Norway | C20Ceramics

Sep 10

Elle Keramikk, Norway

The Elle Keramikk AS studio/factory operated in Norway near Oslo between 1942 and 1967. They produced a wide variety of pottery, but have become best known for their beautifully decorated, patterned fajance pieces. I used to come across the odd piece from time to time, but haven’t in a very long time now.

If you want to learn more about this charming pottery, go to the blog Elle Keramikk ,written by Trond Rødli (you will need to use an online translater platform for English).

Trond’s website has a comprehensive amount of information from years of collecting Elle pieces. The information includes many of the signatures, labels and hundreds of wonderful examples of Elle Keramik from this distinctive Norwegian Pottery.

Below are a few examples I found on Etsy. I can not locate the few archived images I had some years ago.

Figgjo Turi Design – Village Scene

The delightful scene on this tall vinaigrette bottle form is by Turi Gramstad Oliver, for Figgjo Norway c1970.

It seems to be quite a rare design – depicting various scenes of village life. I have seen variations of it popping up very occasionally online – but I have been unable to find a name for the design – if it has one.

It may have been a design produced for decor pieces rather than a full production dinnerware line.

The line drawing for the design would have been silkscreened onto the clay, and the colours then hand painted to fill in the design.

If you have a piece in this design, or know any more about it I would love to hear from you.

Below, 2 variations of the designs I have found online: Read more

Oct 2

Stavangerflint Norway “Tiril”, Anne Lofthus

This charming design has a 1950s look about it I think, but is actually a 1960 design by Anne Lofthus (1932-2003) for Stavangerflint Norway, called Tiril.

You can find out a whole lot more about Anne Lofthus, including most of the patterns which she designed at Stavangerflint, on the hugely informative Stavangerflint research site HERE

She was employed at Stavangerflint 1959-1963, and from 1967 worked from her own studio where she was active until the mid 1990s.

The yellow border on “Tiril” is hand painted, and each piece has a slightly different intensity – partly from fading, and partly from the weight of the brush used when painting. The border on “Tiril” is similar to the style of many of the designs of Rorstrand from around the same time. Anne’s style is often easily recognisable through it’s references to Norwegian folk art and culture.