Orrefors Astra Flute Champagne Review
Orrefors Astra Flute Champagne Feature
- Designed by Swedish artist Martti Rytkönen
- It takes seven people to make each individual glass!
- Contains no lead
- Handmade by master glassmakers in Orrefors' Swedish glassworks
- 8.75 oz capacity
In addition to the Champagne flute, the Astra collection includes a wine stem, water goblet, and iced beverage goblet. Each comes packaged in an Orrefors signature box, ready to impress the recipient. Like all fine crystal, the stemware should be washed by hand to preserve its brilliance. --Ann Bieri
From the Manufacturer
 | About the Designer: Born in 1960, Martti Rytkönen studied glass and ceramics at the College of Arts, Crafts and Design, although it was glass that eventually captured his heart. He came to Orrefors on a scholarship and was taken on at the glassworks in 1994. Pure, clear crystal is his imaginative medium of choice, one that he cuts, etches, sandblasts, and engraves to bring forth new graphical motives and effects; but he also works with color, employing art glass techniques such as Graal, Ariel, and Ravenna. His motifs are often narrative and full of humor. Martti is the designer behind, among others, the massive Sigma, Avenue, and Scala series, as well as Papillon, whose outstretched wings float above the tabletop. |
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 fathers 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 Gunnar 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 Gunnel 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." On a getaway to a seaside villa in Italy, Martti Rytkönen saw a bright star seeming to rise from the ocean and climb up the night sky. He carried this image back to his studio in Sweden and in collaboration with our master glassblowers, created the Astra stemware collection, the star of the Mediterranean heavens now captured in bowls of crystal to add twinkling effervescence to your dinners and toasts.
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