko hand blown glass with identifying pontil underneath, circa 1965 by Wayne Husted; ambarina with orange highlights. The other glass items shown are for displ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Bottles
MaterialsGlass
- Rare Blenko Amberine Small Mouth Blown Glass VaseBy Blenko GlassLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful colors and excellent condition on this petite glass amberine vase great condition mid-century home decor, Danish Modern.Category
20th Century American Scandinavian Modern Vases
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Wayne Husted for Blenko Vintage Rare Purple Glass Vase with Nipple ProtrusionsBy Wayne Husted, Blenko GlassLocated in North Miami, FLThis rare and obscure signed Blenko vase or vessel is a luscious color of light purple. It was designed by Wayne Husted for Blenko and was most likely an...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Glass
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Wayne Husted Art Glass Vase for Blenko, circa 1960By Blenko Glass, Wayne HustedLocated in Costa Mesa, CAWayne husted Art glass vase for Blenko. circa 1960.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass
$520 Sale Price20% Off - Wayne Husted Art Glass Vase for Blenko, circa 1960By Blenko Glass, Wayne HustedLocated in Costa Mesa, CAWayne Husted Art glass vase for Blenko. circa 1960.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsBlown Glass
$520 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