Silver Plated "Baja" Centerpiece Bowl by Lino Sabattini, Italy 1970s (sold)
























Silver Plated "Baja" Centerpiece Bowl by Lino Sabattini, Italy 1970s (sold)
This “Baja” centrepiece bowl was designed in 1976 by the pre-eminent figure of modern Italian silver and metalware design, Lino Sabattini. The designer’s expansive and diverse body of work is marked by its strength and boldness, whether in dynamic forms that suggest the thrust and power of Italian Futurist art and design, or his lighter and curvaceous biomorphic decorative objects.
As a result of the shape, lines and material, this bowl shows strength and dynamism, while staying light and stylish as well. From 1964, when he moved to Bregnano, Sabattini became an entrepreneur of his ideas establishing Sabattini Silverware (Argenteria Sabattini) the same year. The design sensitivity and diversity he developed from then on is clearly visible in this piece: it has a limpid form and well-thought-out ratios materialized in silver. The oblong shape is interrupted by the indentations on both ends of the bowl. Thanks to these, the bowl has an innovative, sculptural look. While modernist to its core, this bowl is a timeless, elegant piece that can both complement and stand out from its surroundings. This model is also known as model “B 239” and is marked 'Baja B/239 Collezione Sabattini Bregnano Italy'.
Working in the same vein as his friend and mentor, the architect Gio Ponti, founder of Domus magazine, Sabattini was interested in fusing Neoclassicism with Modernist and Minimalist aesthetics. Today, his works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, among others.
SOLD
Condition:
In good condition. Some discolouration and patina are present on the silver body.
Literature:
Catalogo Sabattini Argenteria anni '70 non datato, p. 83 Enrico Marelli, Lino Sabattini Suggestione e funzione, Edizioni Metron, Mariano Comense, 1979, p. 35.
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Price category: 2,500 - 5,000 usd / eur
In her works, Kati Tuominen-Niittylä explores the concept of the container, interpreting it with natural colours and timeless, clean lines. This allows her to rediscover the beauty of both simplicity and archaic forms. The surfaces, meticulously treated as a sort of meditative practice, recall the light and landscapes of the Nordic forests.
Her minimalistic and timeless language of forms appears in every inch of this bowl that is in the field between art, design, and handicraft. This model blends multiple techniques with extraordinary skill alternating between wheel-throwing, casting, and hand-building with a prevalence of textured, carved surfaces, all of which are high-fired. The result is a uniquely textured look that is influenced by the various ceramic masses, clay slurries, glazings, and surface structures the artist uses. The bowl is just as interesting from inside as it is from the outside, with darker colours that enhance the texture and patterns. The inherent organicity is also apparent in the shape that doesn’t follow strict geometric principles, instead, has a natural flow to it. As a designer, Tuominen-Niittylä has been one of those postmodernists who softened the worst edges of the style into a more user-friendly form. Or as she put it: “I like the quiet movement.” This bowl is signed with “KTN” at its neck.
Kati Tuominen-Niittylä’s works do not fit directly under any ready definition. They have the kind of archaic timelessness that is recognizable throughout the long period of human history as we know art objects. This bowl is stylistically closer to the elegance of modernism than the playfulness of postmodernism, guaranteed to stand out in any style and type of space.
Condition:
In good condition.
Dimensions:
16.3 in W x 10.23 in D x 10.43 in H
41.5 cm W x 26 cm D x 26.5 cm H
About the designer:
Kati Tuominen-Niittylä (Finish, b. 1947) is an internationally acclaimed ceramic artist living and working in Helsinki, Finland. Her elegant minimalist works blend multiple techniques with extraordinary skill alternating between wheel-throwing, casting, and hand-building with a prevalence of textured, carved surfaces, and all of which are high-fired.
Evoking archetypal silhouettes reminiscent of functional vessels such as buckets and basketry, as well as shapes found in nature, Tuominen-Niittylä creates objects that are refined and sophisticated yet with a rough plainness that is further emphasized by the earthy neutral hues. The objects appear almost ancient or geological. The interchanging of techniques also affords a uniqueness to each piece, and it often leads to new details and finishes. Although the works are suggestive of ancient functional forms, Tuominen-Niittylä creates each piece purely with artistic purpose.
