Stoneware Decorative Objects

Mid-century Danish vase designed by Einar Johansen for Søholm Stentøj. Made circa 1960s. The sculptural vase has a shiny and vivid glaze in blue green and brown shades. It's made of ...

A beautiful stoneware bowl with amazing glaze. Made by Tyra Lundgren. Executed during the artist's time spent at Sèvres, between 1934-1939. Excellent condition. Impressed with artist's name and maker's marks. Tyra Lundgren (1897-1979) was one of the most multifaceted artists and modernists of the twentieth century. She was a painter, drawer, sculptor, ceramist, glass- and textile designer, as well as an author and an art critic. She was the first woman who designed glass for Paolo Venini at Murano in Venice and she also served as the artistic leader at Arabia in Helsinki at a time when men tended to hold those kinds of positions. Tyra Lundgren grew up in Djursholm, near Stockholm. Her parents were John Petter Lundgren, professor at Veterinärinstitutet (institute of veterinary sciences) in Stockholm, and Edith Lundgren née Åberg, who was a housewife and raised their six children. The bourgeois home also comprised a nanny and a female cook. The family were very socially active, travelled often, and enjoyed the outdoor lifestyle. Tyra Lundgren’s schooling began at Djursholm coeducational school, where her teachers included Natanael and Elsa Beskow and Alice Tegnér. Her school friends included Greta Knutson-Tzara, Stellan Mörner, and Ingrid Rydbeck-Zuhr. Tyra Lundgren knew from the time she was five years old that she wanted to be an artist. She first became aware of the profession through Axel Fahlcrantz, who rented a studio on the plot of land where she lived with her family. In 1913 she began to attend Högre konstindustriella skolan (HKS, now known as Konstfack, college of arts, crafts and design) where she studied decorative art as well as handicrafts in various forms until 1917. One of her fellow students and friends there was Estrid Ericson, who later founded Svenskt Tenn AB in 1924. Whilst attending HKS Tyra Lundgren also took painting lessons at the Althin school of painting. In 1917 she was accepted as a candidate at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts where, apart from breaks during which she undertook studies abroad, she remained until 1922. She spent a couple of months taking lessons from Anton Hanak in Vienna and from 1920–1923 she was a student of André Lhote in Paris. Tyra Lundgren was primarily active in four countries: Sweden, Finland, France, and Italy. She spent much of her professional life travelling and considered herself to be a European. Greece and Mexico also formed important centres in her artistic life, as did the USA. She had an extensive social network which included focal individuals within twentieth century-European and American artistic and cultural circles. Tyra Lundgren’s main artistic motifs were birds, fish, and people which she depicted through different techniques and materials. Her artistic expression involved a variety of different directions and styles. She was a pioneer of the 1920s Swedish Grace style, the name of which had been coined by the art critic Morton Shand at the Stockholm Exhibition of 1930. This was a Swedish Art Deco style, characterised by elegance and traditional art which contrasted with the current artistic ideals of functionalism. Tyra Lundgren made her debut at a group exhibition held at Kungliga Akademien för de fria konsterna in 1921. She went on to show her work at various exhibitions throughout the 1920s. After that period she only very rarely exhibited her paintings. Tyra Lundgren’s painted output can be divided into different periods or stylistic directions. The first of these, and the most extensive, was her post-Cubist period which began in 1920 on her arrival in Paris. Her paintings from this time and right up to the mid-1930s typically comprise portraits, self-portraits, live-model painting, still-lifes, interiors, and landscapes in the Cubist style. Many of the great number of self-portraits she