Kaj Franck Model 1621 Blue Glass and Rattan Pitcher for Nuutajärvi, Finland
View Similar Items
Kaj Franck Model 1621 Blue Glass and Rattan Pitcher for Nuutajärvi, Finland
About the Item
- Creator:Kaj Franck (Designer),Nuutajärvi Notsjõ (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 9.06 in (23 cm)Diameter: 4.73 in (12 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor wear on the rattan.
- Seller Location:Maastricht, NL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU93045380073
Kaj Franck
Kaj Gabriel Franck was a leading figure in 20th-century Finnish design, specializing in ceramics and glass. As the creative director of Arabia Ceramics, now part of Iittala, he, along with fellow Finns Timo Sarpaneva and Tapio Wirkkala, helped popularize the bright, warm and curvy aesthetic of Scandinavian modernism. Design Forum Finland’s Kaj Franck Design Prize, established in 1992 and awarded each year around his birthday, is among the country’s most prestigious honors for designers.
Franck was born in 1911 in the city of Vyborg, which now belongs to Russia, but was then part of the Grand Duchy of Finland. He studied furniture design at the Central School of Industrial Design in Helsinki, and after graduating in 1932, worked as a catalogue illustrator for the Riihimäki glassworks, exploring interior and textile design on the side.
Having served in the Finnish armed forces during World War II, Franck joined Arabia in 1945 as their head of design. He remained with the company for many years, steering its line of tableware in a dynamic new direction. Franck professed an aversion to superfluous ornament. His ceramic designs were nevertheless complex and eye-catching, animated with playful, geometric forms. One of his most famous creations for Arabia was the Origami dish from the early 1960s, a glossy all-white serving piece resembling a subtly folded piece of paper with four shallow sections for holding food.
Although his Arabia ceramics became household staples for consumers in Scandinavia and beyond, Franck is better known among collectors for his glass designs, particularly those he created for Iittala starting in the late 1940s. In a 1947 Iittala-sponsored glass competition, Franck shared the top prize with Tapio Wirkkala. In 1950, he designed the company’s iconic Kartio series of pressed-glass pitchers and glasses, which came in different colors that consumers could “mix and match” rather than having to buy a homogeneous set. In 1977, Franck redesigned the series, renamed Teemaa.
Franck’s designs for Iittala embodied the Finnish concept of pelkistetty, which literally means “reduced” and in the design world refers to the pared-down, minimal qualities of modernism. This principle, evidenced in objects like his elegant, unfussy sets of jewel-toned drinking glasses from the 1960s, informed Franck’s view of the manufacturing process as well. Critical of mass production and consumerism, he was one of the country’s first professionals in his field to advocate recycling. He became known as the “conscience of Finnish design,” a role he embraced as a professor and later artistic director at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki.
In honor of Franck’s 100th birthday, in 2011, Iittala reissued Kartio glasses, Teema tableware and Purnukka jars, among other of his designs that retain their contemporary feel decades after their creation.
Find vintage Kaj Franck glass, vases and other furniture and decor on 1stDibs.
- Purtilo Glass Pitcher Carafe by Kaj Franck for Nuutajärvi Notsjö, Finland, 1950sBy Nuutajärvi Notsjõ, Kaj FranckLocated in Vienna, ATA beautiful Purtilo glass pitcher, model 1609, in greenish amber color from the 1950s. Designed by Kaj Franck, executed by Nuutajärvi Notsjö in Finland. In very good condition.Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Pitchers
MaterialsGlass, Art Glass
- 1950s Pitcher Set In Brass stand Attributed To Kaj Franck For Nuutajärvi NotsjöBy Nuutajärvi Notsjõ, Kaj FranckLocated in Silvolde, GelderlandAbsolutely beautiful and rare set of six glases with matching pitcher in a brass wire stand. The complete set is in perfect condition and attributed to Kaj Franck for Nuutajärvi Nots...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Pitchers
MaterialsBrass
$1,596 Sale Price20% Off - 1960s Elegant Kaj Franck 1 Arabia Abstract Dark Brown Pitcher FinlandBy Kaj FranckLocated in Chula Vista, CAElegant Kaj Franck Pitcher Arabia abstract form dark brown with relief pattern. 6 d x 4.38 w x 6.88 h Kaj Franck ARABIA Pitcher KF 1 Finland Signed ...Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Pitchers
MaterialsPottery
- 1960s Kaj Franck Arabia Glazed Bull Ceramic Milk Pitcher FinlandBy Arabia, Kaj FranckLocated in Chula Vista, CA1960s Arabia Green Bull Cow Milk Pitcher Kaj Franck Finland 8 D x 5.25 Tall x 5.25 W Maker stamped. Preowned original vintage condition. Refer to images provi...Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Pitchers
MaterialsCeramic
- Kaj Franck Glasses Model 1725 by Nuutajärvi Notsjö in FinlandBy Kaj FranckLocated in Limhamn, Skåne länRare set of 12 glasses model 1725 in original box designed by Kaj Franck. Produced by Nuutajärvi Notsjö in Finland.Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Glass
MaterialsGlass
- Kaj Franck, Nuutajärvi Glass Works, Finland Art Glass, 21 BowlsLocated in Copenhagen, DKKaj Franck (Finnish, 1911-1989) Nuutajärvi glass Works, Wa¨rtsila¨ Finland art glass, a total of 21 bowls of different colors. Measures: 9 x 5 cm and 7 x 5 cm. In perfect condition.Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Glass
$1,200 Sale Price / set20% Off