Mats Jonasson (Born 1945) Swedish, Crystal Rabbit Paperweight and Potpourri Bottle. One piece displays a rabbit within the irregularly shaped paperweight. Signed on the underside, with the original label bearing Jonasson's name attached on the front. The cut glass potpourri bottle has a stopper and is unmarked. 

Condition: Great. 

Largest Size: 4 x 4 x 5 in. 

Mats Jonasson was born in Målerås, Sweden in 1945. The extremely small community (less than 200 total residents) was devoted almost exclusively to the glassworks there, and Jonasson was born into a family of glassmakers going back three generations. He began learning engraving when he was 14, and entered an apprenticeship at the glassworks the following year. He quickly became known for his engraved lead crystal sculptures of flowers and wildlife, which were marketed the world over before he was even 20. The Målerås Glassworks was bought by Flysgfors Group in 1965, and Jonasson found himself at odds with the new management. After several of his pieces were put on permanent display at the Småland Museum in Växjö, he left his home town in 1969 to take a position as a lead designer for Kosta Boda. Over the next decade he expanded considerably from vases and smaller pieces to large scale public installations, such as the sculptures of the Glass Angel in the children section at the Skogskyrkogården (“The Woodland Cemetery”) in Ljungby. Flysgfors had merged Målerås with another of their acquisitions in 1974, renaming it Royal Krona, but a series of economic missteps led them to sell the works to Kosta Boda in 1977. Jonasson was put in charge of the works due to his history, but when Kosta Boda was planning to sell the facility to Orrefors in 1981 he and 15 of his best craftsmen, along with 80 local citizens, pooled their resources and made an offer to purchase the glassworks, which Kosta Boda accepted. He formed Mats Jonasson Crystal Glass, which he has run ever since, frequently inviting aspiring artists from around the world to apprentice with him and continue the local legacy. As of 2020 the company had over 50 employees, including designer Ludvig Löfgren who was recruited from Orrefors, and they have continued to produce high quality art glass and functional goods while implementing protective COVID-19 measures.

Great.