This is a stunning piece of vintage Scottish Art Glass. It was made by the glass artist John Lawrie (b. 1928) when he was based at the Juniper Green Glass studio. It is not signed - but it is one of the vases I bought by Lawrie at the closing sale of the Juniper Green Studio.
Lawrie worked under the celebrated Helen Munro Turner in the glass department at Edinburgh College of Art and later succeeded her as Head of Department. He was a specialist in free-blown glass (such as this) and applied murals. John had a studio in Edinburgh for many years. His work can be found in many public collections in Britain.
HISTORY: In 1951 Lawrie attended Edinburgh College of Art - studying Glass design and mural and life painting. From 1956 - 1961 he was apprenticed to Helen Monro Turner at the Juniper Green Workshop. The workshop was set up to allow college students to have a space to continue to work after graduating. At this time, post-graduate studies in glass were not available at the art college. With the help of Lawrie, Munro Turner produced some of her most monumental commissions for public buildings across the country.
1961 - 1966, Lawrie was appointed part-time teacher at the School of Occupational Therapy at the Astley Ainslie Hospital in Edinburgh. From 1966 he taught in the mural and glass departments at the ECA, and from 1970 to 1989 he was Head of the Glass Department at the college. This was a prestigious post and he was a major player in the development of the department. He promoted blown glass and kiln working. Lawrie was responsible for designing the new glass department at the new college extensions, the Hunter Building in 1976 - 1977. He retired from the college in 1989 but continued to produce fine hand-blown glass pieces.
John Lawrie retired completely from glass-working in 2005, and all the contents of the Juniper Green Studio were sold. The contents (belonging to both Monro Turner and Lawrie) were sold at auction in Edinburgh. This is the source of this glass vase. I purchased a few Lawrie pieces from the sale. As mentioned it is unsigned (many of his pieces were unsigned) but it is most assuredly by Lawrie, given its provenance.
Many of the Monro Turner items were purchased by the National Museums of Scotland and the Scottish Gallery, which held a Helen Munro Memorial Exhibition in 2007.
My vase is a one-off piece by Lawrie. It is a nice large size and looks good on display. It is an amorphic shape measuring some 13 inches in height. The width at the widest point is 5 1/4 inches and the depth is 3 1/2 inches. There is a rough pontil mark on the base. It is a heavy piece of glass being some 1.7 kg in weight. It is in perfect condition with no damage.
This sculptural vase is probably more of an item of interest to collectors of modern Scottish design - or glassware relating to the history of Scottish glass design or the history of Edinburgh College of Art. Pieces of glass by Lawrie are now hard to source. There is a bowl by John Lawrie currently on display at the Museum of Edinburgh on the Royal Mile (as illustrated).
It will be sent to you in the UK with Parcelforce 24 - and this will be applied to your order at the checkout.