Condition: Used,Brand: ArtGlass,Type: Vase A vintage art glass vase of the 'Twist' series designed and blown by Kari Alakoski for Iittala in 1997. Made of thick handblown crystal glass with twisted airbubbles decoration inside. The vase is marked on the bottom with a incised signature 'K. Alakoski Iittala 97' . A rare example of the Scandinavian art glass of the 1990s. Kari Alakoski has been familiar with the world of glass since childhood. His parents worked at the Iittala glass factory, where Alakoski got a summer job at the age of 14. As a young boy, he encountered Tapio Wirkkala in the corridors of the glass factory. In the 1970s, there were no schools for glassblowers, so Kari Alakoski taught himself the craft. During his later work as a glassblower at the Iittala glass factory, Alakoski created iconic works such as Tapio Wirkkala's Kantarelli and Timo Sarpaneva's Orkidea vases. He later moved from Iittala to the Nuutajärvi glass factory. Today, Kari Alakoski works with glass artist Marja Hepo-aho at Mafka & Alakoski. The studio in the former glass factory in Riihimäki produces the Vihma series, Talvi glasses, and Twist objects, among other things. height: 13.58 inches diameter: 2.95 inches