Sweden’s oldest glass company, Kosta Boda, also enjoys a reputation as the country’s most artistic and experimental glassmaker. Since the late 19th century, Kosta Boda has hired painters, sculptors and other artists for short stints — generally two or three years — designing glassware, ensuring that the firm’s aesthetic is always lively and fresh.
Two former army officers founded Kosta Boda in 1742 in Sweden’s densely forested Småland province. (Plentiful timber was needed as fuel for the melting furnaces.) The glassworks’ early products consisted of everyday glassware, such as drinking vessels and windowpanes. As the company recruited master craftsmen from Bohemia, it created fine crystal for an aristocratic clientele.
Kosta Boda began making art glass — that is, unique and limited edition pieces — with the hiring of the painter Gunnar Wennerberg in 1898. Wennerberg worked in the Art Nouveau style and brought a lush, organic look to the company’s wares. He was followed to the firm by artists such as Edvin Ollers, who in the early 20th century created rich geometric and abstract floral patterns that were engraved on clear crystal.
Two postwar Kosta Boda designers stand foremost in the minds of collectors. One is Vicke Lindstrand, who excelled at a technique called cased glass, in which a vividly colored or patterned section of glass is surrounded by and seems to float within a clear crystal body. The other is Erik Höglund, who had an almost artisanal eye for glass shapes, and liked to produce glass that had a textured, warped look.
Kosta Boda created works in an astonishing array of styles, with something to suit any taste.
Find vintage Kosta Boda vases, bowls and other furniture and objects for sale on 1stDibs.
Mid-Century Modern Craquelé Table Lamp by Pieter Groeneveldt, Netherlands, 1960s
By Pieter Groeneveldt
Located in Weesp, NL
Mid-Century Modern Craquelé Table Lamp by Pieter Groeneveldt, Netherlands, 1960s Bring timeless Dutch design into your interior with this striking Mid-Century Modern table lamp by r...
Ceramic, Fabric
Unique 1960s Sculptural Ceramic Table Lamp with Custom Shade
By Guido Gambone
Located in Weesp, NL
1960s Sculptural Ceramic Table Lamp with Custom Shade Striking and architectural, this handcrafted ceramic table lamp from the 1960s showcases bold mid-century modern form with a di...
Ceramic, Silk
Sibari Table Lamp by Toni Cordero for Artemide
By Toni Cordero
Located in Weesp, NL
Illuminate Your Space with Iconic Design: Toni Cordero’s Sibari 1990 Table Lamp for Artemide Step into the world of sophisticated design with this exquisite Sibari table lamp, a rar...
Brass, Chrome
Rare First Edition Hebi Flexible Table Lamp by Isao Hosoe for Valenti Italy
By Valenti Luce
Located in Weesp, NL
Introducing the timeless elegance of the Hebi table lamp, a masterpiece of design by Isao Hosoe for Valenti Luce in the 1970s. With its iconic large black adjustable and flexible frame, the Hebi lamp...
Metal, Chrome
Mid-Century Modern Murano Hand Blown Glass XXL Flush Mount Lamp
By Doria Leuchten Germany
Located in Weesp, NL
Breathtaking XXL flush mount fixture with a diameter of 38.58" and 190 Murano hand blown glass ornaments divide over 7 layers. This beauty radiat...
Blown Glass
Monumental 1960s Gilded Table Lamp by Aldo Londi for Bitossi
By Aldo Londi
Located in Weesp, NL
Monumental 1960s Gilded Table Lamp by Aldo Londi for Bitossi, Montelupo, Tuscany – Custom Shade An exceptional and rare large-scale ceramic table lamp designed by renowned Italian a...
Ceramic, Silk
Mid-Century Kosta Sweden Table Lamp
By Kosta Boda
Located in Waddinxveen, ZH
Stunning Kosta Sweden table lamp with nice seventies lamp shade. Lamp including shade 37cm high.
Crystal
Josef Schott Bubble Glass Table Lamp, Silk Shade, Smålandshyttan, Sweden, 1960s
By Smålandshyttan, Josef Schott
Located in The Hague, NL
This table lamp was designed by Josef Schott in the 1960s and produced by Smålandshyttans Glasbruk in Sweden. The design is characterized by a sculptural rectangular base executed ...
Silk, Glass
1970s Italian VeArt Glass Table Lamp with Fabric Lamp Shade
By VeArt
Located in Praha, CZ
- good original condition with minor signs of use - New fabric lamp shade - newly rewired - 1x E26-E27 bulb - US wiring compatible
Fabric, Glass
Large Ceramic Table Lamp with New Silk Custom Made Lampshade René Houben, 1960s
Located in Rijssen, NL
A rare large ceramic lamp, Denmark, 1960s. A sculptural high-end piece made of handmade ceramic in blue and grey tones. With a new matching custom made blue silk lamp shade by René Houben. With warm gold inner-shade. The lamp is in good vintage condition. The price is included the shade! Approximate dimensions: Ceramic only H 21.7" (55 cm) x Ø 9.1" (23 cm) at base height to top of lamp-holder circa 49.2" (125 cm). René Houben is a renowned Dutch light designer. René has been designing unique lamp shades for more than 25 years. From colorful and exuberant to modest. For every extraordinary lamp base (carefully selected antique and vintage items...
Metal
Rupert Nikoll Midcentury Brass Tube Bubble Glass Table Lamp, Austria, 1950s
By Rupert Nikoll
Located in Vienna, AT
A beautiful modernist table lamp / side lamp from the 1950s, designed and executed by Rupert Nikoll Vienna, Austria. Made of polished brass and mouth blown clear glass with bubbles i...
Brass
1970s Murano Glass Table Lamp by Giovanni Dalla Fina
By Giovanni Dalla Fina
Located in Villaverla, IT
The central body of the lamp is a beautifully hand-blown glass piece in a curvaceous, teardrop-like shape. It features an exquisite "Soffiato a Rigadin" or "swirled" pattern, where s...
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
