Sharp Lines Old Times: May 2014

I regularly sell on eBay during the summer and my main commodity is Scandinavian stoneware. While I occasionally run into Swedish and Finnish stoneware, I primarily sell Danish pieces for the obvious reason that I live just north of Copenhagen - the capital of Denmark.

The 1950’s-1970’s was really a golden age for Danish stoneware spawning a long list of both ceramic factories and private studios creating beautiful art pottery in large quantities. Despite the seemingly unstoppable vintage craze there’s thankfully still plenty of stoneware out there to be found, though the sudden appearance of pieces by top makers like Saxbo or Arne Bang have definitely dwindled.

However, less can also do it. Many pieces by Danish ceramic factories like Michael Andersen & Søn, Søholm or Aluminia aren’t nearly as highly regarded in Denmark as our classic stoneware but they’re on the contrary very sought after in especially USA as a authentic means to recreate the Danish Modern style - a specific interior style from the 1950s that really rose to fame again in recent times as a direct result of HBO’s hit series Mad Men.

When I put new pieces up for sale it’s very important to me that they’re displayed realistically through great photos.
I usually take anywhere between 30-60 photos of each piece which are then edited down to 10-12 photos. Less work would probably be the result of getting a better camera but for now it’s satisfactory as I’m overall content with the level of my photography. A level I prioritize, not only sooth my perfectionism and please my professionalism, but also because I’d like my buyers to feel completely secure about what they’re bidding on.

Detailed photos are especially important when selling stoneware pieces as glazes are often very much alive in their expression shifting in both texture, shine and color and the overall uniformity of these. I almost always take my photos outside as I personally think the warm sunlight brings out the best in every piece. Also, the natural surroundings make a very nice backdrop while the occasional appearance of my hands gives a good impression of scale.

Every now and then a photo turns out to be better than the rest. I recently looked through my sales archive from the past 3 years and picked my personal favorites. I’ll start be showing the 10 photos below. The rest will follow in a randomly fashion through future posts when I’m - like now - in need of more time to finish my next primary post.

Very rare vase in a reddish brown haresfur glaze.

Rare, flat bowl in a typical Art Deco style and muttled colors.

Originaly designed by Arne Bang for Holmegaard in 1937.

Unique vase in a muddy Solfatara glaze with incised pattern.

Small and elegant bowl with a wavy edge.

Made by Arne Bang at his own studio in Fensmark near Næstved.

Tall vase in a very rare Dinosaur Egg glaze.

Bowl with a beautiful black haresfur glaze.

Stoneware vessel with a particular successful Bird's Egg glaze.

Created by Arne Bang at his own studio in Fensmark near Næstved.

Wonderful stoneware vase in a green Bird's Egg glaze.

Little stoneware vase in a rusty colored glaze.

Ceramic vase with colors and pattern typical of the 1950's.

A few weeks ago while googling for something completely different I stumbled across a very interesting picture shown below. It showed a larger silver bowl with a beautiful but unusual layer of enamel designed by Danish artist Inger Hanmann. It intrigued me and made me further explore the interesting meetings that can occur when colorful enamel meets cold Danish silver.

Inger Hanmann was born in 1918 and grew up in a veterinarian’s home in Stege, Denmark. Her father raised Inger rather untraditionally as a boy teaching her to box and knock over horses. From an early age Inger showed a keen interest in music and drawing so on her father’s recommendation she travelled to Copenhagen to study art at a school for women only. She stayed there in 1935-38 becoming infatuated with modern art, esp. the works of Matisse and Picasso, and enjoying jazz music.

In her senior year Inger married a 12 year older lawyer and gave birth to her first child, Marianne, soon after. While spending the following years as a housewife and raising their daughter, Inger longed to once again pursue her interest in the arts. She started studying at Rostrup Bøyesens School of Art in 1946 where Inger met artist Poul Frederik Hanmann. A year later she left her husband and married Poul. They had a daughter, Charlotte, in 1950. Poul and Inger would share their atelier for the next 30 years being a constant inspiration to each other. While struggling to develop their artistic expression in the early years Poul and Inger would both teach in drawing at evening schools in Copenhagen. Inger also illustrated fashion for several Danish magazines.

Inger’s breakthrough came when the director, Marius Schou, from C. Schous Fabrikker asked her to try using a artistic approach to the industrial enamel that was a main part of the company’s production. This led to a vast series of experimental work that gained much attention for their striking beauty, bright colors and large sizes. It was not long before renowned Danish silversmith Anton Michelsen hired Inger to apply her artistic experience with enamel to their silver works. Later she would also work for Georg Jensen.

Today Inger’s award wining work can also be found in several public institutions around Copenhagen in the shape of especially large wall plaques, notably 100 square meters of enameled decoration in Kastrup Airport (1989). Inger also created a 16 m. high sculpture of enameled cobber plates for the Danish embassy in Berlin (1999).

The best known use of enamel among the Danish public must be the Marguerite jewelry line.

The first marguerite piece was made in the early 1930’s at Juvelér Carlman in Stockholm, Sweden. It was a brooch shaped like a marguerite flower with numerous diamonds placed in platinum. When Crown Princess Ingrid married Crown Prince Frederik on the 24th of May 1935, her father gave Ingrid the brooch as a memory of her mother Crown Princess Margaretha of

Sweden

Margaretha’s nickname was Daisy, the more common English word for marguerite. Both her real name and nickname were passed on to the present queen of

Denmark

, Queen Margrethe.

Princess Margrethe was born in 1940 and soon after renowned Danish jewelers like Volmer Bahner, Anton Michelsen, Bernhard Hertz and Jysk Emblemfabrik started making marguerite jewelry. They each had slight differences in the design but were all made of gilded silver and enamel as a much more affordable version of the original marguerite brooch. They were very popular under the German occupation of

Denmark

in 1940-45 as the marguerite became a symbol of hope represented by the new princess.

In 1940 silversmith Erik Magnussen designed this brooch and matching earrings entitled ‘The Nordic Swans’. The brooch symbolized unity between Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland who’s continuous existence was seriously threatened by Nazi Germany.

Another enameled symbol worn by numerous Danes in public defiance to the Germans was a small pin made to celebrate the 70th anniversary of King Christian the 10th. While profits from the sale went to a charitable foundation in the King’s name, the pin also became a growing symbol of supporting the royal Danish family. Especially after late 1943 when the royal family became the only remaining Danish institution after the Danish government had resigned in opposition to the deportation of Danish jews and newly formed death sentences to captured Danish resistance fighters.

The pin was designed by artist Arno Malinowski and made by Georg Jensen in several enameled versions, both cheap and expensive. Sales became a huge success selling over one million pins from its launch in 1940 up until the King’s death in 1947.

Interestingly Georg Jensen had at first been quite reluctant to produce the pin not believing in the overall idea. However the company’s pressing financial situation eventually made Georg Jensen change its mind about participating in the project. The renowned silversmith had been struggling to keep its doors open since the war began. Sales were slow and materials scarce as import of expensive metals like silver and gold was heavily regulated and could often only be acquired by re-melting jewelry and silver cutlery from old stock or bought from the public. Ironically the continuous production of this little pin saved Georg Jensen from bankruptcy.

After the war Georg Jensen produced several enameled designs
in what was to become a golden age of Danish jewelry.