Large vase
Produced in Upsala Ekeby - Sweden
Period: 1947-1953
Dimensions: 9/24 W x 53 H, diameter belly 70 cm
Condition: excellent, no chips, minor age marks, there is one black colouring on the belly, one white pigment mark on the mouth of the vase
Inger Atterberg - Inca vase
Ingrid Atterberg (1920-2008) was born in the northern Sweden city of Harnosand. She studied at Slojdforeningens School in Gothenburg. Ingrid came to the Upsala-Ekeby Pottery factory in 1944, staying on until 1964. She became one of the foremost Swedish designers of the period.
Ingrid constantly experimented with different glazes and techniques. She found the work process inspiring, and thought failures often gave birth to new ideas. Her austere, bold designs of ornamental pieces and everyday goods led to significant artistic and commercial success. During Ingrid’s time at Upsala-Ekeby, she produced over 100 series.
Ingrid Atterberg designed the Inca series in the 1947 for Upsala–Ekeby. It consists of 23 objects with gently swelling shapes and linear, orange pattern.
source: Mother Sweden
Upsala-Ekeby was founded outside of the Swedish city of Uppsala in 1885 by the von Bahr family. The location was chosen because the area had clay that was particularly suitable for tile making. At first, the company made only bricks. However, it soon expanded production to include wall tiles, masonry heaters, tableware, and decorative ceramics. The first years were financially difficult, but then market conditions improved. By the end of the 1910s, the factory was the largest of its kind in Scandinavia with 300 employees. In the beginning, the production of utilitarian and decorative wares was modest, and the products were often copies of foreign models.
Around 1920, Upsala-Ekeby began to recruit designers in an effort to raise its artistic standards. . The World Exhibition in Paris in 1925 turned out to be an international breakthrough for Swedish utility art, but for Upsala-Ekeby, the breakthrough came later in the 1930s. In the ensuing decades, Upsala-Ekeby would become one of the brightest stars of the Swedish interior design world.
Upsala-Ekeby had a short but brilliant art pottery era between the 1930s and 1960s. But in the late 1960s, the sales dropped because of increasing international competition. The factory downscaled during the 1970s and was finally closed in 1978. But interest in Upsala-Ekeby art pottery still lives on among fans and collectors.
Source: Mother Sweden