Trio of Don Shepherd Hand Crafted Glass Bent Spiral Neck Vases for Blenko 1988
About the Item
- Creator:Don Shepherd (Designer),Blenko Glass (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 26.75 in (67.95 cm)Diameter: 4.63 in (11.77 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 3
- Style:Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:1988
- Condition:Very Good Condition. No issues.
- Seller Location:Miami, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU830124512452
Blenko Glass
A producer of hand-blown glass since 1893, Blenko Glass is currently headquartered in Milton, West Virginia, where it has operated since 1921. Among its many illustrious projects are the stained-glass windows it produced for St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Washington National Cathedral. Blenko is known today for the brilliant colors of its glass vases, decanters and other vessels and objects — particularly those produced in the 1950s and ’60s — which range from jewel-like blues and greens to brilliant reds and yellows.
The company was founded by William J. Blenko, an English immigrant who was apprenticed to a glassmaker in his native London as a young man. Blenko developed expertise in the production of rondels, the round panes used in stained glass windows.
Blenko's interest in the potential of natural gas to fire glass furnaces led him to Milton, where abundant reserves of the fuel had attracted a pool of skilled glassblowers. Under the name Eureka Glass, his company began making window glass in 1923, and in 1925, he was joined in the business by his son, William H. Blenko.
When the Great Depression quelled demand for stained glass, William J. Blenko brought local Milton glassblowers into the company to begin producing stemware and tableware, products for which the company, which changed its name to Blenko in 1930, is now best known.
Up until the end of World War II, Blenko’s tableware designs were fairly straightforward, and they sold well at American department stores such as Gump’s, in San Francisco. The company was also commissioned in 1930 to produce a line of reproductions for Colonial Williamsburg.
In 1947, the company hired as its art director Winslow Anderson, who introduced artful, fanciful and modern vessels and objects in vibrant colors. This began what collectors refer to as Blenko’s “historic period.” A number of Anderson’s designs were honored by the Museum of Modern Art’s Good Design Awards in 1950, and throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, the company enjoyed robust sales and critical acclaim. The forms Blenko produced during this period followed the contemporary vogue for biomorphism, or organic modernism, which favored rounded and fluid shapes inspired by nature.
One of Blenko’s most influential designers, Wayne Husted, who was active from 1953 to ’63, is credited with aligning Blenko’s products with the prevailing mid-century modern aesthetic by pushing the envelope on both form and color, particularly in his wedge-cut and Spool decanters and his Echoes series.
Joel Philip Myers, who designed for Blenko in the 1960s, brought a sense of whimsy and visual excess to the product line, in keeping with the psychedelic look favored during the period.
Blenko Glass still produces many of its classic designs in items ranging from stemware and tableware to decorative objects and ornamental decanters.
Among collectors, pieces created under Husted’s creative direction are of special interest. The company has come to the attention of younger audiences through the documentaries Blenko: Hearts of Glass and Blenko Retro: Three Designers of American Glass, both of which aired on PBS. Blenko also designed the glass award trophy for the Country Music Awards.
Find vintage Blenko glass for sale on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Miami, FL
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Zanesville Pottery, Ohio Blue Ceramic Arts & Crafts Blue Vase 1940sBy Zanesville Stoneware CompanyLocated in Miami, FLA tall Arts & Crafts Stoneware Floor Vase attributed to Zanesville Pottery, Ohio. With a molded form, slanted outward as it rises to the top with three ring bands at the top, the ba...Category
Vintage 1940s American Arts and Crafts Vases
MaterialsCeramic, Pottery, Stoneware
- Seldon Seen Arts & Crafts Weller Pottery Vase 1920's Zaneville, OhioBy Weller PotteryLocated in Miami, FLLarge scale pottery vase by Weller Pottery from the 1920s with a seldom seen shape. In a Sky Blue color outside and a soft white interior. Signed with 1...Category
Vintage 1920s American Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsCeramic, Abalone, Pottery
- 1980 Lisa Larson Skruf Swedish Modern Pair of Shouldered Glass VasesBy SkrufLocated in Miami, FLSwedish Modern pair of handcrafted clear double shouldered glass vases by Lisa Larson for Skruf from the 1980s. These are new old stock, never used vases so they're in excellent condition and since they are handcrafted, there are minor variations in dimensions. Labeled Skruf SWEDEN exclusively handcrafted design: Lisa Larson Lisa Larson is mostly known for her stoneware ceramic pieces for Gustavsberg. But in the 1970s she started designing glass objects for Royal Krona...Category
Vintage 1980s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass
- A V Florentine Hand Made Opaline Glass Mid-Century Modern Vessels Set of 3 ItalyBy EmpoliLocated in Miami, FLREDUCED FROM $950....Set of 3 mouth blown and hand made opaline glass vessels made in Empoli, Tuscany outside Florence. A lovely striated design with a color palette of muted browns ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Vintage Fenton Art Glass Blue Handmade Optic Cased Satin Glass Vase 1980sBy Fenton Art Glass Company 1Located in Miami, FLFrom the Fenton Art Glass Company from West Virginia made exclusively for the Metropolitan Museun of Art in New York, a lovely handmade Optic Cased Glass Vase . As the enclosed info...Category
Vintage 1980s American American Colonial Vases
MaterialsArt Glass
- Swedish Modern AFORS Blown Glass Stemmed Vase, Sweden, 1940sLocated in Miami, FLLovely Swedish blown glass stemmed Vase by AFORS from the 1940s. Hand decorated with perpendicular stripes in alternating black and yellow on the slender fluted body separated from t...Category
Vintage 1940s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vases
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Hand Blown Bamboo Art Glass Vase by Don Shepherd for Blenko GlassBy Don Shepherd, Blenko GlassLocated in San Diego, CAHand blown yellow / gold art glass vase by Don Shepherd for Blenko Glass, circa 2005. This bamboo shaped design was initially introduced for one year by Don Shepherd in the late 1970...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsArt Glass
- Blenko Purple Hand Blown Glass Paper Bag VaseBy Blenko GlassLocated in East Quogue, NYVintage Blenko pale purple amethyst hand-blown paper bag art glass vase circa 1980s. Size: 8" tall x 4.5" wide x 2.5" deep Great overall vintage condition, wear commensurate w...Category
Vintage 1980s American Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
- Don Shepherd for Blenko Turquoise Floor Vase Model 789M Mid Century ModernBy Don SheperdLocated in Keego Harbor, MIThe Don Shepherd for Blenko Turquoise Floor Glass Vase, Model 789M, is a remarkable piece of mid-century modern glass artistry. Crafted by the renown...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass
- Hand Blown Tall Art Glass Vase by Matt Carter for Blenko Glass #9730By Blenko GlassLocated in San Diego, CAA very cool hand blown art glass vase by Matt Carter for Blenko Glass, circa 2002. The vases are in very good vintage condition with no chips or cracks and measure 6.5"D x 19.5"H. Th...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Vases
MaterialsArt Glass
- Don Shepard for Blenko Clear Glass 'Bamboo' Design VaseBy Don SheperdLocated in New York, NYAmerican Mid-Century tall clear glass cylindrical vase, shaped to resemble bamboo. (DON SHEPARD FOR BLENKO GLASS CO.).Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass
- Blenko Hand Blown Oversized VasesBy Blenko GlassLocated in Asbury Park, NJPleased too offer this great pair of hand blown large vases. The top opening are slightly different but that is to be expected with a hand made piece. These oversized vases...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsBlown Glass