TIMO SARPANEVA, an opal glass sculpture 'Tooth' signed T. Sarpaneva, Iittala 1951.
Length 12 cm.
The general impression is good.
The “Tooth” was the first work that Sarpaneva designed for Iittala. It is purely a work of art with no other functional purpose. The work was the seed from which his career as a glass artists grew.
During a visit to the Iittala museum’s warehouse in the 1990s, Sarpaneva stood silently in front of a wooden shelf and examined an object that could fit in the palm of his hand. At that time, he assumed he was looking at the only known Tooth, which had been preserved in the museum's collections for decades. Another piece was found in 2014. It now belongs to the Sarpaneva family. The Tooth glass sculpture, which is now for sale at Bukowskis, is the third known piece.