Soholm dish. Blue Series, Einar Johansen. Simple but nice.

A simple but pleasing little serving dish or trinket tray by Soholm, Denmark.

The dish is from the Blue Series, designed by Einar Johansen, It probably dates from the 1960s or early 1970s. The glaze contrasts are specially nice - a rich glossy dark blue with tones of earthy brown on the inside, the outer walls in a semi-matt black, almost leather-like, finish. The inner base of the dish is indented with a simple triangular repeat pattern. All of which, makes this item pleasing on the eye, and to the touch.

Simple but nice.

Einar Johansen leaf dish.

Moving away from the bright, bold and beautiful of Delphis pottery, here's a little dish with a touch more subtlety.

It only measures 4 inches (10.5cm) square but for its size, this little pin tray is big on good looks. it's heavily built with chunky side walls, its colours are intense and earthy, and the impressed leaf design in the base gives it an added element of style.

The dish was designed by Einar Johansen. It was made by Soholm, Denmark and dates from the 1960s. Einar Joahansen is probably better known for his blue series of vases and dishes but I think this little pot is every bit as good. It is certainly in the Scandinavian style. It may be the impressed motif in the base, but in some ways it reminds me of the work of Jorgen Mogensen for Royal Copenhagen.

I've listed quite a few bits of Soholm pottery in the past, you can see some of them here: Soholm pottery

Baca vase by Nils Thorsson for Royal Copenhagen

Is it going a bit too far to describe a vase as sheer joy?

I don't think so. Not when the vase is as good looking as this.

This perfectly formed bottle vase is the work of Nils Thorsson. Made by Royal Copenhagen, Denmark in the 1960s, it's part of the Baca Fajance series.

The intricate yellow trails of linework stand out against the deep brown background and the whole pot has a lovely 'orange peel' textured surface.

The vase has been in the collection for several years now. I was lucky enough to find the vase in the early days and managed to pick it up without paying too much. And I think I can honestly say it's been a real pleasure to have this vase on display.

Frank Keramik Danmark. A Danish vase with a Swedish cousin

I was reminded about this vase by another pot I saw this week.

This is a small vase by Frank Keramik, Danmark. I wanted to show it because of the bright red/orange colour. Also, because of the unusual surface texture. There are raised areas of matt brown un-glazed pot in bands and diamonds. I would think this vase is from the 1970s.

It seems that this glaze technique is popular in Scandinavian ceramics. I was reminded about my little Frank vase when I saw a blog-post with a lovely Upsala Ekeby vase by Mari Simmulson on La momes Old fashioned, here: Mari Simmulson blue vase

A tasty bit of Danish Blue.

 

Here's the last blog-post for now on Einar Johansen Soholm vases. And it's a good one to end with.

This weighty, rounded vase is quite a bit larger than the vases shown in the two earlier blog-posts. It still has the same distinctive matt black collar at the neck but rather than a pattern of tiny triangles, there's a delicate feather or leaf motif that runs round the body. The surface glaze is a very high gloss in deep blue with an iridescent feel about it, which gives the vase a hard almost metallic look.

Made by Soholm, Denmark, the vase is part of Einar Johansen's Blue Series and was first produced about 1964. And doesn't it look good all these years later?

Soholm vases by Einar Johansen. The Blue Series.

If you like your vases blue, you'll like these. These little vases are from the Blue Series. Made by Soholm, Denmark they were designed by Einar Johansen. I would say they date from the 1960s or early 1970s.

As well as being an intense shade of deep blue, these vases have two contrasting surfaces, the rich, glossy blue areas are indented with triangular repeat patterns. Sitting next to the blue bodies are the necks in a semi-matt black, almost leather-like, finish.

I'm a big fan of this range of pottery, it always seems to display so well.

Here are two more pieces of Soholm Pottery that I have recently sold on Potshots.

Soholm Einar Johansen vase 1960s.

A chunky Soholm vase by Einar Johansen.

Moving on from a selection of small and delicate pottery, this vase is very much in the heavy-weight division. The vase dates from the 1960s, it's made by Soholm, Bornholm, Denmark and is solid and sculptural in form. The designer, Einar Johansen, has used masculine, angular shapes – I especially like the protruding discs. The vase is over 11 inches (28cm) high and is very heavy. It's strange but despite being 50 years old, to me, this object has a modern, futuristic look about it. 

Maria Philippi Soholm dish. Danish pottery from 1965.

Here's another small dish designed by Maria Philippi.

Made by Soholm Pottery, Bornholm, Denmark, the dish dates from around 1965. It's a simple, yet well-balanced shape, the design is typical of the style of the 1960s, the colours work well together, and there's a lovely tactile feel to surface of the pot – four factors that ensured this little dish would make its way into the Potshot collection.

Soholm dish. Maria Philippi, you got me singing the blues.

A couple of small dishes with lovely raised surface designs.

They are by Soholm Pottery, Bornholm, Denmark and probably date from the 1960s or early 1970s. The designer is Maria Philippi. I like the texture of the bumps and grooves on the surface and the graphic shapes in the patterns. But the special thing about this range of pottery is the beauty of the blue glaze. It seems to be just the right shade, not too dark, not too bright. It is the perfect compliment to the tan colour of the pot.

There's more Soholm Pottery in the Potshot collection, you can see some here Danish vases

Royal Copenhagen Nils Thorsson vase. Titchy but tasty.

Pots don't always have to be big to be beautiful. Some of the nicest pots in the Potshot collection are only titchy.

I thought I'd do a couple of posts to show one or two of my favourite small-sized pots.

This vase, for example, stands at a mere 4 and three-quarter inches (12cm) tall but to me, it makes up for its lack of height by being really big on style. This is a Royal Copenhagen vase from the late 1960s or early 1970s. It's from the Bacca (or is it Baca?) range by Nils Thorsson. The abstract decoration is in subtle colours, the shape is perfectly proportioned, the glaze is silky and there's a wonderful surface texture.

A little beauty.

Soholm Erika vase. Vintage textured stoneware from Denmark

The first thing that strikes you about this pottery is the charm of the warm, earthy colours. But it's when you pick one up and look closely at the surfaces that you see the real beauty lies in the wonderful textures. The base of the vase and the underside of the bowl are left unglazed. The surface of the vase is pitted and pot-marked, and there's a genuine hand-made quality to the object.

This is Erika, a range of handmade stoneware items designed by Poul Brandborg and made at Soholm, Bornholm, Denmark. I would imagine they date from the early 1970s.

As you may have gathered, I'm a big fan of vintage Danish ceramics. If you are too, I posted some more recently here and here

Soholm ceramic wall plaques

Some more Soholm Danish pottery. This time with vibrant colours and bold designs. I would say these wall plaques or tiles date back to the 1960s or 1970s. I like the simple, stylised illustrations that stand out in relief, and the way the coloured glaze pools in the spaces between the lines.

The square tiles are approximately 7 inches (18cm) square. The tall tile is signed Noomi, for Noomi Backhausen. I think the square ones may be by the same designer too.

Colourful and textural they look great hanging together or individually.

Soholm Danish vases

From Denmark, these vintage vases are a great combination of textures. The main body etched with finely incised lines, the necks smooth and glossy. There seems to be a couple of variations in the glaze colour. Where the glaze pools at the shoulder of the neck, some have a green tinge, some are a blue colour. Soholm produced some good pieces around the 1960s and '70s and prices still seem to be quite reasonable - especially compared with other Danish makers from the same era.

The maker is Soholm. Unfortunately, I don't know who the designer of the range is. What I do know is they look really good.