Size matters! And I’d never seen one this small before. Well, this tiny, in fact.
Wandering around an antiques centre in the North of England recently, I spotted this Scandinavian glass miniature bowl or pin dish made by Sweden’s celebrated glass company Orrefors. Measuring only 9cm wide and 4.5cm high, it was truly tiny and most people would have passed it by for that reason. To do that, I think, would have been a mistake.
The pattern and colours indicated that it was from Orrefors’ legendary Ravenna range, which is identified from the geometric, grid-like formation of small decorated squares on a (usually) blue body. Typical of mid-century modern Scandinavian design, the forms are rounded, organic and often slightly asymmetric. Most forms are bowls, allowing the light to enter and play properly with the pattern and colours.
The range was designed in 1948 by the hugely talented designer Sven Palmqvist (1906-84), and was inspired by and named after the vibrantly coloured, glittering mosaics in the Italian city of Ravenna created by Roman, Ostrogoth and Byzantine artists during the 5th & 6th centuries. Now a protected UNESCO World Heritage site, the city is filled with them and is considered the location of the finest, best-preserved Byzantine and early Christian mosaics in the world.
The production process of Orrefors’ Ravenna range was deceptively complex – and herein lies its true value…
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