From Sketch to Shine: Kristalunie Maastricht

Leerdam is nationally known as the glass city. Much less known is that the Limburg capital, Maastricht, was in no way inferior to the Utrecht town on the Linge river for much of the 20th century. With the exhibition “From Sketch to Shine: Kristalunie Maastricht,” Discovery Museum sheds light on the golden era of Maastricht’s glass production. Over the past three years, extensive research has been conducted into part of the Kristalunie objects from Discovery Museum’s collection, uncovering a wealth of information about this collection. This information is presented in the new exhibition, which can be visited in our museum from now until July 1, 2025. Not entirely coincidentally, July 1, 2025 marks 100 years since Kristalunie was founded in Maastricht.

The exhibition looks back at the ‘Kristalunie’ era (1925-1977) through both recognizable and less recognizable designs by designers associated with the factory, the most prolific being W.J. Rozendaal. Designers such as H.G.H. Cuypers, Jan de Meyder, Jan Eisenloeffel, Piet Zwart, Edmond Bellefroid, and Max Verboeket also contributed designs. The heart of the exhibition showcases a selection from the factory collection: from a (lid) of a denture box to a soap dispenser, and from objects still waiting to be cut and shaped into decorative pieces to blueprints.

The ‘Technique’ section of the exhibition features several glassblowing tools and some ‘series’ (from design drawing to final product), illustrating the glass-making process. Naturally, the process of glass production is explained, along with the basic recipe for glass, and the difference between glass and crystal is clarified. For this part of the exhibition, several pastel drawings by Herman Heijenbrock have been retrieved from the museum repository, as these works vividly convey the scorching heat of a glass furnace. These artworks provide a glimpse into the working conditions in an early glass factory and are essential to an exhibition about glass.

The museum is publishing a handout with additional photographic material and context about the objects to accompany the exhibition. The exhibition will be on display from mid-October 2024 until July 1, 2025, in our museum.