Rare Tapio Wirkkala for Iittala Heavy Ice Glass Vase/Champagne Ice Bucket (Finland, 1970s)

Weighting around 3.4 kg, this piece was produced in Finland during early 1970s when the iced glass design was all the rage and if anything, it’s the perfect statement piece to add to your home. 

Finland is renowned for its many glass artists, ranging from Timo Sarpaneva, Kaj Franck, Alvar & Aino Aalto, Oiva Toikka or Tapio Wirkkala.

The latter, Tapio Wirkkala is the designer of this vase, but besides that he is one the most proliferous contemporary glass artists of the century. He studies sculpture at the Helsinki Central School of Industrial Design from 1933 to 1936, but most importantly, he was a self-studied artist in glass design. Just after the end of WWII, in 1946 Tapio began his successful career when he designed his most famous work, the Kantarelli vase, for Iittala.

By 1951 he was already enjoying worldwide success when at the Milan Triennial he received not one but three Grand Prix Awards: one for the Architecture Exhibition, one for Glass Design and one for Wooden Sculptures.

Few years after the Milan Triennial, Tapio launched in 1954 the very first mass-production range and by 1968, the Ultima Thule glassware range was launched. Ultimate Thula was super popular as it was based on the so-called “ice glass technique”, period in which the piece we’ve found was also produced.

But Wirkkala received many commission from abroad as well. During mid-1960s he started a collaboration with Venini Glassworks in Italy for which he created the “Belle” bottles for the Venice Biennale Collection of 1966. Then, he started, perhaps one of the most important commissions for Rosenthal, where he worked as a freelance designer for around 30 years, creating one of the Rosenthal iconic pieces, the “Paper Bag Vase” (1977).

This piece can be used both as a vase and as a champagne ice bucket/cooler or alternatively it can also be used to create an eerie statement candle holder for your dinner table, I mean, it really allows you get creative.

Product specifications

Country of manufacture — Finland

Condition —Excellent — This vintage/antique piece is in near original condition. It may show minimal traces of use.

Restoration and Damage Details — Patina consistent with age and use.

Material — Ceramic

Size — 21 cm H x 19 cm Ø