|
■Details |
| Manufacturer: ARABIA |
| Form design: Kaj Franck |
| Pattern design: Ulla Procope |
| Country of origin: Finland |
| Year: 1960s |
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Condition: ★★★★☆ (4: Good condition) There are about 3 thin penetrations at the bottom of the cup handle. Penetration is a crack that runs on the glaze surface during firing during the manufacturing process, and is not a scratch from use or damage to the body itself. It has passed the manufacturer's inspection. The saucer has slight scratches that can be seen when exposed to light. The cup is in dead stock condition. Both the cup and saucer are in beautiful condition with no cracks or chips and have remained as they were produced. |
| ■Size |
|
Cup diameter 8.7cm Height 6cm Saucer diameter 14.5cm |
This is the phantom cup "Samba" produced in the 1960s by Finland's leading pottery manufacturer ARABIA. It was designed around 1960, but was rarely produced, making it a rare cup with very few remaining today. This is a collector's item that is extremely rare among Arabic tableware.
The series name samba is a samba dance that originated in Brazil. The saucer has a similar pattern to the Samba's sister model, the Fiesta. The coffee cup size is smaller than the Fiesta, and the cobalt blue floral pattern drawn with dancing brush strokes is a very impressive masterpiece.
The person in charge of the form design was Kai Franck, a master who promoted the modernization of Finnish design. It has a form called the BA model, and is similar to the masterpiece Teema, which is still in production today.
Ulla Procope, who was in charge of the pattern design, is the creator of the masterpiece Valencia and Fiesta. Similar to Valencia, this Samba series uses only cobalt blue to design tableware in a single color. Although it bears the passionate name of the Latin-speaking world, the piece is interesting in that it is decorated with a deep cobalt blue rather than red or yellow.
This work was probably designed around 1959-1962. The Valencia, which also had cobalt blue decoration, was created in 1961, and its sister Fiesta was created in 1960, so it is likely that they were designed in the years before or after that.
It is not clear why Samba was rarely produced, but Samba is the smallest of ARABIA's hand-painted cups. At the time, most of the small cups made by ARABIA were decorated with transfer paper or copperplate transfer, and the method of hand-painting small vessels was not common. Hand-painted works at that time were limited to large cups and plates that were at least 20cm in diameter and easy to handle. Due to this background, I believe that the petite Samba was difficult to mass produce and was not incorporated into the production system.
For this reason, samba is by far the rarest of the Arabia works produced in the 1960s. Please take this opportunity to take a look.
Kaj Franck
Kaj Franck ( 1911-1989 )
A famous designer from Finland, he promoted the modernization of tableware through the design of daily necessities, and had a great influence on the Nordic lifestyle.
In 1932, he studied furniture design at the Helsinki University of Arts and Crafts, and after graduating he worked in interior design, window displays, textiles, and glass design. In 1945, he became a designer for ARABIA, and achieved international success with the ``Kilta'' tableware series, which he had been developing since the 1940s.
In 1946, he won a glass design competition and became a designer for Iittala. From 1950, he was involved in glass design at Nuutajärvi, and his 1955 tumbler 2744 was selected for the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York. The design is known for its simplicity and functionality, and has become a symbol of Finnish design.
Ulla Procope
Ulla Procope (1921-1968)
Born in Helsinki. In 1948 , he graduated from the Faculty of Art and Design at Aalto University in Helsinki and joined Arabia Company. After that, he was in charge of design in the production department for 20 years, creating the Ruska series in 1960 and the Valencia series in 1961 . Ruska became the longest-running and most sold flagship product of Arabia's products, and the form of Ruska was called the S model , which became the prototype model for subsequent ARABIA tableware. Valencia is the last hand-painted ARABIA product. After suffering from cancer and retiring from active duty, Procope moved to Spain's Canary Islands, where he died at the age of 47 .