This listing is for a fabulous mid century modern Blenko art glass decanter. This beautiful yellow crackle glass decanter was designed by Windslow Anderson and made in the USA by Blenko Art Glass in the 1960's or 1970's. The decanter is triangular shaped with pinched sides and the model number is 49. It was hand blown and stretched and then dipped in cool water to achieve the fine crackle. It features a fanciful ruffled neck with a large flat top ball stopper. The decanter still has the pontil mark on the bottom from where it was removed from the punt. The presence of this scar indicates that the glass was blown freehand. The decanter is substantial and weighs a little over 2 pounds 3 ounces. It measures approximately 5 inches by 4-1/2 inches at it's widest part and stands 10 inches tall to the top of the stopper. The decanter is in excellent used vintage condition consistent with age and use. While it has cracks as part of the design of the glass, there are no visible chips, breaks, or repairs. There are some expected light surface scratches on the inside of the neck and stopper base. There is one tiny raised speck where a bubble came to the surface. The stylistic charm of this great piece of art glass will make a great addition to your Blenko glass collection or as an accent piece to your MCM decor.
The Blenko Glass Company was started in 1893 by William John Blenko as a stained glass company with production in both England and Indiana. William moved the company to Milton, WV in 1921. The company has been producing its handmade creations in its present location since 1923 and has continued to be a family owned business. Magnificent color, skilled craftsmanship and creative design make Blenko the most colorful name in glass. You can visit the Blenko Glass Company manufacturing facility and take a tour of the glass factory to get an up close, first hand experience watching the artisans create handcrafted masterpieces.
Winslow George Anderson (May 17, 1917 – December 10, 2007) was a noted artist, painter, ceramicist and glass designer from Plymouth, Massachusetts. A graduate of Alfred University's School of Ceramics, Anderson was a leading glass designer for the Blenko Glass Company of West Virginia and Design Director for Lenox China and Crystal, located in Trenton, New Jersey (1953-1979). He was the recipient of numerous accolades during his lifetime, including Museum of Modern Art Good Design Awards. His works have been exhibited and collected by museums across the United States, including the Baltimore Museum of Art, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Shortly after his graduation Anderson began his position at Blenko Glass where he was quickly appointed as their first full-time in house designer, a position he occupied from 1947 - 1953. While at Blenko, he introduced over 160 new and different designs, entirely reshaping the company's product line and its future production focus.
The majority of his designs were influenced by smooth, simplified and streamlined shapes and forms that were influenced by modern, Swedish design aesthetics and by his growing interest in the chemistry and nature of glass. Anderson himself credited his success with glass to his training in pottery. In 1979, Anderson retired from Lenox and moved back to West Virginia where he settled in a small cottage in Milton not far from the Blenko factory. In retirement, he indulged his passion for collecting, filling his small home with anything and everything that fascinated him, from pottery and glass, to paintings and souvenirs from his travels. Winslow Anderson died at the age of ninety on December 10, 2007 and was buried in the Milton Cemetery near his mother. Much of his collection and estate was willed to the Huntington Museum of Art, where an endowment was established in his name which helps to fund the conservation and acquisition of artwork for the museum's permanent collection.