This is a vintage highball glass from Ultima Thule, a representative product of Finnish designer Tapio Wirkkala. Tapio Wirkkala is a legendary designer of Iittala, and a master of Scandinavian modernity in Finland in the 20th century who was involved in all kinds of industrial design such as fixtures, furniture, and stamps.
The name of the series, Ultima Thule, means "island at the far end", and is a word that describes the world of ice and snow in the far north where the sun never sets. The area near the North Pole is called the Lapland region, and you can see large valleys eroded by ice that has melted over many years. Ultima Thule expresses how the ice melts, and the granular pattern seen at the bottom expresses water droplets of melted ice. Ultima Thule is a popular series that is still being reprinted today, but this is an original vintage product manufactured between 1969 and 1988. A small amount of the Iittala seal remains, and part of the letters “Made in Finland” can be seen.
The Iittala vintage has a slightly different overall clarity compared to the modern version. Originally, Iittala glass is formed by pouring molten glass into a mold, so there is no big difference between the vintage and modern versions, but the modern version is characterized by a higher degree of transparency due to the evolution of lead-free glass molding technology. Vintage, however, is done manually by craftsmen, such as finishing the edges. Therefore, when you touch it with your finger, you can feel a slight unevenness on the edge. The modern version is all done by machine control, so there is no fluctuation unique to manual work. In addition, the vintage has a slightly thinner and softer mouth, so it feels soft when it hits your mouth. Only one item will be in stock this time.
■ Details
Manufacturer: iitala
Designer: Tapio Wirkkala
Years: 1969-1988
Country of Origin: Finland
Condition: ★★★★☆ (4.5: Excellent)
I keep the condition at the time of the production well. It is a very beautiful product with no chips or cracks.
