Ultima Thule Glassware Collection

Tapio Wirkkala designed a significant proportion of his work for Iittala—the most famous being Ultima Thule. Inspired by the melting ice in Lapland, Wirkkala originally created the surface of Ultima Thule in the 1960s after carving into a graphic mould. An exclusive design reflecting the thousands of hours spent perfecting the glass-blowing technique required to produce the effect. The patterns gradually change as the glass burns the surface of the wooden moulds. Ultima Thule glassware was designed in 1968 and was used in the first Finnair flight in 1969, and later in their first class cabin service. The term 'ultima thule' was used in medieval times to refer to places 'beyond the known world', or sometimes, to Scandinavia. Evocative of an icy landscape of the furthest reaches, Ultima Thule is the most popular line of glassware ever produced by Iittala.