Two Johansfors Bubble Fish Vases Handmade in Sweden

Buying these playful, sparkling vases would be like getting an instant, maintenance-free fish bowl! Though they look quite contemporary, they likely date from the early 1930's.

These pieces are attributed to a manager at Johansfors Glassworks, Gunnar Håkansson (1884-1961).
Today, Håkansson appears to be a pioneer. Many people associate, for example, [bubble] glass with Erik Höglund and Boda, but Håkansson designed such glass 20 years earlier, that is, in the early 1930s.

Gunnar Håkansson was the brother of Oskar Håkansson, Johansfors' chief executive officer. The brothers came from the glass district, and Gunnar was active at Johansfors glass mill between 1923 and 1939. After that, he went to Åfors glass mill where he worked until 1950. At Johansfors he worked a lot with the art deco style - it's a design that feels very modern.

The [bubble] glass was popular in the period around 1930, partly because it was difficult during the depression to create a completely clean glass mass. The blisters, which were achieved by rolling the glass pan into sawdust, masked the shortcomings and simultaneously brought an artistic element. Even the artist Edvin Ollers used this technique on Kosta glassware at about the same time.

Each vase is 4" x 4" x 5.875" (102mm x 102mm x 149mm) and weighs 2.5 pounds (1.13 kg)