Tilgmans Colorful Ceramic Midcentury Lamp with Birds, 1960s

About the Item

Unique hand decorated Swedish mid-century modern ceramic lamp attributed to Tilgmans Keramik. One yellow, one rose colored bird sitting on a branch with light green leaves on blue/black sgraffito striped background. Black and white top and bottom part. Signature on a leaf. Beautiful vintage condition. Sweden, 1960s. 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 colored 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 midcentury Sweden alongside Tilgmans small animal figurines. In 1957, production is moved to a new factory in the same area with now 25 employees. In the mid-1960s, Tilgman had close to 80 people working for him and production change towards a darker, more rustic style and in 1971, Tilgman moved production to Londonderry, Ireland still with close collaboration with employees still working for him in Gothenburg. Harry Tillman died in Helsinki, Finland in 1974, and shortly after the factory closed down. Tilgmans Keramik remains some of the most popular and sought after artistic ceramic pieces in Scandinavia.

Attributed to:

Tilgmans Keramik (Manufacturer)

Dimensions:

Height: 12.6 in (32.01 cm)Diameter: 5.12 in (13.01 cm)

Power Source:

Plug-in

Voltage:

110-150v,208v,220-240v

Lampshade:

Not Included

Style:

Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)