“Vanitas, a 17th century painting theme, refers to the ephemerality of life. The new glassware ‘Life’s a bubble’ by Lotte van Laatum responds to this thought with tableware that celebrates life.

Vanitas paintings are full of symbolism and meaning; skulls, extinguished candles and withered flowers are often portrayed. A fallen glass represents a deceased person while soap bubbels visualise transience.

The design for this new glassware is based on a historic ‘Roemer’ glass. This glass, with its spherical cup and thick, hollow base, functioned as a status symbol on paintings. In the Vanitas paintings it can often be seen as the fallen glass. Soap bubbles refer to ephemerality but also have a festive connotation. Combining these two elements results in light glassware which seems to be able to burst every moment.

The collection is made in handblown borosilicate glass with an iridescence coating.”

Text via Lotte van Laatum

Pictures by Heidi de Gier