Medium: Stoneware
Designer: Gunnar Nylund (Swedish/Danish, 1904–1997)
Maker: Nymølle Keramik, Denmark
Date: Circa 1950s–1960s
Form: Tapering cylindrical vase with small round opening
Dimensions: 10" H x 3.75" D
Signature: Stamped on the bottom
Condition: Good; wear consistent with age
Mid-century modern stoneware vase designed by Gunnar Nylund for Nymølle Keramik in Denmark. The vessel features a rough, bark-like texture, with a dark brown-black base and swirling terracotta and reddish-orange striations across the body. The form is a tapering cylinder with a small round opening at the top. Stamped on the bottom. In good condition with wear consistent with age.
Gunnar Nylund (1904–1997) was one of the most influential Scandinavian ceramicists of the twentieth century. Born in Paris to a Danish mother and Finnish-Swedish father, he trained as an architect in Copenhagen before joining Bing & Grøndahl in 1926. In 1929 he co-founded the stoneware studio Nylund & Krebs with chemist Nathalie Krebs, which became Saxbo in 1930.
In 1931 Nylund became artistic director of Rörstrand in Sweden, a position he held until 1958. He returned to Denmark in 1959 to direct the small factory Nymølle, where he developed a new design style characterized by nature-inspired glazes and tactile surfaces. His Nymølle pieces are noted for their nuanced coloration and are highly regarded by collectors today.
Nylund worked across stoneware, porcelain, and glass, producing vases, bowls, animal sculptures, tableware, and public commissions. His work is represented in major institutional collections.
Museum Holdings:
Works by Gunnar Nylund are held in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; the National Museum in Stockholm; the Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg; Malmö Art Museum; Höganäs Museum, which acquired a significant collection of his ceramics and glass; the Rörstrand Museum in Lidköping; the Danish Museum of Art & Design; the Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki; the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga; and the National Ceramics Museum of Sèvres in Paris. The Swedish National Museum of Art and Design also holds his work.
Nylund's tenure at Nymølle represents a distinct phase in his career, following nearly three decades at Rörstrand. Where his Rörstrand production encompassed large-scale tableware services and animal sculptures, the Nymølle work was smaller in scale and more directly responsive to the material. The factory's output under his direction is characterized by stoneware with rough, tactile surfaces and glazes that mimic natural processes—bark, stone, and earth.
Medium: Stoneware
Designer: Gunnar Nylund (Swedish/Danish, 1904–1997)
Maker: Nymølle Keramik, Denmark
Date: Circa 1950s–1960s
Form: Tapering cylindrical vase with small round opening
Dimensions: 10" H x 3.75" D
Signature: Stamped on the bottom
Condition: Good; wear consistent with age
Mid-century modern stoneware vase designed by Gunnar Nylund for Nymølle Keramik in Denmark. The vessel features a rough, bark-like texture, with a dark brown-black base and swirling terracotta and reddish-orange striations across the body. The form is a tapering cylinder with a small round opening at the top. Stamped on the bottom. In good condition with wear consistent with age.
Gunnar Nylund (1904–1997) was one of the most influential Scandinavian ceramicists of the twentieth century. Born in Paris to a Danish mother and Finnish-Swedish father, he trained as an architect in Copenhagen before joining Bing & Grøndahl in 1926. In 1929 he co-founded the stoneware studio Nylund & Krebs with chemist Nathalie Krebs, which became Saxbo in 1930.
In 1931 Nylund became artistic director of Rörstrand in Sweden, a position he held until 1958. He returned to Denmark in 1959 to direct the small factory Nymølle, where he developed a new design style characterized by nature-inspired glazes and tactile surfaces. His Nymølle pieces are noted for their nuanced coloration and are highly regarded by collectors today.
Nylund worked across stoneware, porcelain, and glass, producing vases, bowls, animal sculptures, tableware, and public commissions. His work is represented in major institutional collections.
Museum Holdings:
Works by Gunnar Nylund are held in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; the National Museum in Stockholm; the Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg; Malmö Art Museum; Höganäs Museum, which acquired a significant collection of his ceramics and glass; the Rörstrand Museum in Lidköping; the Danish Museum of Art & Design; the Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki; the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga; and the National Ceramics Museum of Sèvres in Paris. The Swedish National Museum of Art and Design also holds his work.
Nylund's tenure at Nymølle represents a distinct phase in his career, following nearly three decades at Rörstrand. Where his Rörstrand production encompassed large-scale tableware services and animal sculptures, the Nymølle work was smaller in scale and more directly responsive to the material. The factory's output under his direction is characterized by stoneware with rough, tactile surfaces and glazes that mimic natural processes—bark, stone, and earth.