painted were produced in the New Objective style, displaying broad variation in terms of clothes, poses and techniques. Two of these – Huvud med vit duk and Självporträtt both from 1921 – can be seen at Moderna Museet in Stockholm, although the majority of these works are at Gotlands Museum. Tyra Lundgren’s second artistic period comprises the years of 1927 to 1929 and is characterised by the New Objective style inspired by medieval techniques and materials (Giotto, Piero della Francesca). Her motifs were still-lifes and landscapes. At this point she was living in Rome and was close to the circle involved in the Valori plastici: rivista d’arte art journal. This period saw a breakthrough in her development as a painter. From the 1950s through the 1970s her work can almost be described as belonging to the Concrete style. Using light pastel colours her paintings sought light in a sometimes non-figurative expression, but often depicting abstract bird-shapes or other nature-inspired imagery. Her paintings from this period are outsized and display powerful colours, in yellows, reds, and blues. Tyra Lundgren maintained a constant production of drawings, both in terms of individual artworks and sketches for patterns and designs. She also produced the illustrations for her book Fagert i Fide. Årstiderna på en gammal gotlandsgård, published in 1961. During her early years she also produced advertising illustrations. She spent the final years of her life primarily working with lithographs which were printed at Galleri Prisma and depicted images of doves, swallows, magpies and crows. Tyra Lundgren is meanwhile best known for her work as a ceramist and in this sphere she was one of Sweden’s leading exponents. She worked in the porcelain industry as a designer and as an artisan and ceramic sculptor. Her first job was at St Eriks Lervarufabrik in Uppsala from 1922–1924, she then worked at Arabia from 1924–1937, and at Rörstrand and Lidköping Porslinsfabrik. She was the artistic leader at Arabia ahead of the 1930 Stockholm Exhibition and she exhibited her work at the World’s Fairs. During the 1934–1938 period she was connected to the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres porcelain factory in Paris. Tyra Lundgren was a pioneer when it came to giving ceramic art a public space in Sweden. She produced around 20 outsized reliefs in stoneware, so-called monumental reliefs. One of these is Märkeskvinnor, from 1947, for the former girls’ school at Bohusgatan in Stockholm. From the 1940s onwards Tyra Lundgren produced sculptural objects in Chamotte clay and stoneware, with various glazings. Her small birds are well-known and popular with many. When her ceramic efforts became too much for her during the 1970s she then produced models for sculptures in bronze. There are six of these in various places around the globe, including Solfågel in Almedalen, Visby. Tyra Lundgren began to work as a glassware designer at Moser in Karlsbad in 1922 where she designed new table services and modernised older ones. She also worked freelance for Riihimäki factory in Finland during the 1924–1929 period. From 1934 to 1938 she was employed by Kosta glass factory where she mainly designed thick-walled bowls and vases, engraved with classical motifs. She was introduced to the glassmaker Paolo Venini at Murano during the Triennale di Milano of 1936 and they began a collaboration that lasted into the 1950s. As part of this collaboration Tyra Lundgren became the first woman to design glassware and, in conjunction with the glassblower Arturo Biasutto, she developed new techniques of glass production. Her motifs at this point were birds, fish, snail-shaped designs and leaf-patterned bowls using traditional techniques as well as in new designs. It was during this time that she created the so-called tissue-shaped bowls and it remains unclear as to who specifically came up with the design but Tyra Lundgren claimed it was of her making. Tyra Lundgren was active as textile designer for Licium (now HV Licium), the sacred textiles...

