Gunild Symes

Danish Porcelain and Glass

Located in the heart of Copenhagen alongside the old cobblestone walking streets, Royal Scandinavia is comprised of four shops: Royal Copenhagen which specializes in Danish porcelain, Holmegaard which specializes in Scandinavian glass, Illums Bolighus which sells furniture of modern Scandinavian design and Georg Jensen which specializes in cutlery and silverware by Danish designers. Just a few blocks down the old walking street is the Rosenthal Studio Haus and gallery which features individual artists and designers of glass and ceramics.

Danish design reflects both contemporary trends and age old traditions as well as the personal artistry and vision of individual designers. “Every dinner plate has, first of all, a story from the designer’s universe or from where the ideas came,” said Cathy Halling Sørensen, marketing manager for Royal Scandinavia, the official purveyor of porcelain and glass to Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark .

According to Sørensen, porcelain designs for Royal Scandinavia are created and produced by designers at the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory (www.royalcopenhagen.com) established in 1775 in Frederiksberg. Glass is designed and blown in the glass factories of Holmegaard Glassworks (www.holmegaardglas.dk) founded in 1825 in southern Zealand.

However, many new independent designers in Scandinavia and other parts of the world are discovered and promoted each year through a gallery and display room at the store said Sørensen. “Designers are picked by purchasers who are skilled in what the current trends are,” she said. Some of the traditional designers represented at Royal Copenhagen include Johann Christoph Bayer, Arnold Krog, Fanny Garde and Diana Holstein. More contemporary designers of colorful and functional ceramic pieces and dinnerware include Ole Jensen and Ursula Munch-Petersen.

According to Sørensen ,there are four signature porcelain designs that reflect the ideals and aesthetics of Danish design over the centuries: Flora Danica, Blue Fluted, Liselund and Seagull.

Flora Danica is the oldest and most prestigious design commissioned in the eighteenth century by the Crown prince Frederik on behalf of King Christian VII of Denmark as a gift for the Empress Catherine the Great of Russia who was an avid collector of porcelain. Each plate was uniquely designed by Johann Christoph Bayer with paintings of Nordic wildflowers on white porcelain.

Sørensen said that there are 700 different flower designs which are painted by hand on each piece of the dinner service. According to the manufacturer, individual pieces are hand cut with scalloped edges and perforations to create a the effect of lace. They are gilded with gold leaf by hand on both rims and handles. It is, indeed, the most expensive dinner service in production today said Sørensen.

A total of 1802 pieces took 12 years to design. Sadly, Catherine the Great died before the dinner service was completed, so the service remained in the Royal Danish Household and became the heritage of the kings of Denmark said Sørensen.

Today, the Flora Danica service is available to customers through regular production exclusively through Royal Copenhagen, however most individuals cannot afford the cost of the entire service but can enjoy the beauty of a single piece. Since the Danish Government and the Royal House present Flora Danica as official gifts to dignitaries on special occasions, it remains the most prestigious dinner service in the world said Sørensen.

Created in 1775, the Blue Fluted dinner service was Denmark’s first dinner service said Sørensen. Today, it is Denmark’s most popular service. According to Royal Copenhagen, its chrysanthemum pattern was inspired by the porcelain of ancient Chinese dynasties and is composed of some 1197 hand painted brush strokes. “It takes one and a half years to learn how to paint the Blue Fluted design,” said France Christiansen, an artist who trained for the required three and a half years at the school of the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory to paint the Blue Fluted dinner service. A water based paint of cobalt blue is used for the decorative motifs on the surface of a special pure white porcelain which is a mixture of feldspar, china clay (kaolin) and quartz said Christiansen. She said that the brushes used to paint the blue designs are unique to the artist who cuts them into shape out of cow ear hairs.

The process of making porcelain pieces is lengthy and labor intensive said Sørensen. It takes two firings in the kiln, one before and after painting and glazing, to complete each piece she said. The individual pieces are fired at very high temperatures (1400 degrees Celsius) said Sørensen.

According to Royal Copenhagen, the Liselund dinner service was designed by Diana Holstein and was inspired by a castle retreat built near Møns Klint by a lord for his wife, Lisa, 200 years ago. A golden lattice motif over a dark or light blue field of color decorates most of the dinner service. As the manufacturer states, the design combines the classical romanticism of the nineteenth century with the simplicity and harmony of modern tastes.

Created in the art nouveau style by Fanny Garde in 1892, Sørensen said that the Seagull design was inspired by nature and the space and simplicity of the seascape which surrounds most of Denmark. The dinner service uses a breakthrough underglaze and watercolor technique with a limited palette of blue, brown and white colors developed by Arnold Krog in the late nineteenth century. It produces a dinner service of “mild, misty tones” according to Danish ethnologist, Lone Rahbek Christensen. The Seagull service is now considered Denmark’s national service according to Royal Copenhagen. Royal Scandinavia helps customers put together custom packages of dinner service, cutlery and glassware. Customers can fill out a profile, or a wish list, on the company’s web site (www.royalshopping.com) and sales staff will send sample photographs to customers as they assist individuals in choosing a well integrated table dressing that reflects their tastes and lifestyle. About Danish table dressing and design, Sørensen said, “It’s a lot about the eye and how the items are chosen.”

Individual designers are invited each season to create displays and give lectures about table dressings in various styles and expressions in the Royal Scandinavia gallery at Illums Bolighus. There, customers can find inspiration for design, color and style combinations of dinner service, glassware, cutlery, furniture and table dressing. Tours of the stores, galleries, porcelain manufactory and glassworks factory are also provided upon request.

