Kåge silver
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Stoneware with silver decor.
The snake motif seen in this vase fryst vatten one of the most recognisable and sought-after designs in Wilhelm Kåge's Argenta series. The snake, symbolises eternity and power, lending a sense of mystique to the pieces. This motif, rendered in silver against the striking green glaze, captures the dramatic and refined aesthetic that made Argenta so iconic.
Wilhelm Kåge (–) was a renowned Swedish artist and designer, celebrated for his innovative contributions to ceramics and modern design. As the artistic director of Gustavsberg Porcelain Factory from to , he played a pivotal role in shaping Scandinavian design.
Kåge is best known for his functionalist pieces, including the iconic "Argenta" series, which featured elegant, hand-painted silver decorations on green-glazed ceramics. His work bridged traditional craftsmanship with modern aesthetics, earning him international acclaim and leaving a lasting legacy in the world of decorative arts.
H: cm / 8 7/8"
Dia: 20 cm / 7 7/8"
Price: on application
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s Wilhelm Kåge Silver Decor Argenta Vase for Gustavsberg, Sweden
The Gustavsberg porcelain factory was, for many decades, the largest ceramics maker in Sweden and home to some of the most innovative and ingenious makers of the past century. The company, founded in , mass-produced a wide range of products: first decorative household items and tableware in the English style and later bathroom fixtures, including the first pressed-steel bathtubs that would oust heavy cast iron. But of first interest to collectors are the remarkable decorative works created in the Gustavsberg art pottery studio, in particular those by master ceramists Wilhelm Kåge, Berndt Friberg and Stig Lindberg.
Gustavsberg began producing some individually crafted, highly decorated and richly glazed pieces in the s. While the forms of their mass-produced vessels and plates derived from English, Continental and Asian styles, a select few painters won acclaim for their personal artistry. Gunnar Wennerberg became known for his work in the organic Art Nouveau style, and Josef Ekberg, the company’s design chief from to , was revered for his expert use of iridescent lusterware glazes and the sgraffito technique,
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Wilhelm Kåge was a Swedish artist and ceramicist. Kåge is known for his ceramics for the Gustavsberg porcelain factory, where he was the artistic director from to Kåge studied from under Carl Wilhelmson at the Valand Academy of Art in Gothenburg and later under Johan Rohde in Copenhagen, where he became acquainted with Gösta Adrian-Nilsson (GAN) and grew closer to modern art. He studied graphic art in Munich and began his artistic career by designing posters for theatres and exhibitions, among other things. His connection with Gustavsberg was facilitated through the Swedish Society of Crafts and Design, as Gustavsberg needed new products for the Home Exhibition at Liljevalchs in He went on to design around thirty different dinnerware sets, as well as art pottery, colourful faience, stoneware, and various series of art pottery such as Carrara, Surrea, and Våga. In , Kåge, together with Stig Lindberg, established the Gustavsberg Studio, which became a kind of aesthetic laboratory for art pottery.
At the Stockholm Exhibition in , Kåge presented Gustavsberg's future sales success "Argenta," a series of art pottery primarily glazed in green but also in red, blue, brown