Oiva Toikka Nuutajärvi Pheasant | Finnish Art Glass, 1980s

A large hand-blown glass pheasant designed by Oiva Toikka for Nuutajärvi, Finland, dating from the 1980s.

The design is defined by sweeping dark trails of glass drawn across a softly iridescent green body, with deep red running through the wings and underside. The decoration follows the form of the bird rather than simply sitting upon it, giving the piece a wonderful sense of movement.

Toikka began his celebrated Birds by Toikka series at Nuutajärvi in the early 1970s. Each bird was individually made by skilled glassworkers, allowing variations in colour, proportion and expression — part of what makes these pieces so appealing as individual objects.

This example is particularly attractive for retaining its original blue Nuutajärvi 1793 – Made in Finland paper label. It is also signed O. Toikka Nuutajärvi to the underside.

Presented in very good vintage condition, with the small variations and irregularities associated with individually worked glass.

Why it works
Part sculpture, part study of glassmaking technique, Toikka’s birds sit comfortably between Scandinavian decorative art and modernist design. The restrained bird form provides a framework for remarkably expressive colour and pattern.

Designer: Oiva Toikka
Maker: Nuutajärvi, Finland
Date: c.1980s
Material: Hand-blown art glass
Marks: Signed O. Toikka Nuutajärvi; original Nuutajärvi 1793 label retained
Approximately 23 × 15 cm.

“Oiva Toikka’s Finnish glass at its most expressive — colour, movement and craftsmanship contained within a deceptively simple bird form.”