Birte Vedel Howard
Birte Vedel Howard (b1932 – ), Denmark
I have had this interesting stoneware coffee pot for several years and have only just got around to doing a bit of research on its origin.
I had put it aside out of an auction purchase of a box of miscellaneous pottery, because something about it really stood out – the colour, form and glaze showed to me it was not made by an amateur.
My research shows that it turns out to be a piece by Danish Potter & Artist, Birte Vedel Howard.
Her husband Frank Howard also worked with Birte in her pottery for a while.
This piece appears to be from the late 1960s or 1970s to me.
Birte studied in Aarhus 1947, and The Danish Royal Academy of Art in 1948.
She worked at Zeuthen Ceramics 1949-50, Riet Ceramics Laholm (Sweden) 1951, Knud Jensen workshop 1950-1953 – and then travelled widely in Morocco, France and Turkey 1954-1962.
On return to Denmark she started her own workshop in 1962, and in 1982 moved to an abandoned brickworks, Katrinedal Teglværk, in Bryrup (near Aarhus) surrounded by nature which inspires imagination and her work. She has become well known for her fantastical and imaginative creatures.
Her biography can be found on the Danish Visual Artists website HERE,
Pieces of her work pop up from time to time in Danish Auction houses and online.
I recently found the piece below on Etsy which appears to have been made in more recent years too.
A Danish newspaper article from 2022 still has Birte working at the age of 90!
C20Ceramics 