Swedish glassmaking company and museum
56°51′12″N 15°23′34″E / 56.85333°N 15.39278°E / 56.85333; 15.39278
Detail of Kosta Boda foundry building (2018)
Snöbollen ' Snowballs ' designed by Ann Wolff (1970s)
Kosta Boda (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈkǔːsta ˈbûːda] ), formerly known as Kosta Glasbruk (IPA: [ˈkǔːsta ˈɡlɑ̂ːsbrʉːk] ), is a Swedish glassmaking company that is a well known manufacturer of art glass and tableware . It is located in Kosta, Sweden , which was named for the company.[ 1] The surrounding region has become known as the Kingdom of Crystal ,[ 2] and is now a tourist site which attracts a million visitors annually.[citation needed ]
History
Kosta glasbruk (c. 1890 )
Kosta Glasbruk was founded in 1742 by two officers in Charles XII 's army, Anders Koskull [sv ] and Georg Bogislaus Staël von Holstein .[ 1] The name is a portmanteau of the founders' surnames, Ko(skull) + Sta(el) and Boda Glasbruk , which was a company in Emmaboda Municipality that was merged into Kosta Glasbruk. In 1903, the company also merged with the Reijmyre glassworks, although both retained their names.[citation needed ] Kosta Glasbruk is active today under the name of Kosta Boda.[ 2] Since 2005, it has been part of the New Wave Group [sv ] of companies.[ 3] [ 2]
Early production consisted of window glass , chandeliers and drinking glasses . From the 1840s, the factory was at the forefront of new trends and technical developments, producing pressed glass , and in the 1880s setting up a new glass-cutting workshop.[citation needed ]
In 1898, the company hired the artist Gunnar Gunnarsson Wennerberg [sv ] as its first in-house designer.[ 1] Between 1928 and 1950 Elis Bergh was the artistic director of Kosta Glasbruk (after 1950 and until his death in 1954, Bergh worked as a consultant for Kosta).[ 4] [ 1]
Elis Bergh designs (1936 photograph)Mona Morales-Schildt at Kosta glassworks with unknown artisan (Göran Schildt photo) The company has a history of working with well known artists and designers such as Monica Backstrom [sv ] Ewald Dahlskog [sv ] , Anna Ehrner [de ] , Sven Erixson , Erik Hoglund [sv ] , Åsa Jungnelius [sv ] ,[citation needed ] Tyra Lundgren , Mona Morales-Schildt , Edvin Ollers [sv ] , Sven Erik Skawonius [sv ] , Ulrica Hydman Vallien , Bertil Vallien , Goran Warff [sv ] , and Ann Wolff .[ 5] [ 6] [ 7] [ 8] [ 9] [ 10] [ 11] [ 12] [ 2] [ 1]
In the 1950s Vicke Lindstrand , who served as the company's artistic director from 1950 to 1973,[ 12] commissioned the architect Bruno Mathsson to design several buildings for Kosta. These included an exhibition hall and a row of terraced worker's houses. The latter, known as the Kosta Glashus [sv ] , was granted legally protected Byggnadsminne ' Building Monument ' status by the Swedish National Heritage Board in 2007.[ 13]
Objects made by Kosta are in collections such as the Swedish National Museum , Smålands museum [sv ] , National Museum of Norway , the Victorian and Albert Museum in London and the National Museum of Wales , Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in the Netherlands, as well as the Brooklyn Museum , Metropolitan Museum and Museum of Modern Art in New York.[ 14] [ 7] [ 15] [ 8] [ 16] [ 17] [ 18] [ 19] [ 20]
Kosta Boda is also known as the maker of the Eurovision Song Contest trophy since 2008,[ 21] and the Women’s World Championship International Handball Federation trophy since 2023.[ 22]
Gallery
Views of the Kosta factory buildings and town
Glass making process
Glass by Kosta Glasbruk
Kosta Glashus by Bruno Mathsson
References
^ a b c d e "History | Kosta Boda" . Kosta Boda . Retrieved 16 June 2024 .
^ a b c d Oltermann, Philip (23 December 2023). "Sculptor sues Swedish glassmaker for €1m in test of EU 'bestseller clause' " . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 15 June 2024 .
^ "New Wave Group | History" . www.nwg.se . Retrieved 15 June 2024 .
^ "Hagbard Elis Bergh, Swedish, 1881–1954" . The Museum of Modern Art . Retrieved 16 June 2024 .
^ "Anna Ehrner – Glass from Kosta Boda" . www.mothersweden.com . Retrieved 15 June 2024 .
^ "Ewald Dahlskog, Bowl" . The Metropolitan Museum of Art . Retrieved 15 June 2024 .
^ a b Hydman-Vallien, Ulrica; Kosta Glasbruk, Föralskade Ormar ' Snakes in love ' (c. 1985 ) , retrieved 15 June 2024
^ a b "Bertil Vallien, MAP III" . The Metropolitan Museum of Art . Retrieved 15 June 2024 .
^ "One Million Dollar Boat. The most prestigious project for Kosta Boda since 1742" . News Powered by Cision . 7 October 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2024 .
^ "Glass in the Context of Contemporary Swedish Painting, 1918-1930" . www.bgc.bard.edu . Retrieved 15 June 2024 .
^ Coirier, Lise (29 March 2024). "Åsa Jungnelius: Desire, Utensil, Container" . TLmagazine . Retrieved 16 June 2024 .
^ a b "Kosta Boda, Swedish glass manufacturer" . Encyclopedia of Design . 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2024-06-16 .
^ "Lessebo kn, KOSTA 3:30 GLASHUSEN" . Bebyggelseregistret (BeBR), Riksantikvarieämbetet [The Swedish National Heritage Board, Database of Built Heritage] (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-06-17 .
^ "The Timeline: 1920–1965" . www.nationalmuseum.se . Retrieved 2024-06-17 .
^ "Kosta Boda" . Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 June 2024 .
^ "Unikt glasfynd på Smålands museum" [Unique glass find at Småland's museum]. SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). 26 February 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2024 .
^ "Hagbard Elis Bergh, Charm Tumblers, 1939-41" . The Museum of Modern Art . Retrieved 16 June 2024 .
^ "Edvin Ohrstrom, Swedish, Bowl, 1906–1994" . Brooklyn Museum . Retrieved 16 June 2024 .
^ "Gunnar Wennerberg, Kosta Glasbruk, Vase – Nasjonalmuseet – Collection" . Nasjonalmuseet . Retrieved 2024-06-16 .
^ "Vase - Collections Online" . Museum Wales . Retrieved 2024-08-21 .
^ "Trophy" . Eurovision Song Contest . European Broadcasting Union . Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024 .
^ "Unique perpetual trophy to be unveiled at the 26th IHF Women's World Championship" . International Handball Federation . 28 November 2023. Retrieved 2024-08-21 .
External links
Glass makers and brands
Current companies Defunct companies Glassmakers Trademarks and brands