Gunnel Nyman Amber 'Huntu' Vase
Gunnel Nyman was a major participant in the very birth of Modernist glass. Her works for Nuutajärvi in the late 1940's were the dynamic seed that preceded the forms and techniques so characteristic of Scandinavian glass of the 20th Century.
During the initial Postwar period, glass design from Finland was largely influenced by the dated ideologies of classically-inspired Swedish glass of the Art Deco period; a restrained aesthetic based upon symmetry and geometry. Nyman, however, created objects with an organic softness by abstracting ideas from nature, and utilising the inherent fluid properties of glass itself. Her work was thoroughly modern, and inspired a new generation of designers in Finland to look towards nature and experiment with modernity in a soft and abstract manner; a prevailing trait in the unique identity of Finnish glass.
This vase was expertly produced by Nuutajärvi glassworks and belongs to a series of important works from the 1940's. The hand-blown, substantial object contains many quintessential elements associated with Nyman's innovative work. The exquisite vase is gently spherical, and the walls are incredibly thick. The colour is a rich, deep amber, and the whole piece contains tiny controlled bubbles in an impossibly perfect arrangement. The bubbles are delicate, like gossamer, which gives the vase its name; 'Huntu' (Veil).
Model number: GN-17
Model Name: 'Hunto'
Designer: Gunnel Nyman
Manufacturer: Nuutajärvi Notsjö
Year of Design: 1947
Dates Produced: 1947-59
Colour: Amber, clear
Height: 11 cm, Diameter 10 cm
Condition: Very good, some light scratches upon inspection.
Branding: Hand signed with faint acid etched signature, ‘Gunnel Nyman Nuutajärvi Notsjo’.