Royal Copenhagen Fredendsborg (design no. 937) is a beautiful plain cream coloured porcelain design, with a luxurious gold trim.
It is a design by Thorkild Ohlsen who designed the famous Fensmark and Quaking Grass Designs I have posted about previously.
The pieces in this are the same shape and size and colour as Fensmark and Quaking Grass, but it always amazes me how a change of colour and pattern (or in this case no pattern) can transform a form.
The glaze on this series (937) has a luxurious clotted cream colour, with an equally luxuriant gold trim on the pieces.
Simple, elegant and timeless.
Royal Copenhagen, Design 937, Fredensborg
Royal Copenhagen, Design 937, Fredensborg
Royal Copenhagen, Design 937, Fredensborg
Royal Copenhagen, Design 937, Fredensborg
Royal Copenhagen, Design 937, Fredensborg
Royal Copenhagen, Design 937, Fredensborg Stamp on shape 9481
This stunning and now quite rare pattern was designed by Berte Jessen in the 1960’s for Aluminia//Royal Copenhagen. It is a hard design to find, and if you are a lover of mid 20th Century design, well worth grabbing hold of if you come across it.
It has to be one of the most beautiful designs I have come across by Berte. It consists of a simple daisy motif medallion either by itself or repeated around the form. The blue glaze is wonderfully textured and has blue hues which vary from aquamarine to a deep cobalt blue with an overall hint of violet. I love the texture and depth of colour she manages to get in her designs, combined with preciseness and flair.
The pattern is called “Annette” and each piece has slight variations in colour and texture, accentuating the handmade feel of the wares.
It is so beautiful to the touch as well. It is from the very important “Tenera” series I have written about previously.
Jorgen Mogensen, Danish Potter (1927-2017 Denmark), Mid Century, Modernist Danish Pottery
I believe Jørgen MOGENSEN is one of the 20th Century’s most important Danish potters and sculptors. I love the sculptural qualities of his work and the way he uses glazes to accentuate the textural quality of his pieces. His pieces are all beautifully formed – and nearly always quite heavy and sculptural.
Mogensen trained at the Art Craftsman School in Copenhagen, and then studied for a period in Paris. He started his professional career as a potters apprentice with Royal Copenhagen in 1949. He worked with iconic figures such as Knud Khyn, Axel Salto, Gerd Bogelund and Nils Thorsson in their “stoneware cellar” where this group worked at Royal Copenhagen.
His first work for Royal Copenhagen were his 1950s pieces of stylised bird motifs with a mottled brownish stoneware glaze – a similar glaze to which the other stoneware artists were using during this period. He rarely used other glazes or colours – but you can sometimes find a design in blues.
The pieces below are all pieces I have owned by Jorgen Mogensen. The first piece I had was the squared vase form, which I was so drawn to it eventually led me to discover a whole world of Danish Mid-Century pottery which I have been researching, learning and writing about ever since.
I believe Jorgen Mogensens work to be generally under-rated and under-valued compared to the work of his peers at Royal Copenhagen like Axel Salto, Gerd Bogelund etc.
Jorgen Mogensen, Royal Copenhagen, Shallow Bowl FormJorgen Mogensen, Royal Copenhagen, Shallow Bowl FormJorgen Mogensen, Bird Vase Form, Royal CopenhagenJorgen Mogensen, Small Dish, Royal CopenhagenJorgen Mogensen, Large Vase, Royal CopenhagenJorgen Mogensen, Royal Copenhagen, Thrown Bowl Form with Toucan Design – Very Rare
Jorgen said that his figures of animals were influenced by a visit to a Mexican exhibition in Sweden – and it had such influence on him that he developed his own style based on it that was to stay with him for the rest of his career.
In 1965, frustrated with working at Royal Copenhagen – Mogensen started his own studio where he produced highly original pottery and monumental sculpture – most of which was in a “primitive” Nordic style which demonstrated his great skill at combining sculpture and ceramics.
Jorgen Mogensen, Own Studio, Slab FormJorgen Mogensen, Own Studio, Slab FormJorgen Mogensen, Own Studio, Thrown PlatterJorgen Mogensen, Own Studio Bowl
Production ceased in the studio around the late 1980’s. The studio pieces are signed with his easily recognisable signature and usually “Denmark” stamped on. They also usually have a letter followed by 3 numbers as identifiers.
Jorgen Mogensen, Own Studio Signature
In 1991 Mogensen retired from Ceramics and painted until 2003. His wife Ursula Prinz Mogensen who also worked at Royal Copenhagen, and then along side Jorgen in his studio is a well known ceramicist in her own right.
Jorgen Mogensen in his studio 2009 – Photo by the archived site Simplymodern.dk who have an interview with Jorgen in his studio.
OR If Etsy is unavailable, or you would prefer eBay - follow the link below (click on the image) . Basically the same items are listed, at the same price.