Tuominen-Niittylä studied at the Aalto University School of Arts, Architecture and Design. She is a member of the Arabia Art Department Society and has designed for Arabia Studios. Her work is in the permanent collections of numerous public institutions including the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Finnish State Collections, and the Shigaraki Cultural Park Museum in Japan.
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Price category: 1,000 - 2,500 usd / eur
In 1934, Josef Frank made his first attempt at modernizing the classic candelabra. With softly swaying forms, he eliminated the base in the middle, placing the branches of this model directly on the tabletop. This candelabra emits a pleasant light and its special design makes it a perfect centrepiece.
Candlesticks and candle holders are appreciated decoration details that bring warmth and spread a soft glow in the room. In the case of this model, the body itself spreads a soft glow thanks to its bright brass structure. This model predates the famous Knot of Friendship, but already showcases the looping calligraphic design. The six branches share the same curve but are arranged asymmetrically so that the candles stand at different heights. This allows the design to look different from each angle. The candles elongate the otherwise busy design and keep the upper part light and airy while also highlighting the elaborate brass structure. The candles are held by brass cups that have so-called chambersticks, small pans to catch dripping wax. The cups have removable extra cups in an organic, flower-like shape. The glass has a golden rim to accentuate the shape and elevate the aesthetic of the whole candle holder.
The Austrian designer and architect, Josef Frank was the most prestigious designer in the Stockholm design company Svenskt Tenn (Swedish Pewter), recruited by the founder of the company, Estrid Ericson herself. Svenskt Tenn hired Josef Frank in 1934, the same year he created the design of this model, making it one of his earliest designs at the company.
Condition:
In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use. The brass has a beautiful patina with some marks.
Dimensions:
11.81 in W x 11.81 in D x 8.66 in H
30 cm W x 30 cm D x 22 cm H
About the designer:
Josef Frank (July 15, 1885 – January 8, 1967) was an Austrian-born architect, artist, and designer who adopted Swedish citizenship in the latter half of his life. Together with Oskar Strnad, he created the Vienna School of Architecture, and its concept of Modern houses, housing, and interiors.
Josef Frank was one of early Vienna modernism’s foremost figures, but already in the beginning of the 1920s he started to question modernism’s growing pragmatism. He had little appreciation for the French architect Le Corbusier’s belief that a house should be “a machine for living in”. He was against puritanical principles and on the contrary, feared that standardized interiors would make people all too uniform. Josef Frank represented a freer, more artistic style ideal, and he developed his own type of modernism where values like comfort, hominess, and a wealth of colour were at its core. He resisted limitations and models for his furniture and textiles came from across all boundaries both in time and space.
Josef Frank began working at Svenskt Tenn in 1934 and just a few years later, the Frank-Ericson duo made their international breakthrough. Svenskt Tenn’s exhibition room at the World Expositions in Paris in 1937 and New York in 1939 was completely contrary to the ideal of the time with its bold contrasts in materials, colours, and prints. The duo received a great deal of attention and became, somewhat paradoxically, the model for the expression “Swedish Modern”. Although he was already 50 years old when he left Vienna for Sweden, Frank is considered one of Sweden’s most important designers.
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Price category: 2,500 - 5,000 usd / eur
The second half of the 20th century saw a renewed fascination with organic form and material integrity. Across Europe, the postwar years brought a quiet resistance to industrial uniformity, artists and designers returned to the tactile immediacy of natural materials. Studio craftsmen began to treat wood, clay, and metal as expressive mediums rather than mere functional matter. The result was an era that celebrated the imperfect, the handmade, and the quietly sculptural, where design and art began to intertwine with new intimacy.
Carved from a single piece of richly grained wood, the elongated bowl reveals a deep respect for both material and skill. Its shape, stretching gracefully from end to end, feels fluid and intentional, while the gently arched handle gives the object a structural balance. The surface bears traces of the maker’s hand, with soft ridges and natural irregularities that add a tactile rhythm to its form. Swirling grain patterns further provide a striking visual dimension, highlighting a contrast of tone and texture. The form shifts subtly depending on the viewer’s angle, inviting exploration and offering a sense of balance between lightness and strength. Whether used as a functional centerpiece or simply admired as an object of form and shadow, it draws the eye through its quiet complexity and sculptural quality.
