Herman August Kähler, usually known as Herman A. Kähler, (6 March 1846 – 16 November 1917) was a Danish ceramic designer and manufacturer who ran the Kähler ceramic factory ('' Kählers Keramiske Værksted'') in

Næstved Næstved () is a town in Næstved Municipality, the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand in Denmark. Næstved has several adult education centers, five Primary education, elemen ...

, Denmark. His daughter

Sigrid Sigrid is a Scandinavian given name for women from Old Norse ''Sigríðr'', composed of the elements ''sigr'' "victory" and ''fríðr'' "beautiful". Common short forms include Siri, Sigga, Sig, and Sigi. An Estonian and Finnish variant is Sii ...

married the painter L.A. Ring.

Early life

Kähler was the son of Joachim Christian Herman Kähler (1808-1884) from the

Duchy of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (; ) 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 his County of Holstein-Rendsburg elevated to a duchy ...

who established a pottery workshop in Næstved in 1839. Herman attended the Technical School in Copenhagen (1864–65) while studying privately under

Herman Wilhelm Bissen Herman Wilhelm Bissen (13 October 1798 – 10 March 1868) was a Danish sculptor. Bissen created a number of public works, working in plaster, marble and bronze. The National Gallery of Denmark owns a collection of over two hundred of his ...

. Thereafter he travelled to Germany, Switzerland and Paris, returning to Næstved at the end of 1867.

Career

Kahler - Four-handled vase with crackle glaze

Together with his younger brother Carl Frederik Kähler, he 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 Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...

while Herman specialized in manufacturing tiled stoves. In 1875, after Carl withdrew, Herman built a new factory on the town's outskirts where he produced both stoves and pottery. As a result of his collaboration with the artist

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 ...

, Kähler became interested in obtaining the red lustre glaze known as

maiolica Maiolica is tin-glazed pottery decorated in colours on a white background. The most renowned Italian maiolica is from the Renaissance period. These works were known as ''istoriato'' wares ("painted with stories") when depicting historical and ...

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 Apennine Mountains, Apennines. History Prehistory The ol ...

, Italy, in the 16th century. In 1888 he succeeded, developing the now famous ruby glaze known as Kähler red. The designer

Karl Hansen Reistrup Frederik Karl Kristian Hansen Reistrup (22 April 1863 – 18 March 1929) was a Danish sculptor, illustrator and ceramist. Reistrup is remembered for his important contribution to ceramics in particular for the ceramics he produced for Herma ...

(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. A number of other artists began to design items for the Kähler factory, including

Thorvald Bindesbøll Thorvald Bindesbøll (21 July 1846 – 27 August 1908) was a Denmark, Danish National romantic architect, sculptor and ornamental artist. He designed the Dragon Fountain, Copenhagen (''Dragespringvandet'') and is perhaps best known as the cre ...

, H. A. Brendekilde, L.A. Ring and

Svend Hammershøi Svend Hammershøi (10 August 1873 – 27 February 1948) was a Danish painter and ceramist.Sigurd Schultz: He is remembered principally for the classical pottery designs he contributed to the Royal Copenhagen (''Kongelige Porcelainsfabrik'') and to ...

. Their contributions further enhanced the firm's international success. Kähler died in Næstved in 1917. His son Herman Hans Christian Kähler (1876-1940) who had taken over management of the factory in 1901 continued to run the enterprise.

References

External links

Herman August Kähler Pottery, Nestved (on Zealand) 1839-1974
Article in CeramicsToday written by Tove Jespersen with several illustrations. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kahler, Herman A. 1846 births 1917 deaths 19th-century Danish ceramists 20th-century Danish ceramists Danish potters People from Næstved Municipality Danish businesspeople