A brown and yellow-glazed stoneware vase designed by Gunnar Nylund and produced by Rörstrand, Sweden, 1950s.

Rectangular handprinted stoneware vase with 4 motifs: 2 with fishes and two with flowers. It has no markings but we suspect it was made by Italian ceramist Guido Gambone during the 1...

Beautiful Folk Art style Danish Mid-Century Modern handmade and hand painted ceramic vase from the early 1940s. Manufactured on the island of Bornholm by Søholm Keramik. Camel colore...

An unusual and interesting pair studio pottery pedestal cups hand painted with fish and a crab, possibly Japanese with impressed seal marks and dating fro...

A very fine quality salt glazed studio pottery bottle flagon shaped vase by Dorset based potter Warwick Parker (b.1940) dating from the 20th century. Th...

A vase produced by Rörstrands, Sweden, 1940s, designed and signed by Gunnar Nylund, (Swedish, 1914-1997). Nylund served as artistic director at Rörstrands, where he worked 1931-19...

Article: ceramic pottery vase. Origin: Germany. Producer: Carstens Tönnieshof, Germany. Decade: 1970s. This original vintage pottery object was designed and produced by C...

Set or 2 beautiful stoneware vases with amazing glaze. Designed by Carl-Harry Stålhane at Rörstrand, Sweden, 1950s. Excellent condition. Signed 'CHS' and makers mark 'R'. Carl-Harr...

This large art pottery vase was made by the renowned Bretby factory of England in approximately 1920 and done in the period Art Deco style. The sleek and tapered shape of this vase s...

A green glazed stoneware vase designed by Carl-Harry Stålhane and produced by Rörstrand, Sweden, 1960s.

A red, beige and brown-glazed stoneware vase designed and produced by Andersson & Johansson, Sweden, c. 1940s.

Set of handmade Danish midcentury modern circular vase and vide-poche dish. Rustic look with beautiful glaze in light gray, white, sand and beige colors. Both items signed by the art...

Article: Ceramic pottery vase Origin: Germany Designer: Gerda Heukeroth Producer: Carstens Tönnieshof, Germany Decade: 1970s This original vin...

A lovely vase with a brown blue har fur glaze designed by Berndt Friberg at Gustavsberg in Stockholm, the vase is 27 cm high. It's marked as on picture and was made in 1962. It...

Unusual tall folkloristic ceramic earth toned vase with hand-carved geometric decor. Triangular burgundy and dusty green shapes on earth colored base ...

Highly collectible Swedish Mid-Century Modern handmade and hand decorated glossy ceramic vase in chamotte clay by Swedish designer Olle Alberius. Fully glazed with a light grey base ...

A beautiful stoneware vase with amazing glaze. Made by Hertha Bengtson for Rörstrand, Sweden, 1950s. Excellent condition. Signed 'Bengtson' and 'R' för Rörstrand. Hertha Bengtson (1917-1993) is one of the well-known representatives of the illustrious Swedish ceramic design of the 20th century. She was one of the leading designers for the Rörstrand factory in the 1950s. Bengtson is represented at the Swedish National Museum of Art and Design. Hertha Bengtson was born in Ysane in Blekinge and grew up on a farm with her four brothers. Her parents were Henning and Asta Bengtson. Her father was a jack-of-all-trades and ran both a mink farm and a shop alongside his farm, which was the least of his interests. Her mother, to whom Hertha Bengtson was very close, was a skilled weaver. Hertha Bengtson's interest in textiles and handicrafts came from her mother. From her grandmother she inherited Scanian country textile knowledge and from her grandmother’s neighbour she learned to tat the Scanian way, without patterns. Upon completing her education at a girls’ school, Hertha Bengtson wanted to become a drawing teacher. However, there was no money to continue her formal education. Hertha Bengtson achieved top marks in drawing and handicrafts and therefore gained a place as a handicrafts teacher at one of the region’s elementary schools. During her time at the girls’ school, she had also taken evening classes in porcelain painting. In 1937 she applied to Hackefors’ porcelain factory in Linköping where she became employed as a pattern designer. Hertha Bengtson was interested in all aspects of the factory and when the men were called up for military service at the outbreak of the Second World War, she became head of her department at age 22. Hertha Bengtson wanted to create her own porcelain. She applied to and became employed at Rörstrand’s porcelain factory in 1941, where she started as a pattern designer but quickly became a master designer. Hertha Bengtson’s ability to combine beauty with function was fundamental to her success as a designer. Her breakthrough came with the innovative blue-and-white tableware...

An absolutely gorgeous and wonderfully glazed large bowl by famed Japanese American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The bowl features a quite rare luminescent, dark oxblood red drip ...

French artisanal vintage ceramic cylinder jar with soft shaped lid. Handpainted stylized floral decorations in rusty brown colors on the sandy grey shiny glaze. Stamped and signed un...

Stig Lindberg Silur Stoneware Bowl Designed by the renowned Sig Lindberg in Sweden, this Silur pattern Gustavsberg bowl, made from high-quality gl...

