Small Bowl, Michael Andersen (Denmark), 1900-1914

Amusing little bowl decorated with mice. In the period from ca. 1900 to the start of WWI the Michael Andersen pottery collaborated with a Copenhagen merchant, C.V. Kjaer (1857-1938), for whom the pottery (specifically Jens Michael Andersen (1859-1931)) produced a series of characteristic items, all in two types of clay (a continuation of traditional Bornholm pottery where lighter clay was applied to the vases and bowls to create patterns). C.V. Kjaer himself created the designs, often visiting the factory with drawings and ideas. The pottery is always adorned with C.V. Kjaer's seal-like stamp. The pottery was made in various colours such as olive-green, brown or red with fanciful decorations in a lighter type of clay - either a decorative pattern ('clay intarsia') or elephants' heads, panthers, owls, etc. I received this as a gift, and although this type of pottery is not extremely rare, it is often quite pricey...

Dimensions: diameter 10 cm / 4 in; height 5.5 cm / 2.2 in. The stamp contains the initials 'CVK', along with 'Kjoebenhavn' (old spelling with the 'j') and the Copenhagen coat of arms. Moreover, there is an almost illegible number, perhaps 2095.