SWEDEN Jie Gantofta (1909-1992) Art Pottery Figurine Sculpture Child with Dog 9"
GREAT Previously Owned Condition: NO Chips or Cracks PLEASE SEE PICTURES
Dimensions: See Item Specifics
Jie-Keramik
was founded in 1942 in Helsingborg by John Ewert 'Jie' Johnson
and initially produced small wooden objects that were furnished with
glass or ceramics. The company expanded rapidly and moved to a larger
location in Gantofta in 1944. As from 1952, Johnson started to produce
ceramics for household use, at first according to traditional methods,
but soon the products were manufactured by means of casting moulds and
then painted by hand by several designers, such as Ella Bergstrand and
Anita Nylund. When this technique became too expensive, the factory
began to use silk-screen prints in order to apply decorations to its
products. All designs by Anita Nylund were applied according to this
method, although the pottery was still produced by Jie himself. Instead
of majolica, products were now being made of glazed earthenware.
In
the mid 60s, the company stopped the production of household goods and
switched to the manufacturing of decorative goods. The first designer
who was hired for that reason was Elsi Bourelius. She mainly
designed female figures made of ceramics. The production of wooden
objects, however, remained an important discipline for Jie and lasted
until well into the 80s.
Aimo Nietosvuori started working as a
designer at Jie in 1967. The decorative tiles he made for the company,
became bestsellers. Many designers launching new products followed him
with varying success until the 80s, such as Annika Kihlman, Solveig en
Siegfried Uelzhöfer, Maria Ericson, Edith Risberg and Bengt
Nilsson. Staffan Johnson returned to his father's company and started
working as a designer. His interest in ornithology resulted in
many designs representing birds.
In
1992, Jie Gantofta celebrated its 50th anniversary, but later that year
the company went bankrupt and production was transferred
abroad, especially to Portugal.