Postmodern Smoked Iridescent Mold-Blown Glass Block Vase

Details

Description

Overview & Provenance of Technique

The creation of this vase is built upon three distinct technologies spanning two millennia, converging … Read more Overview & Provenance of Technique

The creation of this vase is built upon three distinct technologies spanning two millennia, converging in a matter of minutes at the furnace. Its execution unites the first-century Roman breakthrough of hollow pipe glassblowing, the nineteenth-century industrial precision of the hinged iron mold, and the turn-of-the-century metallurgical alchemy of vaporized metallic salt fuming pioneered during the Art Nouveau era.

Rather than turning the glass within a round mold to erase all evidence of its making, the artist captured molten glass inside a two-piece rectilinear mold. Because a squared architectural form cannot be spun, the vertical seams down each narrow flank remain—not as flaws, but as honest, structural artifacts of the tool that gave liquid silica its geometric discipline. While still radiant from the glory hole, the surface was fumed with metallic chlorides, permanently bonding an iridescent, oil-slick bronze and petroleum luster across a deep, smoked-charcoal body.

The result is a compelling postmodern study in contrasts: rigid geometry softened by human breath, and raw industrial mass paired with ethereal, light-shifting surface reflection.

Design & Styling Details

Form: Architectural rectangular block with rounded shoulders and a softly ground flat rim.

Palette: Deep smoked charcoal glass shifting to rich bronze and petrol-blue iridescence under natural light.

Function: Fully watertight interior with substantial heft, serving equally well as a striking sculptural anchor on a credenza or paired with minimal, architectural botanical stems.

Dimensions

Height: ~10.5"

Width: ~5.5"

Depth: ~4"

Condition

Excellent vintage condition. Clean interior, free of chips, cracks, fleabites, or water calcification. Characteristic parting seams present along the two narrow edges as inherent to the mold-blowing process. See less