Next door at the Holmegaard store, glassware by Danish designers from the glass factory at Holmegaard Glassworks and other Scandinavian artists are on display. Some of the designers represented at the store include Michael Bang, Per and Marlene Lütken, Allan Scharff, Sidse Werner, Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe, Peter Svarrer, Ann-Sofi Romme and Anja Kjær.

Glass pieces which are in production at the factory of Holmegaard Glassworks range from graceful functional forms of solid weighty glass to sculptural vessels of delicate spiraling shapes. Bang is the son of architect Jacob Bang who is credited with creating much of the early Danish glassware according to the manufacturer. Simplicity and functionality are signatures of the Bangs’ glass designs. Lütken, on the other hand, is credited with creating much of the designs of later generations of Danish glass. According to Holmegaard, Malene Lütken follows in his footsteps as she continues the tradition of contemporary design and the renewal of the classical wine glass initiated by Per.

Scharff designs bowls and vases of organic forms reminiscent of seashells and flowers in clear glass of thick proportions. Werner brings creativity to her designs of hefty clear glass candle motives carved with spiraling surfaces. Bülow-Hübe instills symbolism into her elegant forms of clear glass candle motives that feature unfolding shapes resembling lilies, hearts and wings.

Svarrer melds simplicity with functionality in his designs of glassware for the table. He finds clever ways to bring simple angular geometry and rhythmic repetition into rounded forms of bowls and vases of light blue, lime green,white opaque and smoky gray frosted glass. Romme designs romance and elegance into her glassware for the table. Delicate shapes and slim weights of clear glass define her wine glasses and goblets. And Kjær plays with color and texture in her vases of blues, blood reds and earth tones, and wine glasses which echo the shape and texture of pineapples.

The glassware of other designers represented at Holmegaard continue to reflect both the tradition of elegance and simplicity that is the hallmark of Danish design as well as the individuality of the artists’ personalities and visions.

In addition to high quality porcelain produced by Rosenthal, the Rosenthal Studio Haus, established in 1969,focuses on individual fine art glass pieces which are presented in a gallery setting. “We are very fond of glass artists. We try to pick out glass that is not so much part of a volume business, but is innovative and unique,” said Sven-Erik Netterstrøm, the manager of Rosenthal Studio Haus in Copenhagen. Netterstrøm and his buyers scour the Scandinavian countryside and coasts for small glass factories and artists studios in search of unusual and finely made glass pieces. Some of the artists represented at Rosenthal include Bertil Vallien, Ulrica Hydman-Vallien, Göran Wärff , Kjell Engman and Bjørn Wiinblad. “We have good relationships with our artists, so we often get unique or limited edition pieces that are sold no where else,” said Netterstrøm.

Bertil Vallien is the veteran of the group, “a renewer of Swedish glass” according to the gallery. His work is collected by glass connoisseurs the world over said Netterstrøm. A designer at the renown Kosta Boda glassworks in Sweden, Vallien creates one of a kind art works of glass using contemporary layering techniques to create a variety of surreal effects and sculptures often incorporating faces, metallic accents and sand molds said Netterstrøm.

Ulrica Hydman-Vallien came to Kosta Boda with her husband, Bertil. She is known for exquisite and personal style of painting on glass. Images of motherhood and children are often themes of her designs. Shapes of vessels are organic with swirling forms of various reds, blues and earth tones outlined in black.

Another Kosta Boda artist, Göran Wärff, is known for the masterful embodiment of light in his glass pieces. Swirling thin lines of blue strands and crosshatching wrap like fine folds of billowing silk around substantially weighty yet elegant vases of clear glass. His work is all about color and light and form.

Kjell Engman is also a designer at Kosta Boda glassworks. According to Rosenthal gallery, he is an “innovator in a world of mythical imagery.” His figures of fantasy animals and people blown in deep cobalt blue glass are often playful and humorous. The ceramist of the group, Bjørn Wiinblad, still working at 84 years old, is a Danish icon. “Danes love him,” said Netterstrøm. He added, “Seventy percent of Rosenthal’s production is of Wiinblad’s designs. He is so universal that everyone from Scandinavia, Asia and America loves his work even after 50 years of it. Some of the pieces we sell have been in production for over 40 years.”

Wiinblad’s designs exemplify Danish charm and wit. His ceramic figurines, plates, bowls, vases and candle sticks show stylistic characters in idyllic settings and decorative costumes painted in blue or green with pink accents on white porcelain. According to Netterstrøm, Wiinblad was a fanatic about opera, particularly the Magic Flute by Mozart, so much of his design was influenced by theater and whimsy. Wiinblad also created many posters and lithography designs for the Royal Danish Theater and the Royal Danish Ballet said Netterstrøm.

In addition to figurines and decorative plates and bowls, Wiinblad designed a very popular dinner set said Netterstrøm. Its components are shaped asymmetrically and sport white and gold decoration. According to Netterstrøm, a new technique had to be developed to create the absolutely flat planes of the saucers and plates to adhere to Wiinblad’s unique aesthetic sense.

Customers can easily order online from the Rosenthal Studio Haus website (www.rosenthal.dk). Exchange rates and shipping information are provided. Customers must allow several weeks for delivery outside of Denmark. For travel information to Denmark, visit the Danish Tourism Board online (www.visitdenmark.com) or the web site of the European Travel and Tourism Bureau, All Travel Denmark (www.alltraveldenmark.com)