Bing & Grøndahl

History

Bing & Grøndahl was founded on 15 April 1853 by Grøndahl, who was a figurine maker for the Royal Danish Porcelain Factory, and the Bing brothers, who were art and book dealers. The factory was located on the corner of Vesterbrogade and Rahbek Allé in the Vesterbro area, at that time outside the city of Copenhagen, Denmark. Grøndahl initially began the company to produce biscuit porcelain figurines modeled on the neoclassical sculptures of Bertel Thorvaldsen. The company extended production to include elegant tableware and coffee sets.

The company's signature design, Seagull, was created in 1892 by designer Fanny Garde (1855-1925). The modest, classic design features flying seagulls against pale blue backgrounds, sea horse handles and shaded patterns of scales around the edges. Due to its popularity from the 1950s to the 1980s, the Seagull design was considered the "National Service of Denmark". During that period one out of every ten Danish households owned some of the dinnerware service.

In 1895, Bing & Grøndahl created the first in their series of Christmas plates. Designed with a traditional winter scene in cobalt blue and white, the plates have been released annually for more than 100 years. Noted as desirable by collectors, this series became responsible for a large portion of the company's production.

In 1987 the company merged with its primary competitor, the Royal Porcelain Factory under the name Royal Copenhagen.

The tea service designed by Gertrud Vasegaard in 1956 was included in the Danish Culture Canon as a masterpiece of Danish design.

Associated people

Artistic directors

• 1853-1868 Andreas Juuel
• 1868-1890 Heinrich Hansen
• 1885-1892 Pietro Krohn (later board member)
• 1897-1900 J.F. Willumsen

Other artists

• August Hallin
• Siegfried Wagner, sculptor
• Kai Nielsen, sculptor
• Jean René Gauguin
• Fanny Garde
• Effie Hegermann-Lindencorne
• Hans Tegner
• Carl Petersen
• H.O. Busch-Jensen

Notes

References

• Engelstoft, Poul Porcelænsfabrikken Bing & Grøndahl 1853-1928 (Poul Engelstoft og J.H. Bing). Ill. Kbh. 1928, 90pp
• Minardi, Robin Hecht, "Scandinavian Art Pottery: Denmark and Sweden", Schiffer Publishing Ltd., Rev. 2nd Ed., 2005, p. 36-46,
• Owen, Pat,Story of Bing and Grondahl Christmas Plates, Viking Import House, 1985,
• Owen, Pat, Bing and Grondahl Christmas Plates: The First Hundred Years, Landfall Press, 1995, 255pp,
• Zahle, Erik, Bing and Grondahl, 1853-1953, Danish Museum of Decorative Art, 1953

References

1. {{Harv. Smyth. Weightman. 1984
2. {{Harv. Pope. Pope. 2002
3. [http://kum.dk/Documents/Publikationer/2006/Kulturkontakten%202006/kulturkontakten_kulturkanon_2006.pdf "Testel, 1956, Gertrud Vasegaard (f. 1913)"] {{webarchive. link. (2013-10-29 , in Kulturkontacten 20, 2006. {{in lang). da Retrieved 12 February 2013.