Impressionist 1970s Art Glass Hand-blown Beverage Pitcher

Impressionist 1970’s Art Glass Hand-blown Beverage Pitcher

While researching this retro art glass pitcher we learned that three major glass houses made this style during the 1970’s. At first we thought it may be an elusive design by Linda Cleves for Tiffin Glass in the 1970’s. Still a possibility. Linda Cleves worked for Tiffin a short time before she went to work with Fostoria. Fostoria has a line with decor much like this, introduced in 1977, but it is accredited to Jaimie Carpenter and called ‘Fostoria’s designer Collection’. The collection came in three styles that we know of; 1) Impressions 2) Impromptu, and 3) Interpretations. This pitcher looks much like Fostoria’s designer collection ‘Impressions’. Also, in the 1970’s, Per Lutken and Michael Bang created a line with decor like this for Holmegaard (Denmark).

Unsure of maker at this time. We are sure that it was made in the 1970’s. A few more clues are present. When viewed under blacklight the colorless glass reflect a light orange, a 1970’s glass clue. It has an applied hollow free-blown handle (extra effort and expertise), which is a Tiffin trait but could also be found on Fostoria or Holmegaard objects. The seat does not have a pontil mark, it is smooth and slightly concave. The body was blown into a mold. The seat has a semi-solid ring of bottom-wear caused by surface contact over the years. There are a few tiny unintentional trapped bubbles near the decor, which are present on examples of all three glass makers mentioned.

Hand blown cased glass. Inner layer is a light cream color, center layer of decor was hand-applied then blown out, outer layer is colorless. Beverage pitcher measures 8″ tall, weighs 2 lbs and holds 40 ounces. In excellent condition.