Bing & Grondahl | C20Ceramics

May 25

Ib Antoni for Bing & Grondahl

Ib Antoni (1929-1973) was a very well known and much loved graphic designer before his untimely death in 1973. He is known world wide for his now iconic poster design, especially for the posters of The Little Mermaid, Tivoli and Copenhagen.

I never knew until I discovered the ceramic wall plaques pictured in this post, that Antoni had designed a whole series of charming and very smart graphical and colourful designs for Bing & Grondahl – I presume late 1960s, early 1970s going by the style of design. The use of flat, graphical areas of bold colour, subtle detailing and outlining, really makes these designs pop.

I’m not sure how many designs were in the series, but from what I can make out, each of the stylised creatures represented on the plaques has at least 2 different versions. Absolutely charming…and unique.

I discovered also that some of these designs were made into carpets/rugs for Egetæpper and Unika Væv Denmark.

Ib Antoni for Bing & Grondahl

Royal Copenhagen, Bing Grondahl “Plaquettes” – Mini Wall Plates 1960s

I wasn’t getting far finding out much about the origin of these small midcentury Danish wall plates until I found a comprehensive entry on Wikipedia where there is the very informative entry below.

The secret in finding a link to relevant information on the web was apparently to use the word “plaquette” instead of “mini-plate”, “commemorative plate” or “royal Copenhagen plate” etc.

“Royal Copenhagen no. 2010 plaquettes are a series of small, collectable plates produced by Danish factories, Aluminia and Royal Copenhagen. The numbered and named series of 80mm faience miniplates or “plaquettes” are generally round, though a few are square. The most common colours are moderate to deep blue on a white background, though some have additional colours.

On the front, each has a scene depicting boats, landscapes, people, animals, steeples, buildings, statues, bridges, windmills, and more. Some also have a date on the outside edge. A variety of artists have provided the detailed artwork, including Kai Lange, Jørgen Nielsen, and Sven Vestergaard

On the back, each plaquette has two pierced holes so the plaquettes can be hung for display. In addition to the number 2010, most (though not all) have an identification number, along with a description (usually in Danish, all capital letters) of the front scene. Some have the words “ROYAL COPENHAGEN DENMARK FAJENCE”, or just ‘DENMARK”. Some have the factory mark, three wavy lines one atop another. Some have a monogram. Some have the Royal Copenhagen modified beehive mark: a capital “A” representing the Aluminia factory with three wavy lines, representing Royal Copenhagen, as cross strokes. All plates manufactured after 1969 have a crown and the words “Royal Copenhagen Denmark”.

Earl Nelson Newman wrote and privately printed a small hard-cover book in 1973 entitled “The Danish Royal Copenhagen Plaquettes: 2010 Series”. This book contains pictures and descriptions of plates #1-#85, and the special series featuring American Presidents, zoo animals, and antique autos.

Because there was nearly no information/literature about the “2010” Series, Carsten Pedersen (a collector himself) wrote a collector’s catalogue.. The catalogue describes about 448 miniplates (plaquettes) from the “2010” series and other series (old and new) from Royal Copenhagen, Aluminia, Köbenhavns Fajancefabrik and Bing & Gröndahl, Copenhagen. The catalogue was privately printed and entitled “Royal Copenhagen, Aluminia, Bing & Gröndahl – Plaquetten-Miniplates Series 2010 and special editions”