FM Konstglas / Marcolin Glass Identification Guide + Gallery
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Josef Marcolin (b 1933) and Benito Marcolin (b 1936), learned their glass making skills on the island of Murano, Venice, and later moved to Sweden to work at the Glimma glassworks in 1954, then Reijmyre 1956-61, before starting their own company, FM Konstglas. Several of the same designs can be found from both Reijmyre and FM Konstglas. FM stands for Färe-Marcolin, a combination of the brothers' surname and the maiden name of Josef's wife, Inga-Lill Färe (married in late 1950's). Inga-Lill's father Bror Färe was a businessman, and it is thought that he helped to fund the company, which would explain the inclusion of his surname in the company name. "Konstglas" is Swedish for "Art Glass". At first, they rented space at Eneryda glassworks. Glass produced while at Eneryda can be found with labels which read "FM Konstglas, Eneryda". They set up their own glassworks in 1961, in the Swedish town of Ronneby. Labels then read either "FM Konstglas, Ronneby" or "FM Konstglas, Ronneby, Sweden".
FM Konstglas / Marcolin pieces are often signed, including a pattern number, on the base, which consists of the initial of the designer, and model number of the item, sometimes followed by the size of the item. The size was given in millimetres up until 1983, when the size was instead given in centimetres, both in the signatures and price lists. Designer codes include: M - Josef Marcolin, B - Benito Marcolin, and F - Inga-Lill Färe. Production was mainly glass figurines, with a unique blended style of Swedish and Murano. They also produces other glassware such as vases, bowls and perfume bottles, using traditional Murano techniques such as millefiori, sommerso and zanfirico. These can easily be mistaken for Murano glass if not found with labels. The company changed its name to FM Marcolin Art Crystal in 1983, and in 1988-89 changed again to Marcolin Art Crystal. The Swedish factory closed in 1991, and production was moved to Sardinia, Italy, in collaboration with Sardinia Crystal, with the intention of producing the same products, however this didn't last long. The Marcolin brothers left and went their separate ways, Benito moved back to Sweden, while Josef moved to Austria and continued production under the name Marcolin Art Crystal. Update - Josef passed away in 2015, aged 82. The website for Marcolin Art Crystal no longer works, so it is possible the factory has now closed (needs confirmation).
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A clear Swedish glass fish sculpture. Made by Marcolin Art Crystal, designed by Josef Marcolin, pattern number M224, signed and labelled.
A clear Swedish glass fish sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Benito Marcolin, pattern number B850, signed.
A blue, lilac and clear Swedish neodymium glass fish sculpture with sommerso effect. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Benito Marcolin, pattern number B850, signed.
A blue, lilac and clear Swedish neodymium glass fish sculpture with sommerso effect. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Benito Marcolin, pattern number B852, signed.
A blue, lilac and clear Swedish neodymium glass whale sculpture with sommerso effect. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Benito Marcolin, pattern number B878, signed.
A green, lilac and clear Swedish neodymium glass whale sculpture with sommerso effect. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Benito Marcolin, pattern number B878, signed.
A Swedish clear glass penguin sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Benito Marcolin, pattern number B715, signed and labelled.
A Swedish clear glass penguin sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Benito Marcolin, pattern number B856, signed and labelled.
A blue and white Swedish glass millefiori vase. Made by FM Konstglas, labelled.
A clear Swedish glass apple paperweight sculpture with silver leaf inclusions. Made by FM Konstglas, labelled.
A black, white and clear Swedish glass cat sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Benito Marcolin, pattern number B4, signed.
A clear Swedish glass bear sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Josef Marcolin, pattern number M4301, signed and labelled.
A green, lilac and clear Swedish neodymium glass bird sculpture with sommerso effect. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Benito Marcolin, pattern number B860, signed.
A blue, lilac and clear Swedish neodymium glass bird sculpture with sommerso effect. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Benito Marcolin, pattern number B860, signed and labelled.
A green, lilac and clear Swedish neodymium glass toucan sculpture with sommerso effect. Made by FM Konstglas, unmarked.
A blue, lilac and clear Swedish neodymium glass bird sculpture with sommerso effect. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Benito Marcolin, pattern number B850, signed and labelled.
A Swedish clear glass bird sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, labelled.
A Swedish lilac / blue neodymium glass bird sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, labelled.
A Swedish blue glass bird sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, labelled.
