Kaj Franck KF 215 'Prisma' Vase

A 'Prisma', model KF 215, in yellow, blue and clear glass, designed by Kaj Franck for Nuutajärvi Notsjö, Finland.

Franck designed the 'Prisma' series in 1954, but its production proved so technically demanding that it took the glassmakers of Nuutajärvi four years to develop the methods required for commercial manufacture. Production finally commenced in 1958, continuing until 1968.

The complexity of the design lies in the number of processes involved. The glass is flashed and cased, free-blown, and then painstakingly cut and polished into a tapered rhomboid form. Every stage demanded exceptional precision, making 'Prisma', along with 'Pilari' one of the most ambitious glass designs produced by the factory during its zenith.

The rewards of Franck's vision and the glassmakers' craftspersonship are immediately apparent. The sharply faceted form acts as a prism in the truest sense, capturing, reflecting, and refracting light throughout the body of the vase. As light passes through the richly coloured layers of yellow, blue, and clear glass, the object continually changes in appearance, revealing shifting reflections, areas of intense colour, and remarkable depth.

Combining technical virtuosity with Franck's characteristic clarity of form, the 'Prisma' series stands among the most innovative achievements of post-war Finnish glass design.