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Kosta Boda

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Coordinates: 56°51′12″N 15°23′34″E / 56.85333°N 15.39278°E / 56.85333; 15.39278
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56°51′12″N 15°23′34″E / 56.85333°N 15.39278°E / 56.85333; 15.39278

Kosta Boda
Company typePrivate
IndustryGlassware, Art Glass
PredecessorKosta Glasbruk
Founded1742 (1742)
FounderAnders Koskull [sv]
Georg Bogislaus Stael von Holstein
HeadquartersKosta, Småland, Sweden
Area served
Worldwide
ParentNew Wave Group [sv]
Websitekostaboda.com
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[edit]

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]

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 1950–1973,[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, now known as the Kosta Glashus [sv], was granted legally protected "listed building" 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, 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]

Kosta Boda is also known as the maker of the Eurovision Song Contest trophy since 2008.[20]

Gallery[edit]

Views of the Kosta factory buildings and town[edit]

  • Aerial view, Kosta site
    Aerial view, Kosta site
  • Main Street, Kosta
    Main Street, Kosta
  • Kosta Boda foundry
    Kosta Boda foundry
  • Factory grounds
    Factory grounds
  • Art Gallery
    Art Gallery
  • Stenmagasinet
    Stenmagasinet
  • Kosta glashus by Bruno Mathsson
    Kosta glashus by Bruno Mathsson
  • Cultural Heritage plaque, Kosta glashus
    Cultural Heritage plaque, Kosta glashus

Glass making process[edit]

  • Glassblowing demonstration
    Glassblowing demonstration
  • Glassblowing
    Glassblowing
  • Glassblowing
    Glassblowing
  • Glassblowing
    Glassblowing

Glass by Kosta Glasbruk[edit]

Kosta Glashus by Bruno Mathsson[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "History | Kosta Boda". Kosta Boda. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "New Wave Group | History". www.nwg.se. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Hagbard Elis Bergh, Swedish, 1881–1954". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Anna Ehrner – Glass from Kosta Boda". www.mothersweden.com. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Ewald Dahlskog, Bowl". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  7. ^ a b Hydman-Vallien, Ulrica; Kosta Glasbruk, Föralskade Ormar 'Snakes in love' (c. 1985), retrieved 15 June 2024
  8. ^ a b "Bertil Vallien, MAP III". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  9. ^ "One Million Dollar Boat. The most prestigious project for Kosta Boda since 1742". News Powered by Cision. 7 October 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  10. ^ "Glass in the Context of Contemporary Swedish Painting, 1918-1930". www.bgc.bard.edu. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  11. ^ Coirier, Lise (29 March 2024). "Åsa Jungnelius: Desire, Utensil, Container". TLmagazine. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Kosta Boda, Swedish glass manufacturer". Encyclopedia of Design. 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  13. ^ "Lessebo kn, KOSTA 3:30 GLASHUSEN". Bebyggelseregistret (BeBR), Riksantikvarieämbetet [The Swedish National Heritage Board, Database of Built Heritage] (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  14. ^ "The Timeline: 1920–1965". www.nationalmuseum.se. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  15. ^ "Kosta Boda". Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Unikt glasfynd på Smålands museum" [Unique glass find at Småland's museum]. SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). 26 February 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Hagbard Elis Bergh, Charm Tumblers, 1939-41". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Edvin Ohrstrom, Swedish, Bowl, 1906–1994". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  19. ^ "Gunnar Wennerberg, Kosta Glasbruk, Vase – Nasjonalmuseet – Collection". Nasjonalmuseet. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  20. ^ "Trophy". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kosta glasbruk.
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