A decorative technique developed by the Swedish glass manufacturer Orrefors and the master glassmaker Knut Bergvist around 1915. The name Graal, chosen by Orrefors director Albert Ahlin, is a literary reference to the legendary chalice supposed to have held the blood of the crucified Christ, and referred to by the Swedish poet Gustav Froding. The technique consists of blowing a blank of cased glass into an open receptacle. After cooling, the blank can be carved or etched with sand or acid to create the desired decoration. The piece is then placed in an oven and gradually reheated in its receptacle to 400°-500°C, and picked up once more on a blowpipe or punty iron to be delicately blown and marvered again. This produces an ornamentation which is smooth, flowing, and entirely integrated into the mass of glass, unlike the contemporaneous pieces in relief of the Nancy school.

This innovative technique, derived from the encased and engraved work of Emile Gallé, allowed for a stylistic breakthrough for artists such as Simon Gate and Edward Hald, two outsiders to the world of glass when hired by Orretors in 1916. Hald was especially experimental with the new procedure, pursuing subtle variations like his “fish graal” and “aquagraal”. Following Hald’s lead, the graal technique developed over the XXth century into a veritable Scandinavian tradition, giving rise to several variations. The Ariel technique, this name in homage to the Shakespearean hero of The Tempest, is well represented by Edvin Ohrstrom’s superb floral vases of the 1930’s and 40’s. It consists of blowing a very thick blank of cased glass into which a design, defined by a protective stencil, is deeply carved by sandblasting. The piece is then covered with a layer of transparent glass which encloses the air pockets left by the engraving. Also of note is the invention in the 1950’s of the Kraka technique named for a heroine of Scandinavian legend and metaphorically evoking the fishing net in which she is clothed; in this case the air bubbles which define the decoration are created by placing a net on the cased blank, then sandblasting. Lastly, the Ravenna technique, with its mosaic effects, is an innovation of Sven Palmqvist’s, one of the most creative glass artists of the1950’s.

Nordic glass artists such as Kerttu Nurminen for the Finnish glass manufacturer Nuutajarvi , Ulrica Hydmann Vallien for Kosta-Boda with a variation called “Kabale”, and Anne Nilsson for Orrefors with “Ariel” glass, are carrying on the rich tradition of the Graal technique creating works of characteristic graphism and depth.

RICKE Helmut, GRONERT Ulrich, “Glas in Schweden” 1915-1960, Prestel, Munich, 1986 HOLMER Gunnel, “Svenkst glas under fem sekler”, Smälands Museum, Vaxjö,1993 FAHR-BECKER Gabriele, HOLMER Gunnel, “Autriche, Suède et Finlande, les nouvelles frontières du verre européen”, Skira, Milan,1995