Lot 238
GUNNAR CYRÉN (SWEDISH 1931-2013) FOR ORREFORS §
TWO 'POPGLAS' PIECES, 1966/7
Auction: Day Two | Lots 100 to 527 | Fri 31 October from 10am
Description
comprising a seal [Sigill] and stem with pin (originally a wine glass), adapted to form a candlestick at a later date, signed ORREFORS EXPO *** 357-66 Cyrén and ORREFORS EXPO B559-67 Gunnar Cyrén, the latter with applied Den Permanente labels (to base), glass
Dimensions
seal: 13.5cm high (5 ¼in high); stem with pin: 12.5cm high, 11cm wide (4 7/8in high, 4 3/8in wide) (2)
Provenance
Private Collection, U.K.
Footnote
These works belong to Orrefors’ Expo Glass series, meaning they were originally created for exhibition display before being made available for retail. Gunnar Cyrén, who designed these pieces, was active at Orrefors from 1959 to 1970.
Den Permanente in Copenhagen, which operated from the 1930s through the 1980s, was far more than a conventional shop. It functioned as a collaborative showcase where designers and artisans could present the very best of modern Danish design. For decades, it was the foremost destination for exceptional Danish furniture, lighting, jewelry, textiles, and other applied arts. The concept of a permanent Danish design exhibition was first proposed in 1929 by Kay Bojesen, the celebrated silversmith and designer best known for his wooden toy monkey—though initially it was purely an exhibition, not a commercial venture. In 1931, Christian Grauballe, director of Holmegaard Glassworks, transformed the idea into a commercial reality, assembling leading Danish craftspeople to establish the board for the “Permanent Exhibition of Danish Arts,” or Den Permanente.