As with much of European studio craftsmanship from this era, this piece speaks to a time that valued authenticity and material truth above decoration or excess. The maker’s hand is evident yet never dominant, allowing the natural form of the wood to guide the design.
Condition:
In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use. Due to the nature and age of the material, item may have some marks, scratches, and discolouration.
Dimensions:
41.92 in W x 15.74 in D x 8.26 in H
106.5 cm W x 40 cm D x 21 cm H
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Price category: 1,000 - 2,500 usd / eur
Magazine racks have been around since the middle ages, but as literacy rates increased around the world, and printed media became more accessible, they rose in popularity. By the mid-20th century, they represented an iconic piece of design that adapted to the style of the time. Pieces like this wooden rack reflect the Brutalist movement of the time, while still serving a functional purpose in an era before the widespread adoption of computers.
This wooden rack shows how designers paid great attention to small domestic items that served everyday life, while still contributing to a visually appealing interior. The piece has a highly architectural construction and hand-worked surface. The rack is built entirely from solid wood and composed through an arrangement of intersecting vertical and diagonal supports. The central handle rises upward in a tapering rectangular form, anchoring the composition visually while also functioning as a practical grip for moving the piece. Thin supports extend outward to hold the printed material. Along the lower section, the horizontal base introduces a strong Brutalist character through its organic look and visibly worked surface. The wood retains a rich natural grain throughout, while the slight natural variation of the structural elements prevent the composition from feeling rigid despite its geometric construction.
Rather than treating storage as purely functional, many designers of the mid-century managed to create pieces like magazine stands, newspaper holders, and side tables that additions to a room while maintaining their use. Even when empty, this magazine rack catches the eye, not through excess but through its masterful use of wood and unique form.
Condition:
In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use. The magazine rack has recently been reconditioned. Due to the nature and age of the materials, the item may have some marks, scratches, and discolouration.
Dimensions:
16.54 in W x 12.01 in D x 20.87 in H
42 cm W x 30.5 cm D x 53 cm H
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Price category: 2,500 - 5,000 usd / eur
Characteristic for Swedish artist, Björn Selder, are powerful, expressive sculptures, such as this piece, in heavy materials like bronze, iron, and stone. This unique piece shows that Selder was active as a sculptor and also as a graphic artist. He is represented with numerous monumental sculptures in public environments in Sweden.
Swedish sculptor Björn Selder is renowned for his distinctive style that seamlessly merges modern sensibilities with classical influences. His works are characterized by a harmonious blend of fluidity and precision, breathing life into static forms. Selder's sculptures - like this one - often depict the human figure, capturing the essence of movement, emotion, and introspection. One of the defining aspects of Selder's artistic expression is his preference for bronze as a sculpting material. Bronze offers him a unique combination of durability and malleability. Its enduring nature ensures that his creations stand the test of time, while its pliability allows him to mould intricate details and convey subtle nuances of form and expression. This versatile material accommodates the organic flow of Selder's style, enhancing the tactile and visual experience of his sculptures, enhanced by the green patina that naturally develops with time. Bronze holds a timeless allure due to its inherent strength, ability to retain intricate details, and the captivating patina that develops over time. This anthropomorphic piece takes advantage of its material fully, with the different hues and the surface of the bronze highlighting the versatile organic curves that define the surface.
Selder's present sculpture not only pays homage to the bronze sculpture tradition but also elevates it with a contemporary twist infusing it with his unique blend of abstraction and an unmistakeable contemporary flair. This work invites viewers to engage with the interplay of tradition and innovation, celebrating the enduring appeal of bronze as a medium for artistic expression.
Condition:
In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use. The bronze has a green patina with some marks and scratches.
Dimensions:
7.48 in W x 6.69 in D x 17.32 in H
19 cm W x 17 cm D x 44 cm H
About the designer:
Björn Selder (March 7, 1940, Stockholm - 1999) was a Swedish graphic designer and sculptor. Selder was married to the textile artist Margaretha Selder. He made several study trips to Paris where, among other things, he studied with the American graphic artist W Wellington as well as graphic colour and printing with Theo Mortensen.
He also conducted self-study during trips to the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Spain, and North Africa. Furthermore, he worked as director of Grödingesgruppen's graphics workshop in Stockholm 1963–1964. Separately, he debuted with an exhibition at Galerie Catharina in Stockholm in 1961 and together with Ove Dahlstrand he exhibited at Lorensberg's art salon in Gothenburg and together with Bertil Sagnér at Galleri Brinken in Stockholm. He participated in the Grödinge group's exhibitions and various group exhibitions at Liljevalch's art gallery. In addition to graphics, his art consists of polychrome wood reliefs. He made numerous fountains in public settings since 1989. He was a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, China, and made relief decorations on the Great Wall of China on behalf of the Chinese state.
Selder is represented at the Modern Museum, Kalmar Art Museum and Gothenburg's school administration. He is chairman emeritus of the Sculptors' Association and professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing. Björn Selder was also the initiator of the Sculptors' House in Vinterviken, Stockholm.
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Price category: 500 - 1,000 usd / eur
Gunnar Ander was an industrial designer and architect, and one of the brightest stars of 20th-century Swedish metal, wood, and glass design. His most well-known models are the innovative designs for Ystad Metall, such as this unique candle holder. His designs are represented in numerous museums in Sweden.
This black lacquered wrought iron and brass “Sonata” candle holder has an intrinsically modern, sculptural look. The versatile shape and form come alive thanks to the modern materials and the colour choice. Like with lamps, it says a lot about a design when it stands out even without its source of light, in this case, candles. With home improvements on the upswing, candlesticks and holders have found a resurgence, as they are rather impactful additions to any space despite their size. This candle holder can also serve as a centrepiece on a table, as it is sure to draw attention. The smooth black lacquered iron body rest on a hollow circle base and curve upwards. It has four brass cups with so-called chambersticks, small pans to catch dripping wax. The last cups have an elongated lower part ending in a brass sphere. This ingenious feature creates perfect balance as well as a focal point. The design is also customizable in the sense that any type and colour of candles can be placed in the cups to match the interior and personal preferences.
Gunnar Ander was a long-time employee at Ystad-Metall, where he designed utility and art objects in brass, silver, and other materials. The company was founded in 1919 in the south of Sweden. It was active until 1969 and was highly successful thanks to its stylistically pure objects of various metals. Many well-known Swedish designers like Ivar Ålenius-Björk, Carl-Einar Borgström also worked alongside Gunnar Ander during the company’s heyday.
Condition:
In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use. The brass has a beautiful patina with some marks.
Dimensions:
8.66 in Ø x 9.44 in H
22 cm Ø x 24 cm H
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Price category: 1,000 - 2,500 usd / eur
As a descendant of the modernist movement of the late 19th and the first half of the 20th century, Brutalism favoured celebrating the imperfect appeal of handmade items. With a robust, organic form, this bowl is the embodiment of Brutalism.
The piece has a refined rawness, and with its warm-toned and asymmetrical form. The wood’s stunning grain pattern is visible throughout, letting its natural expressiveness guide the design. The carvings and texture of the wood further add depth and character to the bowl - the pattern is so arresting that it can serve as a decorative element on its own. The design shows the understated beauty of the natural material, together with its endless possibilities under the hands of an expert craftsman. Organic and brutalist pieces like this bowl can be incorporated successfully into contemporary and traditional interiors alike, thanks to the timelessness of wood and the sheer quality of the piece.
The versatility and timeless elegance of darker woods make this bowl a captivating choice for those seeking to infuse their interiors with a touch of refined luxury and raw elegance.
Condition:
In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use. The bowl has recently been reconditioned. Due to the nature of the material, this item may have some marks, scratches, and discolouration.
Dimensions:
23.62 in W x 16.92 in D x 5.11 in H
60 cm W x 43 cm D x 13 cm H
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Price category: 500 - 1,000 usd / eur
The artists of Nordic Art Nouveau took inspiration from organic and natural forms, resulting in elegant designs with sinuous curves and lines. As this clever candelabra clearly demonstrates, hey also injected the style with their traditional design ideals such as functionality and an uncluttered look.
