Axel Salto's Monumental vase in the "Budding" style, designed circa 1945, represents a significant early shift towards abstraction in ceramic art. The vase, characterized by its dynamic polyhedron shape is covered in protuberances which, upon first glance, appear as flora and fauna and, upon second glance, retreat back into abstraction. Salto, whose designs often defied traditional functionality, was among the first to expand the vocabulary and artistic potential of form in clay.
The drawing which accompanies the present lot including an inscription from Naja Salto and Gerda Åkesson, wife and daughter of Axel Salto. Artwork: © 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VISDA. Salto designed thousands of models for Royal Copenhagen from 1934 until his death in 1961. In the studio he maintained on the Royal Copenhagen premises, Salto did not throw on a wheel but instead built his designs like sculpture. Some models received their bulges and ridges by actually reaching within the vase and pushing out. Salto would first model an original design, which would then be made into a mold for production, then the run would be signed and dated by the artist. Though Salto used the standard Royal Copenhagen glazes, the distinct shapes of his designs caused the glazes to snake down the works, pooling and dripping to create rich variations in color.
Provenance
Private collection, Denmark, gifted by the artist, 1947
Thence by descent
Bruun Rasmussen, Copenhagen, "Nordic Design," March 7, 2013, lot 931
Private collection
Piasa, Paris, "Design Scandinave," February 17, 2016, lot 96
Sotheby's, London, "Design," October 16, 2018, lot 50
Hostler Burrows, New York
Acquired from the above by the present ownerExhibited
"Det Brændende Nu - Axel Salto," Designmuseum Danmark, Copenhagen, November 3-December 10, 1989
Literature
"Mennesket og tiden og kunsten," exh. cat., Grønningen, Copenhagen, 1946, p. 7
Axel Salto, Den Spirende Stil, Copenhagen, 1949, illustrated pp. 72-73
Det Brændende Nu - Axel Salto, exh. cat., Kunstindustrimuseet, Copenhagen, 1989, illustrated p. 25
Susanne Bruhn and Christina Rauh Oxbøll, eds., Axel Salto: Master of Stoneware, exh. cat., CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art Denmark, Middelfart, 2017, p. 184
Property from a Private New York Collection
167
Monumental vase in the "Budding" style
circa 1945
Stoneware with Sung glaze, pine base.
21 1/4 in. (54 cm) high
Produced by Royal Copenhagen, Denmark. Underside incised SALTO/194, stamped with green Royal Copenhagen mark, painted under the glaze with blue wave mark, and with remnants of a paper label. Together with a sketch of the vase with inscription from Naja Salto and Gerda Åkesson, wife and daughter of Axel Salto.
Estimate
$40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $57,150
Patrizia Koenig
Specialist, Associate Vice President, Modern & Contemporary Art
+1 212 940 1279
pkoenig@phillips.com
Benjamin Green
Associate Specialist, Design
Head of Sale
+1 917 207 9090
bgreen@phillips.com
FREESTYLE: Living with Art & Design, Property from a Private New York Collection
New York Auction 5 June 2024
129
This lot is no longer available.
147
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