The Gustavsberg porcelain factory was, for many decades, the largest ceramics maker in Sweden and home to some of the most innovative and ingenious makers of the past century. The company, founded in 1825, mass-produced a wide range of products: first decorative household items and tableware in the English style and later bathroom fixtures, including the first pressed-steel bathtubs that would oust heavy cast iron. But of first interest to collectors are the remarkable decorative works created in the Gustavsberg art pottery studio, in particular those by master ceramists Wilhelm Kåge, Berndt Friberg and Stig Lindberg.
Gustavsberg began producing some individually crafted, highly decorated and richly glazed pieces in the 1860s. While the forms of their mass-produced vessels and plates derived from English, Continental and Asian styles, a select few painters won acclaim for their personal artistry. Gunnar Wennerberg became known for his work in the organic Art Nouveau style, and Josef Ekberg, the company’s design chief from 1908 to 1917, was revered for his expert use of iridescent lusterware glazes and the sgraffito technique, in which a decorative pattern is incised in the surface of a clay pot before it is glazed and fired.
It was not until Ekberg’s successor, Wilhelm Kåge, opened Gustavsberg’s first dedicated art pottery studio that the work became widely recognized. Kåge’s “Argenta” series, which encompasses a variety of vessels coated with an oxidized green glaze and decorated in silver motifs, remains popular. Though perhaps his most striking works are his “Surrea” vases — white bisque porcelain in off-kilter forms inspired by Cubist paintings — and his “Farsta” wares, which include totemic, spindly footed stoneware vases and bowls with textured surfaces, glazed in brown, green and blue.
Kåge’s finest protégés, Berndt Friberg and Stig Lindberg, took over from Kåge as Gustavsberg’s design directors in 1945. Friberg was a master potter. He threw elegant, simple, symmetrical vases and bowls painstakingly coated in layer after layer of matte glazing to achieve a classic striated effect known as “rabbit’s fur.” Lindberg’s highly collectible studio ceramics fall into two principal categories: The first is made of white porcelain pieces in round, biomorphic or stylized natural forms. The second includes weightier vases — many with textured bodies and applied decorations — glazed in deep, earthy colors. As you will see from the works on these pages, Gustavsberg was a bastion of creativity and precise artistry that turned out a remarkable range of works whose style still resonates with lovers of Scandinavian design.
1963 Bengt Berglund Porcelain Enamel Abstract Wall Hanging, Gustavsberg
By Gustavsberg, Bengt Berglund
Located in New Windsor, NY
Bengt Berglund for Gustavsberg, Sweden enamel wall hanging. Signed and dated on reverse, Gustavsberg 63 and front lower left corner. Green backgrou...
Metal, Enamel, Steel
$3,200
H 37 in W 24 in D 3.5 in
Corrie Schmidt Abstract Rectangular Form Fiber Art Sculptural Wall Hanging 1980s
Located in Cathedral City, CA
Cornelia (Corrie) Johanna Schmidt-Tom (1934-2020), Dutch-American, Fabulous Rectangular-Form Fiber Art in vivid red, purple, pink, blue, orange and white with a tan border around the...
Metal, Brass
Pair of framed antique circular porcelain portrait plaques
Located in London, GB
These two porcelain plaques have been expertly painted to show portraits of a young girl and a young boy, and are set within circular brass frames. The girl wears a light blue coat...
Brass
$37,843 / set
H 24.41 in W 21.26 in D 3.15 in
Two KPM Porcelain Plaques in Giltwood Frames after Murillo
By Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, KPM Porcelain
Located in London, GB
These wonderful porcelain plaques were created in circa 1860 by the prestigious Konigliche Porzellan Manufaktur or KPM (German, founded in 1763). The plaques feature beautiful paintings based on works by the famous Seville-based Baroque artist, Bartolome Esteban Murillo (Spanish, 1618-1682). One plaque is decorated after Murillo...
Porcelain, Giltwood
Wall Mounted Sculpture Construction by George Cohen d. 1972
Located in Peabody, MA
Three dimensional construction of painted and mounted blocks by the Chicago Imagist George Marshall Cohen (1919-1999). Cohen was a founder of the Chicag...
Wood, Paint
$2,000
H 27 in W 44 in D 8.5 in
Curtis Jere Patinated Brass Lily Pad Abstract Wall Hanging Sculpture Signed 1977
By Artisan House, Curtis Jeré, C. Jeré Artisan House
Located in Troy, MI
Brass lily pad wall sculpture by Curtis Jere for Artisan House USA 1977 Three dimensional wall hanging in multi-size patinated brass and metal lily pads Signed to front and metal ta...
Metal, Brass
$1,895Sale Price|62% Off
H 36 in W 48 in D 0.75 in
1960s Huge Brass and Copper Wall Art with a Painting of the Bay Bridge, USA
By Curtis Jeré
Located in St- Leonard, Quebec
A well made sculptural assemblage of brass and copper sheet with a lacquered finish combined with a painting of the Bay bridge made by unknowed talentuous artist in the 1960s. Mea...
Brass, Copper
$495Sale Price|50% Off
H 22 in W 28 in D 2.5 in
Wall Sculpture, Mid-Century, Fish Motif, Wood & Linen, Modern Art Work, C 1950
Located in New York, NY
Decorative wall sculpture from circa 1950. Jute fabric backing with a wood and metal sculpture of a fish. The jute fabric has some worn off edges all around.
Metal
Collection of Vintage Painter's Palettes, Wall Sculpture
Located in Atlanta, GA
Collection of Vintage Artist's Palettes, American, circa 1940s - 1960s. The largest palette measures 15.5"H x 19.5"W. The smallest measures 7.5"H x 10.5"W.
Wood, Paint
Two 19th Century Limoges Enamel Portrait Plaques
Located in London, GB
These elegant enamel plaques was painted in Limoges, a town in the south-west of France. While Limoges was highly regarded for its painted enamel wares in the 15th Century, in the following periods there was a decline in production. In the mid-19th Century, however, items like this pair began to be created, reviving the techniques of enamel painting that were perfected in the medieval period. The plaques depict two women, both with wavy blonde shoulder-length hair, and similar facial features. The women may be sisters, possibly even twins. One woman wears a pale pink dress...
Enamel
Appuntito Wall Hanging
By Project 213A
Located in Macieira de Sarnes, PT
APPUNTITO WALL HANGING, designed in 2025. Artisanal ceramic plate created by skilled artisans in Project 213A's own ceramic workshop. Each piece is unique due to its handmade nature...
Ceramic
$15,000
H 48 in W 24 in D 1 in
Philip & Kelvin Laverne "Peasants Plaque" with Enamel Cloisonne 1960s - Signed
By Philip and Kelvin LaVerne
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
"Peasants Plaque" in patinated and engraved bronze and pewter with hand enamel cloisonne by Philip & Kelvin LaVerne, American 1960's (signed front bottom center "Kelvin + Philip LaVe...
Bronze, Enamel, Pewter
$2,000
H 25.99 in W 51.97 in D 3.94 in
Brutalist Wall Relief Cityscape in Textured Wood, Signed, 1970s
Located in London, GB
Brutalist Skyline Wall Relief by Dorrit Kähler, Scandinavia, 1970s–1980s. A striking Brutalist wall relief depicting a city skyline viewed from a waterfront perspective. Constructed ...
Wood, Paint