This is a rare item produced in the mid-century by ARABIA, a leading Finnish tableware manufacturer. The Valum series is often seen in coffee cups, but the teacups are a rare item that are rarely seen, even in Finland.
Arabia engraved the year and month of production on their products until the early 1970s. This saucer has 4-65 (April 1965) stamped on the back, indicating that it is a product from the golden age of the so-called mid-century.
The form was designed by Ulla Procoppe, a famous Valencian designer, and the pattern designer in charge of decoration was Esteli Tomura, a famous Crocus designer. The cup is decorated with poppies and poppies, and is a prototype model for Flora, a collaboration between the two that was released in later years.
■Details Manufacturer: ARABIA
Form design: Ulla Procope / Ulla Procoppe
Pattern design: Esteri Tomula
Series name: Valum
Date of production: April 1965
Country of origin: Finland Condition: ★★★☆☆ (3.5: Good condition)
There is paint loss on the floral pattern on the surface of the saucer, and cutlery marks can be seen when held up to the light. The cup is in good condition with almost no paint loss. There is a mark on the base of the cup where it was separated from the potter's wheel, called the "itosoko," and faint dirt can be seen over the years.
■Size
Cup diameter 10.1cm Cup height 5.6cm Saucer diameter 14.1cm
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 .
Esteri Tomula
Esteri Tomura (1920-1998)
Born in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Her father, who was a university professor, bought a villa in the countryside called Urjalan in northwest Helsinki, and her childhood was spent every summer at the villa with her family, which was rich in nature, which deepened her knowledge of nature. be done. Esteri Tomura had a congenital condition called dwarfism, and initially majored in ceramics at Aalto University of the Arts in Helsinki, but due to physical reasons, she was unable to work with clay satisfactorily. Therefore, he gave up on the career of ceramics and sought his own expertise in design.
After joining ARABIA , he honed his skills as a pattern designer with Laiya Uosikkinen, who became his lifelong friend. While Uosikkinen preferred abstract and geometric patterns, Tomura seeks the origin of his designs in the flowers and flowers of Finland, which was the original landscape of his childhood. Tomura, who created masterpieces despite his physical handicaps, has similarities with Birger Kaipiainen, who designed the timeless masterpiece Paratissi despite suffering from polio.