This model has a lot more to offer than it would seem at first glance with unique and clever solutions. Firstly, the mysterious material itself, dirigold. Dirigold was invented by two Swedish engineers, C. Molin and C. A. von Malmborg, and the alloy would consist of 90% copper and 10% aluminium. The two engineers were in charge of the Metal company Alco in Örebro in the 1920s. Newspaper articles around Sweden soon praised the material, Gothenburg Dagblad wrote in 1922: “Dirigold maintains its high shine even after long-standing use unlike silver.” It also quickly became popular for as it withstood discolouration. As this candelabra showcases, the light gold colour is especially effective on round, carved shapes with diverse angles. The structure is rather traditional with a round base, long column and three arms with cups and so-called chambersticks, small pans to catch dripping wax. And then the not so obvious element: the top part is removable, converting the design into a vase. This ingenious feature praises John Norelius as a designer and immediately distinguishes this model from all other candelabras. Norelius became a trainee at AB Alcometaller around 1920, and eventually came to lead the dirigold production in the new factory in Mosås.
The composition of the alloy was kept secret, and because of a shortage in materials, the production of dirigold items ceased, making this stately candelabra a museum quality piece.
Condition:
In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use. The dirigold has some marks and patina.
Dimensions:
12.79 in W x 4.72 in D x 14.76 in H
32.5 cm W x 12 cm D x 37.5 cm H
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Price category: 2,500 - 5,000 usd / eur
Characteristic for Swedish artist, Björn Selder, are powerful, expressive sculptures, such as this piece, in heavy materials like bronze, iron, and stone. This unique abstract wall sculpture shows that Selder was active as a sculptor and also as a graphic artist. He is represented with numerous monumental sculptures in public environments in Sweden.
Swedish sculptor Björn Selder is renowned for his distinctive style that seamlessly merges modern sensibilities with classical influences. His works are characterized by a harmonious blend of fluidity and precision, breathing life into static forms. Selder's sculptures - like this one - often depict organic and abstract forms, capturing the essence of movement, emotion, and introspection. One of the defining aspects of Selder's artistic expression is his preference for bronze as a sculpting material. Bronze offers him a unique combination of durability and malleability. Its enduring nature ensures that his creations stand the test of time, while its pliability allows him to mould intricate details and convey subtle nuances of form and expression. This versatile material accommodates the interesting flow and shapes of Selder's style, enhancing the tactile and visual experience of his sculptures, enhanced by the green patina that naturally develops with time. Bronze holds a timeless allure due to its inherent strength, ability to retain intricate details, and the captivating patina that develops over time. This piece takes advantage of its material fully, with the different hues and the surface of the bronze highlighting the versatile lines that define the surface and conjure images of the flora and of the fauna that surrounds us.
Selder's present wall sculpture not only pays homage to the bronze sculpture tradition but also elevates it with a contemporary twist infusing it with his unique blend of abstraction and an unmistakeable contemporary flair. This work invites viewers to engage with the interplay of tradition and innovation, celebrating the enduring appeal of bronze as a medium for artistic expression.
Condition:
In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use. The bronze has a green patina with some marks and scratches.
Dimensions:
2.55 in W x 2.75 in D x 18.3 in H
6.5 cm W x 7 cm D x 46.5 cm H
About the designer:
Björn Selder (March 7, 1940, Stockholm - 1999) was a Swedish graphic designer and sculptor. Selder was married to the textile artist Margaretha Selder. He made several study trips to Paris where, among other things, he studied with the American graphic artist W Wellington as well as graphic colour and printing with Theo Mortensen.
He also conducted self-study during trips to the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Spain, and North Africa. Furthermore, he worked as director of Grödingesgruppen's graphics workshop in Stockholm 1963–1964. Separately, he debuted with an exhibition at Galerie Catharina in Stockholm in 1961 and together with Ove Dahlstrand he exhibited at Lorensberg's art salon in Gothenburg and together with Bertil Sagnér at Galleri Brinken in Stockholm. He participated in the Grödinge group's exhibitions and various group exhibitions at Liljevalch's art gallery. In addition to graphics, his art consists of polychrome wood reliefs. He made numerous fountains in public settings since 1989. He was a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, China, and made relief decorations on the Great Wall of China on behalf of the Chinese state.