Barbara Garrett (1930-2020) pair of Organic Mid Century Modern Pottery Owls. Both pieces with fabulous textured mottled glossy glaze wh...

In the 1940s, Lars Thoren (1918-2006) created a collection of white stoneware pieces for Rorstrand named “Vilda Blommor” or “Wildflowers”. The pieces had h...

This stylized vase is made of enameled stoneware from the Odetta period from the HB Quimper factory. It is signed on the bottom "HB Quimper Garin 1326". It is a piece in perfect co...

A rare and rather large chamotte clay stoneware vase executed in 'tricolore' glazes in green, red (orange), black, and grey (white). Much like the Italian flag. Decorated with circul...

A superb Swedish mid-century studio pottery of shallow form in tenmoku and green glazes by Olle Alberius for Rorstrand. The heavily potted porcelain bowl is or wide rounded shape wit...

Claes Thell Unique Large Stoneware Bowl or Dish with Spotted Glaze, Own Studio, Höganäs, Sweden 1971. This is a unique stoneware large bowl with carbon crystalline glaze. Height 7 c...

Stoneware Bottle by Alain Gaudebert, Puisaye - Era Joulia Debril Deblander Lerat The bottle is made of stoneware and is glazed in earthy, shaded tones. It presents a very original w...

Hand-Painted French Ceramic Jug – Tribal Geometric Motifs – 20th Century Description: This is a ceramic jug made in France during the 20th century, featuring a rich brown patina and...

This unique studio pottery bowl, signed and dated "W. Wicks '03," is a compelling example of contemporary artisan ceramics that embraces a rustic, Wabi-Sabi aesthetic. The hand-throw...

Extraordinary modernist item by Swedish Tilgmans Keramik. Fully glazed centerpiece or wall decoration depicting a green faced woman with long stemmed yellow and blue flowers on a striped dark blue background created with the sgraffito technique. Manufactured in 1957 by German/Swedish Paul Harald Tilgman in his workshop in a small town close to Gothenburg in Sweden. Blue patterned glaze on the sides and muted blue leaves on the milky white glazed base. Signed and dated on base. A rare and unique piece in beautiful condition! Sweden, 1957. About Tilgmans Keramik: Paul Harald “Harry” Tilgmann was born in Dresden, Germany in 1904 and emigrated to Sweden during WWII where he started Tilgmans Keramik (= Ceramics) in 1948 in the small town of Utbynäs close to Gothenburg. Tilgman had 16 employees working for him and when he hired the Polish refugee Marian Zawadzki (1912-1978) as artistic director in 1953, Tilgman Keramik started experimenting with the distinct sgraffito technique. The sgraffito technique consists of carving fine lines into the background of a design through a light coloured glaze down to a dark grey clay slip. This created a unique textured ground which has become a style associated with Tilgmans Keramik in particular. The decorative elements also appear to be outlined with a carved line and then hand painted with overglazes where birds, fish, flowers, butterflies and other animals were a common theme. This type of work was the most popular in Mid Century Sweden alongside Tilgmans small animal figurines...

Mid-Century Modern Hand-Sculpted Stoneware Vase with Sgraffito Technique and Butterflies, Sweden 1950s Crafted in the 1950s, this hand-sculpted and hand-decorated stoneware vase ha...

Beautiful early work by the famous German ceramic artist Beate Kuhn designed in the 1960s. The bowl has an oval organic shape and is made of light blue, yellow, grey and green unglaz...

Stoneware bowls by Sven Wejsfelt & Lasse Östman for Gustavsberg in Sweden in the 1980s. Left to right first photo: • Lasse Östman acquamarine glossy bow...

Elegant stoneware vase by Carl-Harry Stålhane, in tall, angular form. Embossed graphic pattern, lake blue glaze. Carl-Harry Stålhane was one of the stars among Swedish ceramic artis...

This rectangular stoneware vase was designed by Danish ceramist Jorgen Mogensen (Royal Copenhagen designer) and created in his own workshop/studio. It is a unique piece and its signe...

