- Kosta Boda Brains sculpture; 3-inch length.
- Hand-crafted by master glassmakers in Sweden.
- Designed by world-renowned glass artist Bertil Vallien.
- Choice of many different named Brains, some with gold or silver leaf.
- Each comes in a soft bag inside a striking gift-box.
Product Description
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Bertil Vallien's Brains are an evocative series of heads that
are anti-stress pieces for the hand, the eye, the writing table,
for your travels¿
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We may not know who Bertil Vallien had in mind for all the names
of his Brains sculptures, but each shows a distinct persona. The
collection of three-inch, three-dimensional glass heads is
absolutely stunning, and choosing one from among seven (or more,
as new ones are added) is no easy task. But each makes an unusual
gift, and a functional one at that, whether used as a desk
paperweight, a conversation starter on a coffee table, or a
pocket good-luck charm. Each comes in a soft, black bag inside a
striking gift-box, ready to impress and intrigue the recipient.
Bertil Vallien, one of the world's most celebrated glass
artists, collaborates closely with the master glassmakers at
Kosta Boda who produce these unique heads from lead-free crystal.
Starting with basically the same face, the Brains icons may have
color, texture, gold leaf, or silver leaf applied during the
creative process. The following descriptions help distinguish the
choices. Albert: frosted charcoal gray and white; Karolina:
frosted blue; Cesare: textured rust and blue; John Silver: silver
leaf with red eyes; Midas: gold leaf with one blue eye; Jimenez:
silver leaf over ultramarine blue; Pablo: gritty green with rear
blue swirl. Once captivated, you'll be tempted to collect Brains
yourself even as you give them as gifts. The crystal heads may be
washed by hand. --Ann Bieri
From the Manufacturer
About the Designer:
Born in 1938, Bertil Vallien has been retained by Kosta Boda
since 1963. By far the most internationally celebrated glass
artist and designer in Sweden, he has received numerous awards,
and his work is well represented in leading museums around the
world. He is known most of all as the master of sand molding. His
solid, deep blue, 4-meter-long ship has become part of modern
glass history. His creations in recent years include Heads, a
long series of enigmatic, solid, blue glass heads of different
sizes. He works in a mythical, dreamlike world of symbolic
imagery. He undertakes what he himself describes as a
never-ending research quest, in close cooperation with his loyal
coworkers at Åfors glassworks, several of whom have worked with
Vallien for four decades. Aside from his artistic work, he is a
highly skilled and successful industrial designer, and his
creations include Château, one of the bestselling ranges of
handmade glasses over the years.
About the Kosta Boda:
With characteristic craftsmanship and good design, Kosta Boda
has become one of the leading glasshouses in the world. The
company's three glassworks in the villages of Kosta, Boda, and
Åfors each have exciting individual stories of their own yet
stand together under the common brand name Kosta Boda. The corps
of designers currently on retainer at Kosta Boda works with both
utilitarian and art glass.
Glass results from a great many meetings between
people--artists, craftspeople, and lovers of glass. The artists
of Kosta Boda have a decisive role to play in all the creative
stages of the process. The cooperation between the designers and
the skilled craftspeople is very close; indeed, it is essential
if the designers are to transfer their intentions to the glass.
The History of Kosta Boda:
Kosta, the parent glassworks of Kosta Boda and the oldest
glassworks in Sweden still in operation, has a fascinating
history that forms a valuable part of Swedish cultural heritage.
The glassworks was founded in 1742 by the governors of the
counties of Kronoberg and Kalmar, Anders Koskull and Georg
Bogislaus Stael von Holstein, both former generals in the army of
Karl XII and distinguished veterans of the battle of Narva, among
others. The two county governors founded the glassworks upon the
instructions of Fredrik I and modeled it on Continental
glassworks. The works was situated deep in the spruce forests of
Småland, on a site midway between the two country towns, and near
a village that was then known as Dåfvedshult. The main reason for
choosing this location was the unlimited availability of wood.
Enormous quantities of wood were naturally required to keep the
glassmaking furnaces burning day and night.
Both of the founders wanted their names to be remembered, so the
works was christened Kosta, from the initial letters--Ko and
Sta--of the surnames of both the Carolinian generals. After a
time the entire community was renamed after the growing
glassworks.