Selder is represented at the Modern Museum, Kalmar Art Museum and Gothenburg's school administration. He is chairman emeritus of the Sculptors' Association and professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing. Björn Selder was also the initiator of the Sculptors' House in Vinterviken, Stockholm.
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Price category: 500 - 1,000 usd / eur
Jens H. Quistgaard set out to design beautiful things for everyday use, which is an essentially Scandinavian approach to design in general. Over the course of his prolific and varied design career, Jens Quistgaard created objects that are a meditation on the possibilities of shape for a common household object.
Intriguing and fantastical, the variety of forms the sculptor manifested expand the vocabulary of functional design, calling on an array of familiar references including natural shapes. This solid wood bowl is a beautiful example of this, with an organic shape and an immediately visible level of craftsmanship. This rare model is an early iteration of the Viking ship serving bowl with a stunningly sculpted, staved body. In this technique, after spreading a wood bonding glue onto the sides of the individual staves, the bowl is assembled by sticking the sides together. This results in an interesting look that showcases the many different colours and patterns of the wood. The majority of Jens Quistgaard’s designs were produced in teak, which has the advantage of strength, resilience, and longevity besides its aesthetic appeal. The bowl’s elongated sides and edges are all rounded gently in a true Danish manner, softening the straight lines of the staves. While intended for everyday use, this bowl is just as much a sculpture as a utilitarian object, worthy of a role as a centrepiece or decorative object. It is marked “Saved Teak Danmark JHQ” on its bottom.
For many years Jens Quistgaard was the leading, and often, the only designer for Dansk International Designs which gradually became a world-wide firm with a production influenced in all fields by the homogeneity of his style. His works now appear so obvious it is easy to forget how original and individual they were in their time. He won the Lunning Prize in 1954, and received the Neiman Marcus Award in 1958.
Condition:
In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use. Small scratches on the wood.
Dimensions:
18.3 in W x 12.99 in D x 9.05 in H
46.5 cm W x 33 cm D x 23 cm H
About the designer:
Jens Harald Quistgaard (April 23, 1919 - January 4, 2008) was the principal designer for Dansk Designs from the mid-1950s through the 1980s. Quistgaard’s designs are largely responsible for introducing and defining the Scandinavian modern aesthetic for American homes. As the New York Times recognized in 1958, “Some of the most popular accessories found in American homes today have their beginnings in a small studio-workshop adjoining the modest residence of Jens Quistgaard in Copenhagen.” Quistgaard, by way of Dansk Designs, went on to transform and modernize the American dining table and kitchen.
Initially trained as a sculptor by his father, Quistgaard expanded his skills by learning from carpenters and metalsmiths, all contributing to his versatility as a master craftsman with the expertise to combine materials and techniques in novel ways. Amongst his most recognized designs is the 1953 Fjord Flatware set, iconic for combining stainless steel with teak handles. Fjord Flatware is in the collections of several prominent museums and is still in production. Many more of Quistgaard’s houseware designs, notably the teak ice buckets and colourful Kobenstyle enamelware, have become familiar classics. Over the course of his multi-decade career, Quistgaard created designs for over four thousand products.
Despite living and working in Denmark for the majority of his career, Quistgaard’s designs for Dansk focused on the consumer market in the United States. For many decades, Quistgaard remained relatively unrecognized in his home country, rarely mentioned alongside other Danish design icons such as Hans Wegner and Finn Juhl. As many Scandinavian Modern items moved from the primary consumer market to the province of collectors, Quistgaard’s oeuvre gained further international recognition. In 2015, the Herning Museum of Contemporary Art in Copenhagen mounted a career-spanning retrospective of Quistgaard’s work, with additional Danish publications expected in the near future.
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Price category: 1,000 - 2,500 usd / eur
Born in Eskilstuna, Sweden, Ulla Viotti is an internationally renowned Swedish artist whose creations are delightfully original. Her work, as showcased by these stoneware pieces, consists of large sculptures and architectural ceramics employing a range of techniques.
