Dale Chihuly 1980 Signed Indian Blanket Cylinder Early Handblown Glass

Artist: Dale Chihuly
Title: Indian Blanket Cylinder
Medium: Hand Blown Glass
Dimensions: 8.25" high x 7" x 7"
Inscription: Signed "Chihuly" and inscribed "PRATT 1980" on underside
Year: 1980
Documentation: Includes gallery certificate of authenticity from Modern Artifact

"Indian Blanket Cylinder" (1980) is an early hand-blown glass vessel by American artist Dale Chihuly, belonging to the Cylinder series through which he explored the integration of glass drawing, color, and geometric form. The cylindrical vessel is composed of translucent amber-toned glass, its surface animated by fine red-orange glass threads and a central geometric motif in white and black. The pattern recalls the visual structure of woven textiles, an important source of inspiration for Chihuly's early Cylinder works. Chihuly's studio identifies Native American textiles as a significant influence on the series, while the Corning Museum of Glass documents early Indian Blanket Cylinders incorporating thread drawings picked up while hot.

The work reflects Chihuly's development of the "pick-up drawing" technique, introduced in 1974. In this process, patterns formed from glass threads are arranged on a surface and then picked up with a gather of molten glass, integrating the drawing into the vessel as it is subsequently blown. The relatively restrained palette and compact cylindrical form emphasize the relationship between pattern and structure characteristic of Chihuly's early glass.

The underside is signed "Chihuly" and inscribed "PRATT 1980". The inscription refers to Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle, a studio and educational center established in 1976 that provided facilities for glassworking and other fine arts. The notation therefore records the work's association with Pratt and its 1980 date. The piece is accompanied by a Gallery Certificate of Authenticity from Modern Artifact.

About Dale Chihuly

Dale Chihuly (b. 1941) is an American artist whose innovative approach to glass has played a significant role in the development and recognition of glass as a contemporary fine art medium. Born in Tacoma, Washington, Chihuly studied interior design at the University of Washington, where he received a BA in 1965. He subsequently studied glassblowing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 1968. His early education in interior design, architecture, sculpture, and glass informed an artistic practice increasingly concerned with color, form, space, and the relationship between individual objects and their surrounding environments.

In 1968, Chihuly received a Fulbright Fellowship that enabled him to work at the Venini glass factory on the island of Murano in Venice. He was the first American glassblower to work at the renowned studio, where he encountered traditional Venetian techniques and, importantly, the collaborative approach to glassblowing that would remain central to his practice. After returning to the United States, he established the glass program at RISD in 1969 and taught there for more than a decade. In 1971, he cofounded Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State, which became an important center for the study and advancement of glass as an artistic medium.

Chihuly's mature work encompasses a wide range of forms and series, including Cylinders, Baskets, Seaforms, Macchia, Persians, Venetians, Niijima Floats, Chandeliers, Fiori, and Rotolo. Rather than treating glass primarily as a functional or traditional vessel material, he explored its potential as a sculptural medium, emphasizing irregular forms, saturated color, transparency, surface, and the effects of light. His Cylinders, begun in the 1970s, incorporated intricate surface patterns derived from drawings, while later series expanded his investigations into organic forms, layered color, and large-scale compositions.

Chihuly has also worked extensively beyond individual sculptures, creating monumental installations that place glass in architectural, urban, and natural environments. Projects including Chihuly Over Venice (1995–96), Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem (1999–2000), and his subsequent garden installations demonstrated his interest in the relationship between glass, light, architecture, and landscape. His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in the permanent collections of more than 200 museums worldwide.

Although best known for his glass sculpture, Chihuly's practice also includes drawing, painting, neon, and other media. Drawing has remained an important part of his creative process, serving both as an independent artistic medium and as a means of developing forms and compositions for glass. Across more than five decades, his work has contributed to the expanding role of glass within contemporary art and has helped establish large-scale glass sculpture and installation as significant forms of artistic expression.