Rorstrand Porcelain: Art Nouveau Masterpieces - Hardcover

Nystrom, Bengt

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1558598448 ISBN 13: 9781558598447

Publisher: Abbeville Press, 1996

Synopsis

The first definitive study of the Art Nouveau masterpieces of the Swedish Rörstrand porcelain factory.

The artists of the influential Rörstrand porcelain factory in Sweden created some of the most beautiful decorative objects of the Art Nouveau style. In his fascinating and authoritative text, Bengt Nyström focuses on the Rörstrand factory's designers and their revolutionary forms during the period 1865 to 1915, when the firm successfully competed artistically with Tiffany and Gallé in the great international expositions that showcased and helped to propagate the Art Nouveau style.

Inspired by late nineteenth-century crafts movements fathered by William Morris, the artists of the Rörstrand factory took nationalistic pride in incorporating their indigenous flora and fauna into their exquisite designs, transforming wintry berry springs and northern sea creatures into elegant three-dimensional works of art that appealed to a sophisticated European clientele.

Illustrated with objects from Robert Schreiber's outstanding collection, supplemented with craftsmen's drawings and archival documents, Nyström's thoroughly researched text includes engaging glimpses of the culture surrounding Rörstrand (a former castle), especially the close-knit community of insightful administrators, talented designers and inventors, and artisans. The book chronicles not only the company's artistic achievements but the day-to-day personalities and decisions behind the emergence of this once-utilitarian factory as the birthplace of some of Sweden's most beautiful decorative objects.

About this title

About the Author

Bengt Nystroem is Vice-Director of the Nordiska Museet in Stockholm and author of numerous articles and books on various aspects of 19th- and 20th-century design and decorative arts. He has organized more than thirty exhibitions, including The 1890s in Sweden (1991). Alastair Duncan is a consultant to Christie's and the authorof Abbeville's Fin-de-Siècle Masterpieces from the Silverman Collection. Robert M. Schreiber is a collector and principal of Schreiber Gallery, New York.

From the Back Cover

At the turn of the twentieth century, the artists of the Swedish Rorstrand porcelain factory created some of the most beautiful decorative objects of the Art Nouveau period. This sumptuous volume is illustrated with objects from Robert Schreiber's outstanding and rare collection, the results of 25 years of dedication. Bengt Nystrom's authoritative text focuses on the Rorstrand factory, a former castle, between 1896 and 1915. Nystrom perceptively details the social history of the quickly growing labor movement, the expansion and growth of the Rorstrand factory, and the emergence of an especially creative cadre of artisans. Detailed craftsmen's drawings and fascinating archival documents provide engaging glimpses into Rorstrand's close-knit community.

Edition details

• Publisher: Abbeville Press
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1558598448
• ISBN 13: 9781558598447
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 190