During the first 150 years, the glassworks in Kosta produced
only utility glass, including window glass for the building of
Tessin's Royal Palace, bottles and glass for the royal household,
and chandeliers for churches. The first glassblowers were
immigrant glass masters from Böhmen. They became the founding
hers of the glassblowing families, which passed down craft
skills from generation to generation. Swedish sand was used to
manufacture crystal glass, but nowadays pure silica sand is
imported from Belgium, since the Swedish sand contains iron oxide
that gives the glass a green tinge.
Under the management of glass masters from Kosta, a succession
of glassworks sprang up in the forests of Småland in the regions
around Växjö and Kalmar. Kosta therefore has good reason to call
itself the parent works of the entire Swedish Kingdom of Crystal.
Until the end of the 19th century, the glass from Kosta was
designed by the glassblowers themselves. At the Stockholm
exhibition in 1897, the glassworks was criticized for the
uniformity of its glass, which led to the idea of enlisting
designers and artists in production. The first designer to be
employed by Kosta was nar Wennerberg. The year was 1898. Ever
since then a large number of artists and designers have enriched
the glassmaking tradition of the works with their artistic
talents. Today Kosta Boda has a unique right to describe itself
as an art industry, in which designers and craftspeople work
closely together in the ongoing development of handmade utility
glass and art glass. This diversity of individual artistic
expression and the free and uninhibited creative process have
become the distinguishing characteristics of the Kosta Boda
brand.
In addition to the parent works in Kosta, Kosta Boda today
includes the two "daughter works" of Boda (founded in 1864) and
Åfors (founded in 1876), a partnership that was formed in 1964.
Both Boda and Åfors were originally relatively simple glassworks
that manufactured utility glass. Boda experienced a period of
glory in the 1960s and 1970s, under the innovative and dynamic
artistic leadership of Erik Höglund, a heritage carried on by
Kjell Engman and Monica Backström. Åfors has been the home of the
designer couple Ulrica Hydman-Vallien and Bertil Vallien, who,
together with nel Sahlin and Olle Brozén, brought a
renaissance to the small glassworks and local community. In 1990
Kosta was acquired by its former competitor Orrefors.
Orrefors/Kosta Boda was in turn acquired by the Danish company
Royal Copenhagen in 1997, and the design group Royal Scandinavia
was formed. The group also includes Georg Jensen, Royal
Copenhagen, and Holmegaard.
Colorful, handmade art glass from the works in Kosta, Boda, and
Åfors have made Kosta Boda one of Sweden's strongest brands and
one of the world's leading glass companies. Glass from Kosta Boda
is sold all over the world. Roughly 50 percent of production is
sold outside Scandinavia, with some of the biggest markets in the
U.S., Japan, Germany, and Australia. The origins of this glass,
the living tradition of craftsmanship developed in the glassworks
in Kosta, Boda, and Åfors, is a heritage that every Swede has a
right to feel proud of.
Taking Care of Kosta Boda Pieces:
Handmade and hand-painted glass (especially the latter) does not
do well in the dishwasher. Wash by hand in hot water--though not
too hot--with a little washing-up liquid. Washing in very hot
water will eventually destroy the luster of the glass. Rinse in
water of about the same temperature as you washed it in. To avoid
cracking the glass, make sure you do not expose it to excessive
temperature differences. To avoid lines, dry with a soft cloth
that won't shed lint. The edge of the glass is its most fragile
part. When you put the glass back in the cupboard, stand it on
its foot and make sure the edge does not come into contact with
other glasses or objects.
The Mark or Signature on Kosta Boda Pieces:
Products are marked with the words Kosta Boda, the name of the
artist, and the article number (seven digits). Painted pieces are
signed with a painted signature with the designer's and the
painter's initials. Engraved pieces also have the engraver's
signature near the designer's name.
Besides designing glass for the regular Kosta Boda collection,
our artists are also free to work with art
glass--limited-edition, specially signed pieces that are often
much sought after by collectors. Kosta Boda art glass is divided
into two categories: unique pieces and limited editions. Unique
pieces are, of course, just that. No more than one piece is made
of any particular item. Limited editions are manufactured in runs
of between 25 and 1,000 pieces. All art glass is marked with the
product number, the name of the artist, and the size of the
edition so that the purchaser will know exactly how many pieces
there are in that particular series. Editions comprising less
than 60 pieces are individually numbered, e.g. "25/60."
