Simon Gate
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a Swedish Grace engraved "Bacchus" bowl, Orrefors, Sweden 1926, engraved by Arthur Diessner.
Richly engraved, decorated with Bacchus among women, men and animals dragging a cart with a wine barrel, mouth and foot with satin finish. Engraved signature underneath: ORREFORS 1926 SIMON GATE - ARTHUR DIESSNER N: 332. Height 21,7 cm, diameter 30 cm.
The mouth with a few small chips and possibly retouches, a little polished.
Exhibitions
The model was shown at the Paris World's Fair in 1925.
Literature
Arthur Hald & Erik Wettergren, "Simon Gate, Edward Hald", Svenska Slöjdföreningen 1948, the model ill p 82-83.
Jan Brunius m fl, "Svenskt Glas", Wahlström och Widstrand 1995, modellen avbildad sid 96.
Kerstin Wickman (red), "Orrefors etthundra år av svensk glaskonst", Byggförlaget 1998, avbildad sid 30.
Derek Ostergaard & Nina Stritzler-Levine, "The Brilliance of Swedish Glass, 1918-1939, An Alliance of Art and Industry", BGC Yale, New York 1996, modellen avbildad sid 212.
Anne-Marie Ericsson, "Svenskt 1920-tal, Konstindustri Konsthantverk", Signum 1984, modellen avbildad sid 86.
Ann Marie Herlitz-Gezelius, "Orrefors ett svenskt glasbruk", Atlantis 1984, modellen avbildad sid 40.
More information
The model "Bacchus" was designed for the International Exhibition in Paris in 1925. The first copies were engraved by Gustav Abel and later by Ernst Åberg. The book about Gate and Hald says: "The most strenuous work I remember is the Bacchus Bowl, which I engraved for the Paris Exhibition in 1925. When it was finished, Gate smashed it (he lifted the bowl to the light and hit it against a lamp) after which it has to be remade at an accelerated pace, but then we had also done a lot of experience ... ".
The Bacchus bowl was made in two different versions, this variant was the one shown in Paris in 1925 with a very smooth mouth edge . Reportedly approximately 13 copies have been completed since 1925 and it took about 300 hours to engrave it, ie no less than eight weeks.
Arthur Diessner worked as an engraver at Orrefors 1920-63.
Designer
Simon Gate was a Swedish glass artist, painter, and designer. After studying at the Academy of Arts, he started working at the Orrefors glass factory. Together with the glass artist Edward Hald, he contributed to the glass factory's first international success. From 1916, Simon Gate produced the so-called ’graal’ glass, which master blower Knut Bergqvist further developed from cameo glass. Today, the graal glass pieces from Orrefors are among the most sought-after pieces of art glass among Swedish collectors. Together with Knut Bergqvist, he also created the so-called ’slottsglas’ which have received much attention recently. Simon Gate also became famous for his engraving compositions on the glasses, which were decorated with, among other things, processions and dancing women.
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