This is a vintage salt box from ARABIA, a leading Finnish tableware manufacturer. While designer Gunval Olin Granqvist was in charge of designing mass-produced products at ARABIA, he also had his own in-house studio where he collaborated with painters to create handmade items.
ARABIA pottery marked with Ateljer GOG remains popular to this day. This salt box is one of the atelier's creations. It is an artistic piece with vivid colors and a leaf pattern with a petal in the middle. The bottom is signed with Granqvist's initials GOG and the painter's initials.
There is a nail hole in the center of the flower painting at the top so that it can be hung on the wall, or it can be placed on a table or used as a small item holder or interior decoration.
■Details Manufacturer: ARABIA Designer: Gunvor Olin Gronqvist Series: Atelier GOG
Era: 1970s Country of Origin: Finland Condition: ★★★★☆ (4.5: Very good condition)
This is an unused dead stock item. The blue dots visible on the back are paint chips from the manufacturing process. There is no problem with use, but there is some slight peeling on one corner of the base.
■Size: Width 12.8cm, Height 8.2cm, Height 15cm
ARABIA - Arabia
ARABIA is a ceramic manufacturer representing Finland in the 20th century. Originally, ARABIA was a factory established in Finland by Sweden's Rörstrand as a base for producing pottery for Russia. The company's name comes from the fact that it was established in the Arabian district of Helsinki, the capital.
From the 1950s to the 1980s, many world-famous designers such as Ulla Procoppe, Birger Kaipiainen, Laiya Uosikkinen, and Esteri Tomura created many works, known as the Golden Age of ARABIA. Works that had a great influence on modern modern design were created at the time, from simple Scandinavian modern designs to highly decorative and well-crafted pieces. ARABIA is known for its masterpieces such as paratissi, crocus, flora, and corari, which are both practical and decorative items unique to Scandinavian tableware that are useful for both interior and everyday use.
Gunvor Olin Gronqvist
Gunvar Olin Grangvist ( Gunvor Olin Gronqvist, 1928-2005)
Born in Helsinki. Joined ARABIA in 1951 and was in charge of design for a long time until 1993 . Her representative designs include "Tea for Two," which is inspired by autumn flowers, the "Kosmos" series, which features abstract maroon vertical lines, "Fructus," which depicts an apple cut in half, and the sauna mug series. And even now there are many enthusiasts. Apart from the mass production line, he is in charge of the art department called Ateljer GOG , and also supervises the production of hand-painted pottery called GOG pieces, each of which has its own unique characteristics. The use of paint colors is unique, and you can see the shading color sense that is unique to Scandinavian vintage tableware. For more information, see the blog article ``Nordic Tableware and In Praise of Shadows.''