This series of elephants/mammoths, bears, monkeys etc was designed by the Danish ceramist Knud Kyhn (KK) all the way back in 1929-36. Hugely inspired by the sung glazes applied in Ax...

French Modern Stoneware Abstract Erotic Decor Sculpture by Barocco 1984 Barocco, is the name of a duo of French artists, Richard Tarone makes and turns...

A large and impressive pair Crown Lambeth Ware floral painted vases by a recorded however unidentified artist dating from around 1892. The tall stoneware v...

Article: ceramic pottery vase. Origin: Germany. Designer: Heinz Siery. Producer: Carstens Tönnieshof, Germany. Decade: 1970s. This original vi...

A brown glazed stoneware vase designed and produced in Denmark, 1960s.    

Article: Ceramic stoneware object Designer and producer: Otto Meier, Bremen in Germany Information: Otto Meier (born March 18, 1903 in Dortmund, † June 1, 1996 in Worpswede) was...

A pair of decorative, large Scandinavian modern square bowls / plates with wonderful abstract motifs. Designed and manufactured by the Danish ceramic artist Jeppe Hagedorn-Olsen in ...

Set of three stoneware sculptures by Jan De Rooden and Johnny Rolf, a Dutch ceramicist duo. They were invited by Stig Lindberg to work at Gustavsberg as guest designers, and their ye...

Rare Swedish mid century stoneware floor vase in a carved and impressed brown beige glaze by Vicke Lindstrand and produced by Uppsala-Ekeby in Sweden, 1940s. In good original conditi...

A beautiful miniature stoneware vase with amazing glossy glaze. Made by master thrower Berndt Friberg, in the artist's studio at Gustavsberg, Sweden, 1960s. Great condition. Incise...

Rare decorative dish for fruit manufactured by Michael Andersen in Denmark, circa 1910. It has a rich and deep dark green glaze with nuances of different colors. The Perimeter is dec...

A beautiful stoneware miniature vase with amazing hare’s fur glaze. Made by master thrower Berndt Friberg, in the artist's studio at Gustavsberg, Sweden. Excellent condition. Incise...

Hildegard Storr Britz (1915-1982) Mid Century Modernist Oxblood stoneware Vase. The German potter wrote the comprehensive book "Ornament and Surfaces on Ceramics", circa 1977. This b...

Article: Ceramic pottery vase Origin: Germany Designer: Heinz Siery Producer: Carstens Tönnieshof, Germany Decade: 1970s This original vintage...

Amazing, unique “Farsta” sculpture by Wilhelm Kåge, in the form of a stylized pike with a playful expression. Beautiful details, varying rust-colored glaze. Can be used as a vase, wa...

Curvy and slender handmade ceramic vase with narrow opening. By designer Ole Bøgild for Lee Keramik in the 1970s. Glazed with a beautifully speckled sage green shiny glaze. Signed un...

A brown-glazed stoneware vase designed and produced in Sweden, c. 1960s.

Tall mid-century signed California studio stoneware vase / pot, circa 1962. The vase is in very good vintage with no chips or cracks and measures 7.75"D x 10"H. The piece is signed "...

A green glazed stoneware vase designed and produced by Michael Andersen & Son, Bornholm, Denmark, 1960s.

A white-glazed stoneware vase designed by Ovar Nilsson and produced in Höganäs, Sweden, 1960s.

Beautiful miniature stoneware vase and bowl with amazing Sang de boeuf / oxblood glaze. Made by Rolf Palm, in the artist's studio, Mölle, Sweden, 1970s. Excellent condition. Incised...

A beautiful and unique stoneware bowl with amazing glaze. Made by Rolf Palm, in the artist's studio, Mölle, Sweden, 1978. Excellent condition. Incised ’Palm / Mölle / G8’ and ma...

A beautiful Art Nouveau / Art Deco stoneware vase / pitcher in the shape of a pumpkin or a melon. Made by Louis Lourioux in Foecy, France, c. 1920s. Excellent original condition. No...