A ruby red glass vase, Russia or Bohemia, 19th century.

Purchased at Bukowskis Auction 559:1215. The Gunnar Jacobson Collection.

The collection was formed in the 1920´s and 30´s by Gunnar Jacobson comprising mainly Russian art and antiques. Gunnar Jacobson (1882-1967) came as a young engineer in the 1910´s to Russia. In 1911 he started to work for the Nobel Brothers in Baku eventually becoming head of the oilfield Emba by the Caspian Sea. The outbreak of the revolution in 1917 forced him to move back to Sweden, but his love for Russia had by then evolved. After some years at home he got an employment with AGA in 1925 at their factory LUX in Moscow and became managing director in 1929. Once back in Russia Gunnar Jacobson started to buy antiques. Having remarried he bought a villa in 1929 in the Stockholm area. He now started collecting in earnest, according to family tradition, always carrying a measure stick and plans of the house in search for objects. He filled his apartment in Moscow, but the main part of his purchases was sent to Stockholm. A large part of the collection was formed in the years 1928-1931. In that year he sent a large shipment by train to Sweden. The transport documents show that it consisted of 71 crates requiring two train wagons for the goods which went all around the Baltic. A further large shipment in 1934 went by ship over Riga. Gunnar Jacobson went on buying until 1937 when the Soviet government took over the factory and once again he had to pack up and leave Russia.
Gunnar Jacobson’s interests were wide and he collected both art and antiques. Not everything was Russian but the main focus lay in Russian objects. The fields close to his heart were objects of bronze, porcelain and glass such as I A S Fischer’s magnificent chandelier from 1797 (lot 1262) and the rare table lamp (lot 1224 ) which combines porcelain, glass and ormolu. They are truly magnificent pieces of an Imperial scale that may serve as a proper illustration to Gunnar Jacobson’s taste and discerning eye.

State Hermitage Museum: Imperial Glass Factory, 225th Foundation Day Anniversary. Page 68. Compare similar decorated box.