Viotti’s style is an interesting mixture of different impressions, affected by her study of Etruscan pottery in Italy, which influenced the formal aspect of her work developing a figurative element. Also by a visit to Israel during the 1960s where she first experienced the combination of sculpture and architectural ceramics and met ceramic artists who used materials in a more free way. These stoneware pieces however, reflect her work in a stoneware factory in Jaffa when her aesthetic changed dramatically, and started recalling the structures of the landscape that manifested the feeling of 'forsakenness', a theme that often recurs in her later work. These pieces, while visually quite different, form a pair in an unexpected way. Stoneware fires darker colours, is less dense (higher porosity) and less vitreous, finally the fired surface is less homogeneous. As a result of these qualities, these mural pieces appear rough, almost abstract. At the same time, it is evident that the colours, every line and shape is the result of a well though-out process of sculpting. Works which appear to be non-figurative often do recall the visible world and so is the case here as well. It is hard to gaze away in the presence of these Viotti works. Both pieces are signed by the artist.
The blues and browns of the uneven layered forms convey a strong feeling of organic surfaces given further resonance with the diverse curved shapes and forms. Ulla Viotti’s small scale mural works are very rare and never repeated, making this pair even more special.
Condition:
In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use.
Dimensions:
Brown piece
6.88 in W x 2.55 in D x 2.75 in H
17.5 cm W x 6.5 cm D x 7 cm H
Blue piece
2.95 in W x 2.16 in D x 8.46 in H
7.5 cm W x 5.5 cm D x 21.5 cm H
About the designer
Ulla Lilli Marianne Viotti was born on the 20th of November in 1933 in Eskilstuna, Sweden. She studied at the School of Art in Blackpool in Great Britain between 1950-1951 and at Konstfack in Stockholm 1952-1956, for the first two years at the ceramics department and then at the school's higher art-industrial department.
She was awarded a scholarship from the Swedish Crafts Association and a scholarship from the King's Fund in 1961, as well as a travel scholarship from Värmland's museum friends. Furthermore, she has exhibited in, among other places, Karlskoga and at Konsthantverkarna in Stockholm. Since 1958 she has participated in several exhibitions in Sweden but also outside of her home country. Internationally, she has been represented at exhibitions in Viterbo, Haifa and Tel-Aviv.
Since 2005, she has been living and working in Brantevik in Österlen. Her art consists of rustic utilitarian earthenware, ceramic sculptures and earthenware reliefs as well as paintings and drawings. Viotti is represented at, among others, the National Museum in Stockholm, the Värmland Museum, the Jönköping County Museum and the collections of the Israeli state.
Her work is represented in museums and collections throughout the UK and Sweden, including the collection in Aberystwyth. She participated in the first International Potters Festival, Aberystwyth in 1987. ~H.
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Price category: 2,500 - 5,000 usd / eur
Mirrors are versatile pieces of interior décor with several functions and advantages; they create depth, increase light coverage, and add a statement to any space. Fusing function and form, mirrors offer useful reflection while also providing an eye-catching focal point in any room. This rare and beautiful Italian mirror has a stylish, defined look that is sure to stand out in any space.
In the early days, mirrors were made from obsidian, a smooth black stone, and metals, such as copper and bronze. The use of glass in mirror-making was initially developed during the rise of the glass industry, and later revolutionised by Murano glass-makers. This Italian model has a stylish, refined look that is certain to add refinement to any room’s ambiance. Wall mirrors, such as this one, are practical at their core, while also adding personality wherever they are placed. The play on materials and geometry, with the mirror’s clean and symmetrical lines, creates a neat, modern look. The patinated brass, the ultimate material of 20th century design is balanced out by the glass surface. Mirrors have long been used to make rooms feel bigger and brighter by reflecting light and creating an illusion of additional space, but there is much more beyond functionality. As this model shows, an accent mirror can incorporate a classic touch into a home, while reflecting timeless Italian style.
The design and materials provide simple elegance, making this mirror perfect to bring some understated modernism to any interior. It can serve equally well in a hallway, bathroom or living room, either mounted on a wall or spontaneously leaned against it. It adds depth, reflects light, and expands horizons as a statement piece.
Condition:
In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use. Marks, scratches, and imperfections may be present on the glass due to manufacturing inconsistencies and the age of the item.
Dimensions:
19.68 in W x 0.98 in D x 29.33 in H
50 cm W x 2.5 cm D x 74.5 cm H