VICKE LINDSTRAND. Vase, "Colora", Kosta, signed, 1960s.

Vase with red underlay in an abstract pattern. Signed "Kosta 01672 W". Height 18 cm.

When Vicke Lindstrand (1904-1983) turned 100, a report was published in the magazine Sköna hem which designated his most important creative periods as Orreforsvicke, Keramikvicke, and Kostavicke. Orreforsvicke "is the Vicke that fetches the highest prices at auctions; one example is a Graal vase that Auktionsverket sold in 1997 for 240,000 SEK. It is also the Vicke who adorns his glass with well-trained men and graceful women in beautiful positions, and the Vicke who makes the famous engraved vases 'Pärlfiskaren' and 'Hajdödaren' 1930."
Keramikvicke followed Orreforsvicke during a nearly ten-year period at Upsala-Ekeby, but Vicke Lindstrand returned to glass as soon as he had the opportunity (he was prevented by a non-compete clause from going to another glassworks after he resigned from Orrefors). And then Kostavicke was born: "After Upsala-Ekeby, Vicke Lindstrand left ceramics for good and began his fine Kosta period. It lasted for just over 20 years, from 1950 to 1973. Vicke's glass during this time, especially the first 10-15 years, represents Scandinavian modernism at its best: softly sculptural, playfully graphic, with a strong sense of living nature. An example. 'Träd i dimma', a studio-worked vase in black and white, was exhibited at NK in the autumn of 1951 and was immediately identified by the press and critics as a special object. Today, Träd i dimma is something of a symbol abroad for Swedish design."

– Quotes taken from: Vickes värde varar, by Magnus Palm, Sköna hem, April 2004.