Holmegaard

Why it is renowned

Holmegaard is known for the glass its designers drew in the twentieth century, above all Jacob E. Bang and Per Lütken, whose work from the 1930s to the 1980s changed the fortunes of the works.¹ The Victoria and Albert Museum in London holds Holmegaard glass, among them a vase by Jacob Bang from about 1932 and Arje Griegst's Xanadu carafe and wine glass of 1983, both shown in its glass gallery.²

Since 2008 the brand has belonged to Rosendahl Design Group of Hørsholm, which has had an export division since 1997 and sells its brands abroad.³

The story

Count Christian Danneskiold-Samsøe asked the king for leave to build a glassworks at Holmegaards Mose, near Næstved, and died before it was granted. His widow, Countess Henriette Danneskiold-Samsøe, carried the plan through; the works made green bottles from 1825 and table glass within a decade.¹ In 1906 Svend Hammershøi drew a wine glass series, the first design from the works, and in 1928 Jacob E. Bang was taken on as designer and made the JEB 65 vase.⁴

Per Lütken came to Holmegaard at 25 without having worked in glass, took over from Bang as creative director in 1942 and led its design until his death in 1998.⁵ He drew more than 3,000 designs; the Provence bowl of 1955 was shaped freely by hand, without a mould.⁴⁶ Holmegaard joined Royal Copenhagen in 1985 and passed to Rosendahl Design Group in 2008. It makes mouth-blown and machine-blown glass, and the mouth-blown pieces carry a swan mark.⁴ Production now takes place in Poland, Slovakia and Turkey.³

What to know it by

• Provence1955Per LütkenBowls shaped by hand without moulds
• IdéellePer LütkenSeries of drinking glasses
• SkibsglasPer LütkenShip's glass
• JEB 65Jacob E. BangVase
• Xanadu1983Arje GriegstCarafe and wine glass