Currently held on consignment at Andrews Oakville
This vivid work of Swedish Modernist design is the 'Igelkott' (Hedgehog) vase that comes from the larger 'Chamott' (Chamotte) series designed between 1936 to 1948. The series was designed by the celebrated Swedish ceramicist and designer Gunnar Nylund (b.1904 - d.1997) for Rörstrand.
The vases were made in 5 colours (Emerald, Topaz, (Mustard), Turquoise, White, and Yellow) with 3 different forms to the vases. This Turquoise piece is from the 'Al' form and is in the medium size of the 3 sizes at 16 cm in height (small 12cm, medium 16cm, large 21cm). Nylund became well known for his Chamotte sculptures, designing the series during his time as artistic director at Rörstrand.
Chamotte is also known as 'firesand', a raw ceramic material that has a high percentage of silica and alumina. It can be produced by firing selected fire clays to high temperatures before grinding and screening to specific particle sizes.
The décor makes this an exceptionally tactile piece, the highly textured, rough surface with the glossily glazed décor is a fabulous juxtaposition. Stylistically timeless and contemporary, this work is a outstanding example of Scandinavian mid-century Modern design.
CONDITION
Excellent. There is light use wear to the underside of the base and the glaze décor that is commensurable with the age of the piece. The underside is stamp-inscribed with "Rorstrand, Sverige, Chamotte, Nylund".
MEASUREMENTS
Height: c. 6.3" / 16 cm (from base to rim). Width: c. 4.9" / 12.5 cm (across widest point). Rim diameter: c. 2" / 5 cm. Base diameter: c. 2.4" / 6.2 cm. Unpackaged weight: c. 1.4 kg / 1,350 g
A BIT OF HISTORY
Gunnar Nylund (b. 1904 – d.1997) Nylund was a Swedish ceramic designer since the 1930s and is perhaps best known as the artistic director of Rörstrand and was already a well-established ceramic artist in Denmark - first at the Bing & Grøndahl Porcelain factory in Copenhagen and later at Saxbo.
Nylund was resident at Rörstrand from 1931–1955 and for the majority of this time, as artistic director. He became well known for his new matte feldspar glazed stoneware in hare’s fur and crystal glazes and for his stoneware animal sculptures. Over five decades, Nylund crafted some 30 reliefs and sculptures commissioned for public spaces, including Europe’s largest stoneware fountain the “Scanisarius” in Bromölla, Sweden.
Most of Nylund’s original sculptures in stoneware chamotte ended up in museums, as did much of his other work. Sculptures such as the “Lion Head” is found at the National Museum in Stockholm, “Blue Bird” is at the Sèvres museum in Paris, his antelope head “Abyssinian mountain nyala”, is at the Röhsska museet in Gothenburg and the “Hamadryas Baboon” is at the Malmö Museum.
His piece “Bulls head in oxblood” was bought by the Ateneum museum in Helsinki. And a lot of his other work can be found at other museums around the world.
