Kähler Keramik (Kähler Ceramics) is a Danish ceramics manufacturer based in

Næstved Næstved () is a town in the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand in Denmark. Næstved has several adult education centers, five elementary schools - and has at least one of each type of the fou ...

on the island of

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

History

Joachim Christian Herman Kähler (1808–84) from

Heiligenhafen Heiligenhafen (; Holsatian: ''Hilligenhaven'') is a town in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Baltic Sea coast, opposite the island Fehmarn, approx. 60 km northeast of Lübeck, and 55 km ...

in the

Duchy of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (german: Herzogtum Holstein, da, Hertugdømmet Holsten) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had hi ...

established himself as a potter there in 1839, producing heating stoves, cooking pots and kitchenware. His son, Herman A. Kähler (1846-1917), together with his younger brother Carl Frederik Kähler, took over the running of the factory in 1872. Carl became responsible for producing

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major a ...

while Herman specialized in manufacturing tiled stoves. In 1875, after Carl withdrew and the original factory had burnt down, Herman built a new factory on the town's outskirts where he produced both stoves and pottery. Inspired by

Vilhelm Klein Vilhelm Klein (6 March 1835 – 10 February 1913) was a Danish architect who adopted the Historicist approach, frequently emulating the so-called Rosenborg style and the Italian Renaissance style. Early life Born in Copenhagen, Denmark as the ...

, Herman A. Kähler started to experiment with more appealing designs with glazed finishes. In 1886, he succeeded in attracting the artists

H. A. Brendekilde Hans Andersen Brendekilde (7 April 1857 – 30 March 1942) was a Danish painter. Biography Brendekilde grew up in Braendekilde, a small village close to Odense on the island of Funen. He was a distant relation of Hans Christian Andersen, the fam ...

, L.A. Ring and Carl O.J. Lund. Kähler became interested in obtaining the red lustre glaze known as

maiolica Maiolica is tin-glazed pottery decorated in colours on a white background. Italian maiolica dating from the Renaissance period is the most renowned. When depicting historical and mythical scenes, these works were known as ''istoriato'' wares ...

which had been produced in

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines. History The city's origins are very ancient. ...

, Italy, in the 16th century. In 1888 he succeeded, developing the now famous ruby glaze known as Kähler red. The designer Karl Hansen Reistrup (1863–1929) soon joined the enterprise, assisting in the production of finely formed, artistically decorated items, especially vases. Thanks to Reistrup's designs, Kähler's ceramics achieved considerable success both at the Great Nordic Exhibition held in Copenhagen in 1888 and at the Exposition Universelle held the following year in Paris. In , H.A. Kahler was formed as a limited company with three directors: Herman A. Kähler was responsible for overall management, his son Herman Hans Christian Kâhler headed artistic development and Rasmus Grønholt directed sales. After Herman A. Kähler died in 1917, his son Hans Christian assumed responsibility for the company benefiting from the involvement of painters Signe Steffensen and Tulle Emborg. Svend Hammershøi participated in the company from 1893 until his death in 1948 while Jens Thirsland was artistic director from 1913 until 1940. The painter Helge Jensen and the sculptor Kai Nielsen also contributed to designs from 1921 to 1924. After Herman H.C. Kähler died in 1940, his sons Herman J. Kähler (1904-1996) and Nils Kähler (1906-1979) took the lead, achieving success in exports after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. New designs were contributed by Bode Willumsen (1895-1987), Arne L. Hansen (born 1921), Allan Schmidt (born 1923) and Eva Sørensen (1940–2019).

Kähler today

The firm was sold to Næstved Municipality in 1974. It was subsequently resold to a series of new owners, including

Holmegaard Until 1 January 2007, Holmegaard was a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in Storstrøm County in the southern part of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in south Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 66 km2, and had a total ...

without the involvement of the Kähler family. In 2007, it was acquired by Frantz Longhi. In 2018, it was acquired by Rosendahl Design Group.

References

External links

Company history from the Kähler website

Article in CeramicsToday written by Tove Jespersen with several illustrations. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kahler Keramik Ceramics manufacturers of Denmark Danish companies established in 1839 Companies based in Næstved Municipality

History

Kähler today

References

Further reading

External links