Lin Utzon for Rosendahl Denmark

Lin Utzon for Rosendahl Denmark

This post is about a design that is not quite 20th Century, but very close to it. Also it ticks all the right boxes for me – Danish, Blue & White, Great Designer, Superb Porcelain, First class Manufacturer.

Erik Rosendahl established Rosendahl, Copenhagen in 1984. They are one of the top manufacturers in Denmark of design for the home and table. Their list of their designers and licences is remarkable.

In 2005, to  mark the bicentenary of HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN, Rosendahl launched a Hans Christian Andersen dinner service, designed by Lin Utzon to celebrate this anniversary.

The 31cm service plates from the dinner service below, designed by Lin Utzon, are inspired by six of Hans Christian Andersen’s best-known fairy tales: The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, The Snow Queen, The Butterfly, Thumbelina and The Nightingale. The motifs are white and stand out brilliantly against the deepest of cobalt blues – a combination that hallmarks many of Lin Utzon’s creations. This dinner service won the prestigious Germany design prize DESIGN PLUS 2004.

Lin Utzon, Rosendahl, Hans Christian Andersen Dinner Service – The Ugly Duckling/Swan

Simply breathtaking. Imagine having a whole dinner service in white, with these as service plates. Very elegant, very designer, very Danish.

There is an Australian link here to of course. Lin Utzon’s father was Jørn Utzon, responsible for designing the iconic and now world heritage listed Sydney Opera House.

Lyn was Born in 1946 in the Copenhagen, and when she was 15 she moved with her family to Australia where her father was to embark on the construction of the Sydney Opera House. While in Austarlia she studied for a while at the East Sydney Technical College in Sydney but at the age of 19 returned to Denmark with her family after disputes over the Opera House. She then studied at Copenhagen’s School of Arts & Crafts. You can read a more detailed biography on Lyn HERE

Lin Utzon, Rosendahl, Hans Christian Andersen Dinner Service – The Little Mermaid.

Lin Utzon, Rosendahl, Hans Christian Andersen Dinner Service – The Ugly Duckling/Swan

Backstamp – Lin Utzon, Rosendahl, Hans Christian Andersen Dinner Service

This video I found on YouTube is also intersting – Lin, Naja and Mika Utzon are talking in broad terms about their work: