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Unique Stoneware Vase by Carl-Harry Stalhane, Rorstrand, Sweden, 1960s

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Unique Stoneware Lidded Urn by Carl-Harry Stalhane, Rorstrand, Sweden, 1960s

About the Item

Unique stoneware lidded urn with amazing relief decor and glaze. Made by Carl-Harry Stålhane at Rörstrand Ateljé, Sweden, 1960s. Great condition. First sorting. There is a chip from production on the inside of the rim of the lid. Signed 'CHS-e', 'ATELJÉ' and makers mark 'R' with three crowns. Carl-Harry Stålhane (1920-1990) is one of the most renowned representatives of the illustrious Swedish ceramic design of the 20th century. He is well-known as the artistic leader for Rörstrand in the 1960s. His name is synonymous with high ceramic quality, magnificent creative design and brilliant craftsmanship. Stålhane is represented at the Swedish National Museum of Art and Design. Carl-Harry was born in the town of Mariestad, in the west of Sweden. As a child, he dreamed of being a successful painter. He started working for Rorstrand in neighboring Lidkoping at the age of 18. Initially, he decorated ceramic wares as assistant for the leading artist Gunnar Nylund. Carl-Harry decorated Rorstrand’s exclusive Flambé range as well as producing idyllic floral designs. The managing director of Rorstrand soon became aware of the abilities of his young decorator. When the prominent Swedish artist Isaac Grünewald came to Rorstrand to prepare some work for an exhibition in 1943, Carl-Harry was made Grünewald's assistant. Grünewald's art and his strong personality were to act as a source of inspiration for the rest of Carl-Harry's life. In the mid 1940s, Carl-Harry Stålhane began to develop his own stoneware. He had his first solo exhibition in 1948, impressing the public with an ability to work in most contemporary styles of stoneware. But after studying in Paris in the late 1940s, Carl-Harry found a style that was truly his own. Inspired by the hunger for new products to meet the post-war economic boom, he developed from being a gifted decorator to a first-rate ceramic artist. He was praised for his "column-like, slender-necked stoneware vases with their peach surfaces", as one magazine put it. Spurred on by a deep love of the ceramic wares of the Far East, Carl-Harry liberated himself from the European tradition of ceramics, finding inspiration in foreign cultures, in Picasso and in constructivist art. The 1950s brought major successes: a diploma and a gold medal at Milan Triennials as well as solo exhibitions in Sweden, the UK and the USA. Carl-Harry commenced his career as an industrial designer in 1954. His Blanca tableware — in elegant white porcelain — was much in demand and gained him international prizes. He designed almost everything from numerous table sets decorations to rustic ashtrays. Carl-Harry Stålhane’s production of unique ceramic works of art increased notably in the late 1950s. In 1960 he reached something of a peak with an exhibition at Galerie Blanche in Stockholm. The exhibition showed robustly dark wares that were hailed as the new ceramics of the sixties, a "rebellion against perfectionism". These massive stoneware pieces, using local clays, were to characterize Carl-Harry’s work in the sixties. The 1960s also brought commissions for public works of art. He found ways of expressing his art on walls and in space with a magnificent hybrid of stoneware and architecture. Carl-Harry and his assistants produced major commissions for companies ranging from automobile manufacturers to sports arenas. His largest wall decoration, covering some 54m2, portrays a rocky landscape. It was created for the Commerce Tower in Kansas City in 1964. Carl-Harry Stålhane left Rorstrand in 1973 since he felt that the company no longer valued the artists. With a couple of colleagues he started Designhuset which was a ceramics studio sited in a former waterworks outside Lidkoping. The new company rapidly produced a series of unique art ceramics as well as simpler wares for the home. Carl-Harry reached new heights as a ceramic artist with his spontaneous, calligraphic decor on porcelain and stoneware. During the early Designhuset years, Carl-Harry was still as vigorously professional as he had been at his debut almost forty years earlier: »It is essential to be curious and adventurous in ones work«.

Creator:

Rörstrand (Manufacturer),rorstrand studio (Manufacturer),Carl-Harry Stålhane (Artist)

Dimensions:

Height: 7.56 in (19.2 cm)Diameter: 6.7 in (17 cm)

Style:

Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Ceramic,Stoneware,Glazed,Hand-Crafted,Turned

Place of Origin:

Sweden

Period:

Mid-20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

1960-1969

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.

Seller Location:

Malmö, SE

Reference Number:

Seller: 3251stDibs: LU8317240246722

Shop All Rörstrand

Rörstrand

Before Rörstrand and its contemporaries introduced ceramic serveware to Europe, people primarily ate off of metal plates. The Swedish ceramics company was pivotal in bringing porcelain from China to the Western world, and today, vintage Rörstrand ceramics are highly prized by collectors.

The company began in 1726 at Rörstrand Castle in Stockholm, under the direction of master porcelain maker Johann Wolff. Early works bore no stamp or seal to mark their origin, as the company had no competitors at the time. Once competing companies made inroads into the porcelain market, Rörstrand began to stamp its products.

With the rising demand for ceramic tableware, Rörstrand pieces filled the cabinets in the houses of the nobility, royalty and the social elite of Sweden and surrounding nations. The 1800s saw many technological advances for the company, as it began using steam presses to emboss patterns into material. The 20th century brought the company to international markets after it presented its Art Nouveau pieces at the 1900 World Exposition in Paris.

As Sweden was a neutral country during the world wars, Rörstrand was able to continue producing, whereas other companies shut down or shifted to making items for the war effort. Swedish artist-designer Gunnar Nylund created his most famous works — warm-toned matte-glazed Art Deco stoneware and more — while employed by Rörstrand. During the 1950s, Rorstrand brought on master porcelain maker Marianne Westman, lovingly referred to as “the Porcelain Mother.” Her design, the Rörstrand Mon Amie, became one of the company’s leading sellers. It was among many popular designs that she and her team developed. Westman continued with the company through the 1960s when it brought on other notable talents, such as designer Inger Persson.

In 1976, the company celebrated 250 years, and the Rörstrand Museum opened in Lidköping, holding over 15,000 pieces created by the historic ceramics manufacturer.

With almost 300 years of history, Rörstrand has survived numerous shifts in culture and design preferences, maintaining its heritage style, while smoothly adapting to new trends. With each decade, the company has debuted new designs, glazes, patterns and technologies, bringing new innovations and intriguing twists to traditional work.