Peter Layton is one of Britain’s most celebrated glass artists. Born in 1936, his initial interest was in ceramics but in 1965, while on a teaching post at the University of Iowa, his focus changed and he began to study the art of glass blowing, at a time when the art glass movement in America had an enthusiastic following. Returning to England in 1968, he started a a small glass studio in the Highlands of Scotland while relying on pottery to earn a living. Eight years later, in 1976, he opened the ‘London Glassblowing’ studio which continues to this day and where Peter Layton, now in his eighties, continues to train and supervise upcoming glass artists as well as producing his own work.

This vase is probably one of his earlier pieces and derives its inspiration from the celebrated glass workshops at Mdina and the Isle of Wight whose productions tended to draw heavily on landscape and nature and some of whose shapes clearly influenced it. There are a few other pieces in a similar form, but the colourings and design here are particularly pleasing making this a highly desirable addition to a collection of British studio glass.