Oiva Toikka Tunturissa Bottle Vase | Nuutajärvi

Art glass bottle vase from the Tunturissa (Finnish for In the tundra) series, designed by Oiva Toikka for Nuutajärvi in Finland. The series was produced from 1987 to 1989.

This piece has a compact rounded body, a short upright neck and a deep blue tone that shifts between cobalt, violet blue and icy translucent blue depending on the light.

Design and Glass Technique

The decoration moves around the body in sweeping, irregular lines, giving the impression of snow and wind crossing an open northern landscape. It has the feeling of a snowstorm over tundra, with the glass surface pulling the eye in circles around the form.

The texture is layered and active: some areas look like frozen ripples, others like wind marks, ice scratches or drifting snow. The decoration is not flat printed pattern. It is built into the glass surface, giving the vase depth, movement and a very physical character.

Details

Designer: Oiva Toikka
Maker: Nuutajärvi
Series: Tunturissa
Country: Finland
Period: 1987 to 1989
Material: art glass
Colour: blue, cobalt blue, violet blue
Height: 16 cm

Condition

Excellent vintage condition, almost without any traces of time. 

For Collectors and Interiors

This Tunturissa bottle vase works well both as a collectible piece of Finnish art glass and as a compact interior object. Its scale is practical, but the colour and surface are strong enough to stand alone on a shelf, table, cabinet or window ledge.

It is a good piece for collectors interested in Oiva Toikka beyond the birds, especially his more experimental Nuutajärvi glass from the late 1980s.

Why buy vintage glass by Oiva Toikka?

Oiva Toikka is a Scandinavian design legend. For many years he worked for the Nuutajärvi art glassworks.

He equally successful worked with both laconic and decorative forms. His items are often unusual and impulsive.
Oiva Toikka has worked as a designer for over 50 years. During this time, he received worldwide recognition: Finland's highest award in the field of culture, Pro Finlandia, similar, the Swedish Prince Eugene medal; became a professor of Arts in his country and in Sweden.
Explore more pieces by Oiva Toikka in our collection