Lethe

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Object Name: 
Vase
Title: 
Lethe
Maker(s): 
Place Made: 
Federal Republic of Germany, Frauenau
Accession Number: 
80.3.61
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 23.1 cm, Diam (max): 13.7 cm
Location: 
Not on Display
Date: 
1980
Credit Line: 
Gift of Harvey K. And Bess Littleton, by exchange
Web Description: 
One anomaly in this group is Lethe, a colorless vessel with engraved decoration that illustrates Eisch’s complex relationship with glass. Here, Eisch uses transparency as he understands it, which is as blankness and nothingness. In Greek mythology, Lethe is the river of forgetfulness in the Underworld, and also the spirit of oblivion.

More Info

Department: 
Postwar and Contemporary
Provenance: 
Littleton, Harvey K. (American, 1922-2013), Source
Littleton, Bess, Source
Category: 
Studio Glass
Color: 
colorless
Technique: 
glassblowing
engraving
Material: 
glass
Copyright: 
© Erwin Eisch

Description

Primary Description: 
"Lethe", Vase. Colorless glass; blown, engraved, applied. Cylindrical vase with engraved scene including a bird and a man/bird figure, as well as an engraved poem on the opposite side. The vase sits on three round feet. (The poem was written by Eisch's friend Peter Kobbe.)

Exhibitions (1)

Masters of Studio Glass: Erwin Eisch
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass 2012-03-15 through 2013-02-03
Masters of Studio Glass: Erwin Eisch is a special exhibition of 22 vessels and sculptures by one of the founders of studio glass in Europe, Erwin Eisch (German, b. 1927). The exhibition recognizes Eisch for his achievements in developing glass as a material for artistic expression, and it celebrates the 50th anniversary of the birth of studio glass in the United States. Eisch, a close friend of American Studio Glass founder, Harvey K. Littleton (American, b. 1922), had a profound influence on the development of American, as well as European, studio glass. Objects in the exhibition span 40 years of Eisch’s career in glass from 1964 to 2004. His works are tradition-breaking, and his radical thoughts about art reflect the unorthodox approach to glass that has characterized his work throughout his career. All of the works presented are drawn from the Museum’s collection.

Publications (2)

Sources of Inspiration (1998) p. 48; BIB# AI41266
Contemporary Glass: A World Survey from The Corning Museum of Glass (1989) illustrated, p. 56; BIB# 32803