Orrefors and Kosta Boda are Sweden's two best-known glassworks and turn up side by side at flea markets, auctions and antiques fairs across the country. For the beginner it can be hard to tell them apart — both are from Småland, both make high-quality art glass and both have a long history of world-class designers. This guide gives you the keys.
The story in brief
Orrefors was founded in 1898 in Småland and quickly became synonymous with Swedish glass art in the 1920s. Glass artists such as Simon Gate and Edward Hald took glass from a craft tradition to an internationally recognised art form.
Kosta glassworks is even older — founded in 1742 by Georg Staël von Holstein and Anders Koskull, whose initials gave the glassworks its name (KO-STA). In 1990 the two were merged into Orrefors Kosta Boda AB, but they remained separate brands with distinct stylistic identities.
The base mark — the most important thing to learn
The quickest way to identify a piece of glass is to look at the base mark. Both glassworks signed and engraved their work, and a typical mark contains three elements: the glassworks' name, the designer's initials and a running number.
Orrefors usually writes "Orrefors" in plain text, followed by the designer's initials and a serial number. Older works from the 1910s–1950s may have signatures engraved by hand directly into the glass.
Kosta writes "Kosta" or, later, "Kosta Boda", also with the designer's initials and a number. From the 1970s a printed paper label also appears.
If a mark is missing altogether the piece may still be genuine — labels come off and engraving can be hard to see in the wrong light. Hold the piece up to a strong lamp and look into the base from the side.
The design language: what sets them apart?
Orrefors is known for two unique techniques: Graal — in which a decorated inner layer is encased in an outer clear layer so the motif appears to float inside the material — and Ariel, which traps air bubbles between layers of glass to create geometric patterns inside the glass. The Orrefors design language tends towards the clear, the elegant and the considered.
Kosta Boda is better known for an expressive and colourful design language, often with sweeping movements inside the body of the glass — the characteristic veil is applied by hand and is a hallmark of high-quality craftsmanship. Kosta Boda glass is often more saturated in colour and more dramatic in expression.
Put simply: if the glass is clear and elegant with precision and refinement it's often Orrefors. If it's colourful and expressive with flowing inner forms it's often Kosta Boda — but the exceptions are many, and individual designers left their own mark on the ranges of both houses.
Loppos tip
Unsure about a signature? Photograph the base in side light and run the picture through Loppos Scan — it compares the mark against thousands of registered marks and suggests a maker and period.
Designers to recognise
Orrefors: Simon Gate, Edward Hald, Nils Landberg, Ingeborg Lundin, Gunnar Cyrén.
Kosta Boda: Vicke Lindstrand (worked at both), Bertil Vallien, Ulrica Hydman-Vallien, Anna Ehrner, Göran Wärff.
Works signed by these designers are more valuable than unsigned production pieces. Bertil Vallien's Satellite series and Ulrica Hydman-Vallien's Caramba are the most sought-after Kosta Boda series on the collectors' market today.
What is it worth?
The price tag varies enormously. Simple utility glass without a signature from the 1960s–1980s costs 50–300 kronor at a flea market. Signed works by well-known designers can change hands for 5,000–50,000 kronor at auction. Graal glass by Orrefors with a clear signature is always worth extra attention.
Summary
Orrefors = clear, elegant glass, Graal and Ariel techniques, a signature in the base reading "Orrefors" + initials + number. Kosta Boda = colourful, expressive glass, a hand-applied veil, a signature reading "Kosta" or "Kosta Boda" + initials + number. For both — hold up to the lamp and look for the engraving in the base.
