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

Denby Arabesque. A lasting impression of the 1960s

Without doubt, Denby pottery is made to last. And if these items are anything to go by, it certainly does.

This is a range of tableware called Arabesque. Designed by Jill Pemberton for Denby in the 1960s, the items are so well-made in a hard Denby stoneware that they seem to be virtually indestructible. Even after so long, they don't look to have any real signs of wear or use. In a way, the design too has withstood the test of time. Even though the shape and surface painting is very much in the style of the '60s, they somehow retain their appeal and freshness today.

As I have quite a few examples of Arabesque in the Potshots collection now, I have recently passed a few bits on for others to enjoy by way of Ebay.

Briglin studio pottery. Mmmm chocolate and cream.

It's those distinctive colours of chocolate and cream that make these attractive pots so identifiable as Briglin Pottery. There's a wonderful hand-crafted feel about Briglin studio pottery. The robust red clay bodies, the swirls and stripes of freely applied earthy, natural colours and the simple yet elegant shapes.

The Briglin studio is unusual in that, whilst many other small studio potteries were located in the countryside of Cornwall, Devon, etc., the founders of Briglin set up their pottery right in the heart of London.

I would think the pots shown here date from around the mid 1970s. I suspect the patterns shown are fairly common and were produced in quite large numbers. But some of the more uncommon designs really are extremely good looking studio pots. And it wouldn't surprise me if Briglin soon begins to become more and more popular amongst collectors.

At the moment, Briglin pottery seems to sell for quite modest amounts but it may not stay that way for long. When you consider what happened to the price of Troika studio pottery, it may not be a bad idea to be on the look out for a tasty bit of Briglin's chocolate and cream for yourself.

For more information and some superb examples of Briglin studio pottery, there's an excellent and helpful webstite here: Briglin pottery

Lehmann stoneware vase. A Danish delight.

I'm hoping to do a couple of blog-posts on Scandinavian ceramics. This seemed a good one to start with.

Although this vase is perhaps by one of the less well-known of the Danish potteries, it's one of my favourites.

Made by Lehmann, I would think in the 1970s but I'm not certain of that. The vase is solid and stocky. The majority of the surface has been left unglazed, revealing the beautifully textured, almost black stoneware. The hard, sharp stoneware has an almost volcanic ash feel about it. This is all complemented perfectly with the thick, shiny, deep-red glazed top.

Judging by the Lehmann label, it looks like the makers were proud to be Danish. And, if you ask me, they can be proud to have made this pot, too.

if you know who the designer of this pot was, I'd be pleased to know.

Denby Potters Wheel by David Yorath. An eye for style.

Denby is an internationally known name associated with the design and production of high-quality pottery. Over the years Denby have made countless ranges of tableware in their satisfyingly heavy, hard-wearing stoneware. And very nice it is too.

But away from the coffee cups, dinner plates and salt pots, you can occasionally find a strand of Denby pottery that deserves its own special mention. And, in my view, this is one such range.

This is Potters Wheel by Denby Pottery. Designed by David Yorath and producd in 1973 or 1974, I suppose items such as these – vases, lidded pots, small bowls – would be termed as giftware. There is a large range of Potters Wheel tableware which is perfectly fine but somehow not quite as eye-catching as these examples.

And there's certainly plenty to catch the eye. The bodies have nice contrasting finishes. Bands of matt surfaces sit next to richly coloured glossy surfaces. Rings of raised clay dots add a subtle texture and an appealing tactile element. The variable colour schemes and uncomplicated shapes work well too.

Although made by a huge company known mainly as a mass-producer, these carefully designed items seem to have a hand-crafted individuality to them. And that's one of the reasons why I'll be keeping an eye out for more.

There's a bit more information on Potters Wheel here: Potters Wheel on Retro Pottery Net

Dagny and Finn Hald stoneware pottery. A Potshot not-got.

Here are some pictures of some beautiful pots.

On this occasion, they're not my pictures and, unfortunately, not my pots.

The pots are from Norway and are by husband and wife Dagny and Finn Hald. The two ceramic artists produced these wonderful stoneware vessels in the 1950s. I like the simple shapes and earthy colours. The expressive decoration reminds me of tribal or aboriginal art.

The pictures are from an excellent book I found some time age – A Treasury of Scandinavian Design, Edited by Erik Zahle, Published by Golden Press, New York, 1961. The book covers the design work of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden from the 1950s. I hope to show more of this book at a later date.

So far I have not been able to find a Hald pot of my own – but a lucky someone who did is here: Hald pottery at Retro Scandinavian 

And (thanks Janne) also here:  Finn Hald at What's blogging my view

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.