Timo Sarpaneva, a vase from the Finlandia series for Iittala. Signed Timo Sarpaneva Iittala 1968.
Fixed-blown glass in a wooden mould. Height 28 cm. Width 27 cm.
Wear due to age and use. Marks and chips due to the manufacturing process.
The collection of the Master Glassmaker Reino 'Reka' Löflund.
Reino 'Reka' Löflund was born in 1926 and at the age of 14 he started as an apprentice at the Iittala glassworks. He blew medicine bottles for the war industry as the youngest blower ever. After the war, he was employed as the master blower at the Iittala glassworks.
Later, Löflund was appointed as Master Glassmaker in charge of the entire production at the Iittala glassworks.
In the 1950s he began working with various glass designers, including Timo Sarpaneva. Reka Löflund developed several techniques and products with Timo Sarpaneva, including the Claritas, Arkipelago and Finlandia series.
Sarpaneva discovered the wood mould firing technique by chance while attempting to create a surface pattern on glass. The wooden mould was filled with saw blades and wires, among other things, to make the surface pattern. The glass was then blown into the mould. Glass master Reino Löflund found the result unsatisfactory and sent the samples to Sarpaneva. Timo was thrilled to receive them since the molten glass had burned onto a twig in the mould, forming a charred surface. The pattern of the wood was replicated perfectly on the glass. "Can you make more of these?" asked the artist. "We'll see when you come to the factory," was the response. The next morning, Sarpaneva arrived at the glass factory by train.
Marjatta Sarpaneva