A Swedish lilac / blue neodymium glass bird sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, labelled.
A Swedish brown glass bird sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Josef Marcolin, pattern number M-250, labelled. Named "Pippi" (birdie).
A Swedish blue glass bird sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Josef Marcolin, pattern number M-250, labelled. Named "Pippi" (birdie).
A Swedish brown glass bird sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Josef Marcolin, pattern number M-250, labelled. Named "Pippi" (birdie).
A Swedish red glass bird sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Josef Marcolin, pattern number M-250, labelled. Named "Pippi" (birdie).
A Swedish green glass bird sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Josef Marcolin, pattern number M-250, labelled. Named "Pippi" (birdie).
A pair of Swedish blue glass bird sculptures. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Josef Marcolin, pattern number M-250, labelled. Named "Pippi" (birdie).
A Swedish clear glass bird sculpture, with gold leaf and controlled bubble pattern. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Josef Marcolin, pattern number M-250. Named "Pippi" (birdie).
A Swedish blue glass mouse sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, labelled.
A black and clear Swedish glass seal sculpture with blue speckles. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Josef Marcolin, pattern number M333, signed and labelled.
A black and cream Swedish glass bird sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, pattern number R3, signed.
A Swedish lilac / blue neodymium glass bird sculpture. Made by FM Konstglas, labelled.
A green, lilac and clear Swedish neodymium glass penguin sculpture with sommerso effect. Made by FM Konstglas, labelled.
Fumato Glass
The feathered bubble effect shown in the pieces below, has for a long time been wrongly referred to as "sfumato", which in glass terms means a gradual change of shade, however it has recently been discovered that the correct term would be "fumato", which means "smoked", a technique which involves exposing the glass to smoke from a fire, to give the glass a smoky colour by picking up particles of unburnt ember and ash from the smoke [ref]. This has been confirmed on a Swedish glass forum [here], where a glassblower who worked for FM Konstglas/Marcolin, described the technique they used, involving smoke, to create this effect. It is thought this error originates from the glossary section of the book "Italian Glass, Century 20" by Leslie Pina, where sfumato is described as "Technique producing a smoky effect by enclosing fine inner veils of color in the glass."
A Swedish grey and clear glass eagle sculpture with bubbly fumato technique. Made by FM Konstglas, signed.
A Swedish grey and clear glass bird sculpture with bubbly fumato technique. Made by FM Konstglas, pattern number R1, signed.
A Swedish grey and clear glass bird sculpture with bubbly fumato technique. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Josef Marcolin, pattern number M501, signed.
A Swedish grey and clear glass bird sculpture with bubbly fumato technique. Made by FM Konstglas, pattern number L7, signed and labelled.
A Swedish grey and clear glass bird sculpture with bubbly fumato technique. Made by FM Konstglas, pattern number R3, signed.
A Swedish grey and clear glass bird sculpture with bubbly fumato technique. Made by Marcolin, pattern number V019, signed and labelled.
A Swedish grey and clear glass bird sculpture with bubbly fumato technique. Made by Marcolin, designed by Josef Marcolin, pattern number M501.10, signed.
A Swedish grey and clear glass bird sculpture with bubbly fumato technique. Made by Marcolin, designed by Benito Marcolin, pattern number B52, signed and labelled.
A Swedish grey and clear glass elephant sculpture with bubbly fumato technique. Made by FM Konstglas, pattern number M588, signed and labelled.
A Swedish grey and clear glass owl sculpture with bubbly fumato technique. Made by FM Konstglas, pattern number C691, signed and labelled.
A green and clear Swedish glass swan sculpture with bubbly fumato technique. Made by FM Konstglas. Has generic "Made in Sweden" label.
A grey, mber and clear Swedish glass swan sculpture with bubbly fumato technique. Made by FM Konstglas, labelled.
A grey and clear Swedish glass fish sculpture with bubbly fumato technique. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Benito Marcolin, pattern number B850, signed and labelled.
A grey and clear Swedish glass swan sculpture with bubbly fumato technique. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Benito Marcolin, pattern number D40, signed and labelled.
A grey and clear Swedish glass tortoise sculpture with bubbly fumato technique. Made by FM Konstglas, designed by Josef Marcolin, pattern number M77, signed.
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Reference Websites
For more information on FM Konstglas / Marcolin glass, check out the following resources:
www.marcolinartcrystal.com