Finland's leading ceramics manufacturer ARABIA is now part of the Iittala Group.
It is not well known, but ARABIA was originally a factory established in Helsinki by the Swedish company Rörstrand as a base for producing ceramics for Russia. It is derived from the fact that it was established in the Arabian district of the capital Helsinki.
Currently, the production base has moved to Thailand. We are adopting the method of exporting pottery from Thailand to the world by giving licenses to local subsidiaries through OEM production.
This kind of management is actually the same for marimekko , and the main production base is also in Thailand. In the old days, both had production bases in Finland, but when comparing Finnish-made and Thai-made products, the latter basically wins.
Finnish products have traces of supports called eye marks, and there are places where the glaze is not covered on the back of the tableware.
In addition, cracks running on the glaze surface called kannyu passed inspection as a matter of course, and there is a story that at that time they were sold at the same price as the finished product at the store. For better or for worse, vintage tableware is the product of the easy-going era, and it is natural that even the same product has an error of millimeters. As a result, plates often do not fit neatly when placed on top of each other.
(Intrusion seen around the logo)
So far, Scandinavian vintage doesn't seem to have many advantages, but the biggest attraction is the color and luster.
This is because the color of the base clay, the luster of the glaze used for painting, and even the color of the paint used on the pressure-bonded sheet, even in the transfer of the print, are overwhelmingly superior to those of the old era.
This is exactly what separates reprints from older vintages. Vintage makes me feel that an excellent designer devoted himself to production without compromise.
On the other hand, the selling point of the reprinted version is the sophistication that allows mass production of products that are not even 1mm inaccurate, but the drawback is that the glaze is different from the one used at the time.
It is impossible to reproduce the composition and formulation method of pigments at that time. Presumably, the detailed combination of ingredients, the origin of the raw materials used, the details of coloring, and the know-how of drying have been lost. Therefore, ARABIA 's masterpiece Paratiisi has a completely different color between vintage and reprinted editions.
Basically, Paratiisi is distinguished by its logo in the vintage market. The back stamp changes with the times, such as the viola logo, the leaf logo, the crown logo, and the black and white logo. This is a very easy-to-understand difference, so this is an index that distinguishes old from new and leads to price differences.
However, the more essential difference is the degree of perfection as a product. Even with the differences in the logos I mentioned earlier, the original vintage viola logo paratissi has a large individual difference, and the color is clearly different depending on the item.
Launched in 1969 , Paratiisi features a viola (pansy) floral pattern for the first two years. From around the second half of 1971 , the leaf logo, in which the viola part was replaced with the ARABIA logo, was produced.
Two years after its release, the logo changed because of the change in the production system. This is because Paratiisi has become a more complete color since it became the second logo. Although the price is not that high, I personally think that this second Paratiisi is the most beautiful and gives the impression of Arabia in its heyday.
The blue color is refreshing, the drawing lines are clear, and the white background is off-white and glossy. Basically, the color of the second period is darker and stronger, and the rim of the cup is thinner.
Production of the Paratiissi was actually discontinued in 1974 , just five years after its sale, due to the oil crisis. Even now, the early ones are relatively often seen in the vintage market, so they must have been a big hit at the time, but it seems that they are no longer profitable due to soaring fuel prices.
Due to its strong popularity, Paratiisi was revived in Finland in 1988 . This is what we call the crown logo.
There are strictly two types of crown logos as well.
The color print that was used when it was resold in 1988 .
I don't know exactly when, but the color printing has changed to a black and white logo.
And since December 2014 , it has shifted to the current logo.
In summary:
1969 Viola Logo released
1971 End of year marking on ARABIA products
Latter half of 1971 Leaf logo launched
1974 Stopped production due to oil crisis
1988 Production resumed
20xx black and white crown logo
2014 current logo
In the 1960s , ARABIA products were stamped with the month and year on the back stamp to indicate the date of production.
But in 1971 , that too ended.
At that time, it seems that the production system was in a transitional period, and even with the same viola logo, there are versions with dates stamped and versions without.
Therefore, the Paratiisi engraving is divided into six types.
Strictly speaking , the prototype of Paratiisi was produced in 1968 , so there are a total of 7 types of stamps including this one.
It takes a lot of determination to get everything together, but please keep this in mind and take a look at the stamps in your collection. Again, vintage doesn't always look great by today's standards. I believe that old things have their own unique goodness, so I hope that you will love vintage items like you appreciate works of art.