In the Beginning

The WMF (Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik) glass factory in Geislingen, Germany produced glass products for close to 100 years, from 1883 until the factory closed down in 1982. In the early years, the production focused on glass liners for WMF metalware. In 1922, the WMF glass factory was completely rebuilt after being destroyed in the First World war. Around 1925, WMF began experimenting with colored glass. It wasn't until 1927 that the WMF art glass line (Ikora and Myra) was first introduced. WMF art glass (IKora and Myra) would be produced for 28 years, from 1926 to 1954 with the majority of the production before the Second World War.

The birth of a new form of Art Glass

In 1927 a new business division was created at WMF. It was called the Neue Kunstgewerbliche Abteilung (New Arts Division). It was the brainchild of Hugo Debach and Karl Weidmann. Debach was the man at the helm while Weidmann was the young shop foreman and glass designer.

WMF "Myra" glass

The young glass designer Weidmann was tasked to produce iridescent wares similar to Tiffany and Loetz. After much experimentation at the glass school in Zweisel he developed what's know as "Myra" Kristal (glass) , named after a famous Asian site where many pieces of iridescent glass were discovered. The base glass is formulated with silver nitrate instead of lead which is then fired at 450 degrees in an annealing furnace giving the glass a matte like finish. Once cooled, the silver stain is removed leaving the glass with a mirror like finish. The glass is then put back into the furnace where it's exposed to a mixture of stannic avid, sulphites and arsenic. This gives the glass the characteristc "Myra" finish. The entire process takes up to four days to complete.

Some pieces were further blown out in a mould to produce a crackle-like finish.

Around 1935, WMF started to experiment with various ingredients to produce different colored finishes. The use of copper nitrate created a red finish which WMF called "red crystal". Another variation of Myra glass is called "mother of pearl" (perlmutter). This finish was achieved by using leaded glass instead of the silver nitrate. This produced a greyish blue finish that is more transparent than WMF Myra glass.

WMF "Ikora" glass

The discovery of Ikora glass was made by accident. Karl Weidmann was casing a piece of Myra in an attempt to repair it when he noticed that the iridescent glass had dissolved into streaks of amber. Intrigued, he proceeded to experiment with multiple layered casings with colored inclusions and bubbles. The resulting glass became the prototype for the new Ikora line. The most important ingredient of the new Ikora glass was silver salts which reacted with the colored glass to create the variations in color. Depending on the temperature at which the silver chloride was applied, it created bubbles of different sizes within the glass. The crackled textures within the glass were created by submersing the glass in water. Aluminum nitrate was used to created the spider web network of white lines which is one of the defining features of Ikora glass. He also learned that by using powdered glass of ruby gold and selenium, various shades of amber and deep brown were created.

Some Ikora items were further decorated by means of sand-blasting and tooling of the glass.

What does the word "Ikora" mean? It was derived from the word "Ixora" which is a plant that is known for the many colors of it's blooms which is characteristic of all Ikora glass. Some pieces of Ikora glass contain silver or copper leaf and small bits of foil also know as "aventurine". These pieces are very rare. All pieces of Ikora glass have polished bases with no pontil.

WMF also came out with a line of Ikora glass called "Medusa". The glass was lemon-yellow in color and was very similar to Loetz's Schaumglas (foam glass).

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