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Saturday, February 26, 2011

For the birds

Lately I've developed a fascination for the glass birds designed by Oiva Toikka (1931- ). First produced by Iittala in 1973 at their Nuutajärvi factory, they fall a little outside the parameters most of us set for mid-century dates, but I still think they look gorgeous on a MCM shelf or table.

Toikka was trained in ceramics but has designed textiles for Marimekko and has worked as a stage and costume designer as well. Toikka has described his work by saying, ”Baroque is exactly the right word to describe my work – after all, one of the word’s original meanings is an irregular pearl."

The birds range in size from the tiny Puffballs that measure 2 3/4" x 2" and sell in the $100 range to the massive pieces that measure over a foot in length, like the Festive Pheasant that measures in at 9 3/4" x 15" and sells for well over $1000.

I saw one of the birds on eBay a couple of days ago at $5.99, but the price immediately soared to $152.50, which is still considered a low price. One of these days I'll find one tucked away at an antique mall or thrift store for $10, and I'll scoop it up. Hundreds of dollars is more than I'm willing to pay.


Green ibis, 6 1/2" x 8 1/4"
artatheart.co.uk

Barnacle goose, 8 1/2" x 14"
museumofglassstore.org

Bullfinch, 4 1/8" x 3"
counterpointhome.com

Common male teal, 4" x 6 1/2"
irenesfavoritethings.com

Small loon, 9 1/2" x 6 1/2"
upnorthsundries.com

Eagle, 11" x 10 3/4"
stylendesign.co.uk

Puffballs, 2 3/4" x 2"
museumofglassstore.org

Oiva Toikka with Festive Pheasant, 9 3/4" x 15"
go.nbm.org

14 comments:

  1. These are so beautiful!!! I love them. I have never seen anything like them before! Thank you so very much for posting these!

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  2. I've never seen these before either! Are they large? Small? It's hard to tell.

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  3. this is the first time i am seeing these...loved them L)

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  4. @SherryBaby, 1950sarh and Sudha: So glad you enjoyed seeing these gems. I've edited the post to give some idea of the size range...from tiny to huge (and the same with the price).

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  5. I'm in love! These are stunning and I had never seen/heard of them before this post. Thanks !!

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  6. @Rhan Vintage: I discovered them by accident while researching Finnish glass and fell in love with them too. Now if I could just afford one...because naturally the ones I love most are the big ones.

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  7. Oh, you are eerily psychic. I LOVE these birds. I was just ogling one at an antique store today. My Finnish grandma has a red one I covet. It was purchased many years ago. My great uncle met the designer and purchased it from him. It is for that reason she won't let me steal it . . .

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  8. @Tanya: Some things were made to be coveted, and these birds fit that description. I'm even jealous that there's one in your family. Now that's absurdly covetous. :)

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  9. I don't think I've ever seen these before... they're great!

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  10. These really are gorgeous. I love the colors and textures. I hope you are able to find one soon!

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  11. @The English Organizer: Aren't they delightful? I'm not sure how these beauties escaped our notice for so long.

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  12. @adriane: I've found a couple of the really small ones on eBay for less than $100, but I feel a need to make a major score on one of the huge ones that really makes a statement on a coffee table, because less is not always more. This will be my Holy Grail. :)

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  13. Love them! I've never seen these before either. That picture of Oiva and his bird is adorable.

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  14. @monogirl: I love that picture too. And the really weird thing is that he looks a lot like my brother...hair, moustache and all.

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