Dale Chihuly 1971 Signed Haystack Dark Iridescent Hand Blown Glass Vase

Artist: Dale Chihuly
Title: Haystack Vase
Medium: Hand Blown Glass
Dimensions: 5 3/4" x 2 1/2" x 2"
Year: 1971
Inscription: Etched signature and date to underside "Chihuly '71"
Documentation: Includes gallery certificate of authenticity

Most of Dale Chihuly's career has been defined by a sequence of glass series, including Cylinders, soft Cylinders, Baskets, Macchia, Persians, and Seaforms. Underscoring each series is the artist's steadfast commitment to innovation. Each series created was the result of tireless work and exploration of new techniques. The artist's 1971 Haystack vase looks markedly different from any series he created and highlights his willingness to test new compositional forms.

Chihuly's glass work from the 1970s and 80s typically featured a pallet of muted earth tones, and his modern-era work uses fully saturated bold colors. The 1971 Haystack vase features a highly unusual iridescent finish that isn't emblematic of either era and was very rarely used throughout the artist's career.

This museum-worthy piece is one of the earliest of Chihuly's glass art career and the earliest currently available on the secondary market. At age 30, Chihuly had only been blowing glass for 2-3 years when he crafted this work. 1971 was the year Dale Chihuly founded Pilchuck, making this Haystack vase a pivotal artifact from a significant time in Chihuky's career. It is extremely rare to find a piece of Dale Chihuly glass from this early in his career that's been signed, but this 1971 Haystack Vase is inscribed "Chihuly '71" on the underside. The piece also comes with a gallery certificate of authenticity.

About Dale Chihuly

One of the most famous contemporary glass artists in the world, Dale Chihuly is best known for his monumental sculptures and installations. He is the name behind the spectacular ceiling at the Bellagio’s flower garden in Las Vegas and the creator of the Rotunda Chandelier at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Glass works of Dale Chihuly are considered some of the most desired collectibles between the decorative arts devotees today.

Despite his initial indifference towards education, Chihuly has spent a lot of time in school, obtaining both scientific and artistic degree in sculpture from prestigious graduate schools. He displayed a proclivity for interior design and craft early on, but his true passion was always in the glass. He was a Fulbright Fellow in the late 1960s and an apprentice at the Venini Glass Factory in Venice. Mastering the art of Murano glasswork, he continued the experiments with glassblowing and thus became one of the people who brought the ancient art of glassblowing back into the spotlight on an international scale.

Monumental and small-scale artwork of Dale Chihuly is present in over 200 most renowned decorative art collections today, while the artist holds twelve honorary doctorates!

The most illustrious series in his work are Cylinders and Baskets he created in the 1970s; Macchia, Venetians, and Persians from the 1980s, Niijima Floats and Chandeliers created in the 1990s; and a more recent one, Fiori from the 2000s.

For over 30 years, Dale Chihuly has been acting as an artistic director of his team of craftsmen, since he was incapacitated in two accidents, which left him blind in one eye and incapable of holding the blowing tube. This change allowed him to see the possibilities of glass work on a broader scale, while still maintaining his recognizable style.