Soviet Glass Verre Sovietique Sowjetisches Glas

Leningrad: Aurora Art Publishers, 1973. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover in slipcase. Good. The format is approximately 7.75 by 11.25 inches. Decorative front illustration. Plain cardboard slipcase (worn and soiled). Minor wear to exposed spine. 179, [1] pages. Illustrations (color). Appendix: From the History of National Art Glass. Appendix: Soviet Artists of Glass. Biographical Notes. Bibliography. List of Abbreviations. Text is in English with abbreviated versions in French and German. The history of glass in Russia is non-linear and tragic: in each new era, it began from scratch, with the revival of closed industries and the restoration of the continuity of schools. After the revolution, large factories that represented glass at the World Exhibitions were actually destroyed or repurposed for the production of cheap mass products. However, even it was not enough to meet all the needs of a vast country. In the 1930s, the plight of the industry attracted the attention of the authorities and restoration began: the glass industry department Glavsteklo was created, and the construction of factories was launched. For example, an experimental workshop was opened on the basis of the Demino Mirror Factory in Leningrad under the guidance of sculptor Vera Mukhina. The rapid recovery of the industry was interrupted by the Great Patriotic War. After 1945, the history of glass production actually began anew. A faceted glass or granyonyi stakan (literally faceted glass) is a type of drinkware made from especially hard and thick glass and having a faceted form. It is a very widespread form of drinking glass in Russia and the former Soviet Union. The antecedents of the faceted glass in Russian history are dated back to the reign of Peter the Great, who valued the design as being less likely to roll off tables aboard ships. Examples of the first such design were supposedly presented to the tsar by glassmaker Yefim Smolin, from Vladimir Governorate, with the assurance that the glass was unbreakable. After drinking from the glass, the tsar threw it to the ground, breaking it, but was still impressed, stating "Let's have that glass" (Russian: !, romanized: Stakanu byit!). The breaking of the glass and the associated statement later became remembered as "break the glasses!" and is the possible origin of the Russian tradition of breaking glassware after celebrating particularly important toasts. Presenting the history of the development of Soviet art glass in the field of cutting and engraving, the curators talk both about the artistic and stylistic features of the two leading schools - Moscow and Leningrad, and about the gradual formation of the styles of each plant in the 20th century. "The period of formation of the own style of Soviet glass was determined by the Leningrad school, represented by the Leningrad Art Glass Factory (LZKhS). It was his masters who stood at the origins of the process of bringing art into everyday life.